The Raitha Krishi-Karmikara Sanghatane (RKS) has expressed opposition to the Centre contemplating signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement and reducing import duty on dairy products.
A release by RKS district secretary Sharanu Gonwar here said that if the Centre goes ahead with the proposed move, it would be detrimental to the farm sector that is already hit by a crisis and land farmers engaged in dairy farming in trouble.
Mr. Gonwar said that it appears that the Union Government is yielding to pressure from New Zealand, Australia, China and other South Asian countries to sign the RCEP and reduce import duty on dairy products.
However, it would worsen the condition of farmers who are already in distress, he said. Over 10 crore farmers in the country are engaged in dairy farming and production of milk is higher than the demand.
Hence, there is no need to import dairy products. Importing dairy products would be a detrimental decision for crores of farmers, farm women and their dependents. This would also result in the closure of co-operative institutions such as KMF and Amul. Those who are working with these institutes would lose their earnings and more farmers would migrate to urban areas, he said.
He noted that New Zealand and Australia are engaged in mass production of dairy products with the aid of advanced technology. These countries export more than 90 % of dairy products but the number of people engaged in dairy farming there is few. But, in India, a large number of farmers are engaged in dairy farming and most of them are into small-scale production resulting in higher cost. If cheap dairy products are imported, local farmers cannot compete in the market. It would only help corporate companies engaged in import and export business.
Indian farmers are facing woes following natural calamities, price crash and other problems. Therefore, the Union government should not sign the RCEP free trade agreement and not reduce import duty on dairy products, he said.
