The third district conference of the Malai Maavatta Small Farmers Welfare Association held at Kotagiri on Sunday resolved to urge the government to cancel the permits of Bought Leaf Tea Factories which were not offering fair prices for the produce of the small tea growers.
Pointing out that despite an order of the Madras High Court and recommendations of the district price monitoring committee, the factories were not giving remunerative prices. The Conference wanted the government to nationalise the factories.
By another resolution the Conference wanted the government to re-open closed Industrial Cooperative (INDCO) tea factories and re-structure their management to facilitate a bigger role for the farmers.
The loans availed by farmers to take up floriculture as an alternative to tea should be waived.
Expressing concern over the rapidly escalating man-wild animal conflict, the conference urged the government to improve the habitats in order to prevent wild animals from straying into human habitations.
Farmers should be permitted to use guns with rubber bullets to keep wild animals away from their farms. Association President Thumbur I.Bhojan presided.
