Farmers across India demand the government to help bridge the gap in marketing their products, said Devinder Sharma, Food and Trade Policy Analyst on Friday.
He was addressing press persons at Ahimsa Santhai, a five-day fair held at Gandhi Memorial Museum to promote local eco-friendly initiatives.
Mr. Sharma iterated that the need for storage capacities, especially an all-season godown, is higher than ever. Alternatives for pesticide that pollute water and soil must be made more prevalent among farmers, he added.
“There needs to be a transition from traditional and conventional farming to organic farming to attain a non-violent economy. At Ahimsa Santhai, we are not just talking about such an economy but representing one,” said Jill Carr Harris, Director, International Gandhian Institute of Nonviolence and Peace (IGINP).
She noted that many farmers in Europe have transitioned from a fossil fuel economy to a renewable economy, which is seen as a response to climate change. “But in our current scenario, not much benefits are given to build the livelihood of farmers at the bottom, hence farmers and artisans turn into daily wage earners sadly,” she said and recalled the need to reinstill the values of J.C. Kumarappa, the Green Gandhian to segue from using judiciously of resources and preserving it for the future generation.
Sultan Ismail, Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, noted that the economic policies must change to stop farmers from ending their lives. “Against the current backdrop, corporates are at the gaining end, but small scale farmers and traders are affected. Based on data by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Indian farmers have suffered losses of 45 lakh crore between 2000 and 2016. Every year they suffer a loss of over 2 lakh crore. This is because of the violent economy that we have, which does not lay emphasis on agriculture,” he said.
Later in the day, Minister for Finance Palanivel Thiaga Rajan took part in a panel discussion on ‘Ecology and Rural Economy,’ where he spoke in length about the need to gravitate towards a less-waste generating and more self-sustaining way of living.
