Mr. BASAVARAJ INGIN. CIFA (Consortium of Indian Farmers Associations). India

8/3/2019 Mr. BASAVARAJ INGIN. CIFA (Consortium of Indian Farmers Associations). India.

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THE VOICE OF FARMERS TO THE GLOBAL SITUATION

BASAVARAJ INGIN,INDIAThe global situation in the farm sector is not farmer friendly. So naturally the farmer

will not have any inclination to accept the situation as they are. The situations indeveloped and rich countries may be different from the situations in the developing

and poor countries. The farm sectors in developed countries is only for more

production, more profit making, in other words, commercialisations. Added to this

the Governments in the developed countries extends many sops including domestic

protection and also export support. Whereas the developing countries do not have

the support of Government equal to the developed countries. Therefore the farming

in developing countries is for sustainable agriculture and to fight for maintaining the

lively hood of agriculture family.

The worlds population is growing at the rate of 1,50,000 per day and will

continue to grow for another 40years. Therefore naturally the food production will

need to increase by 70% to feed the growing population.

There is another truth to be brone in mind that there is enough food to fed

the global population despite the specter of food insecurity. The surplus is available

to those who control those access arable lands, it is not available to other countries

like India. China is attempting to feed 21% of worlds population with 7% of the

worlds arable lands and India is attempting to feed 17% of worlds population with anear 2% of worlds arable lands. It is tough task to fulfill.

Few farmers may be self sufficient today but that is changing and they need

to prepare for more. There has been a predictably rapid rise in starvation, hunger

and malnutrition in poorer populations around the world.

The reason why an effort is made to mention about the food security in

between is the agriculture decline is taking place at the time when international

prices of major food grains are going up steeply, partly due to the use of grains for

ethanol production. Land for food v/s fuel is becoming a major issue. International

trade is also becoming free but not fare. Recently Dr. Manmohan singh Honranble

Prime Minister of India during his address to UN remarked that the liberization,

privatization and globalization though initially shown little productivity but they have

resulted in negative dimensions of globalizations.

To meet the above challenges of increasing productivity and feeding the

hungry, caring for earth is an unanswerable question when looked into the

developments of the situations. Since the agriculture is turned out to be an


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unproductive and nonremunerative a farmer is exiting from the farm felid and going

to the urban centres to more remunerative earnings by doing day to day labour

works.

The scarcity of land and water has caused a great concern to farmers.Besides global warming and uncertain seasonal conditions are another challenge to

be faced by the farmers. Added to this the rich and multinationals have started to

grab fertile and cultivable land in the guys of creating infrastructure like industry,

education, health etc. For this the governments are giving more protection for land

acquisition sacrifing the interesting of farmers.

Already there is land rush and fragmentation due to the increase of

population and fragmentation of land due to division of families. When the area of

cultivable and fertile land goes of decreasing the problems of farmers and farm

sector and also food security becomes in remunerable. There are genuine fears in

the developing countries where a situation entering a phase of food imperialism. If

such countries including India does not act now the choice will be between food

imperialism and technology imperialism.

To tackle all this farmer is looking at the public investment not only for

creation of infrastructure required for inputs but also assistance of science and

technology in providing the non GM high yielding seeds which have the regular

germination character and provide facilities for implementing the guildenies of FAO

and to achieve the goal UN committee on food security for global soil partnership for

food security and climate change adaption and mitigation which was launched

earlier.

Basically the farmer is looking for public support for contain the migration of

farmers and exit of farmers from farm field to the urban centres in search of more

remunerative jobs.

Therefore our dialogue with the government are based on around containing

farmers exit from the farm lands and to change the mind set of farmers and also to

retain on his farm through regular counselling so that a sort of confidence is injected

in him so that we may build his capacity to produce more poison free food to be a

part to free the hugry and to care for earth.

Therefore we are now concentrating our dialogue with government on the

following points

1. Deurbanization2. Creation of urban facilities at rural centers


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3. To stop forthwith acquisition of cultivable and fertile land for any purpose.4. Even if the waste and urban land of a farmer was to be acquired for

infrastructure the land shall be alienated and transferred to the person or

organization for whom the land was needed. But the land should be treated

as a share investment of the farmer and land should continue in his nameand also he should get the share of the activity for which the land is to be

used.

5. Creating off farm employment at rural parts including dairy, animalhusbandry, poultry, sheep breeding, piggery, fishery and sericulture and

also cottage industries including grading, value addition and processing of

agri produces.

6. Managing our soil and water resources in a sustainable manner with newpolitical vision.

7. Decisions of import and export of agri produces to be taken only after onlyafter taking farmers into confidence and that to only when there is need.

8. To incentive agri research and extension with the partnership of farmersgroups.

9. To bring about market reforms treating the country as one zone.10.To create more storage capacity including cold storage chain.11.Reorient MGNREGA for encouraging productivity building.12.To incentivise majors for mechanisation of all agriculture activities

especially based on the needs of small and marginal farmers

13.To incentivise allied sectors of animal husbandry, dairy and aqua.14. To decentralize agriculture planning empowering and making direct

allocation to panchayat and farmer groups by the planning commissions.

15.To establish national farmers Advisory Council16.More public support( government) for productivity and marketing including

export on par with developed countries.

17.To tackle the uncertainties of the seasonal conditions introduce individualfarm based insurance.

18.Farmer should have right to fix the price of agri commodity and not themarket or government.

19.Women farmer should have the legal rights of properties especially of allagriculture related properties.

20.As far as India is concerned we now demand for immediate implementationof the national farmers commissions report submitted by Dr. M S

swaminathan and till a final shape of right to fix price of agri commodities is

introduced the price should be based on the recommdations of national

farmers commissions report.

21.To have programs for capacity building of young and women farmers.


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On the whole the farmer who is looking eargerly to the global situtations

which are not productive and remunerative to him for policy reforms to be

modified at an earliest as farmer friendly and farmers to have better and

honorable lively hood through the policy reforms introduced by the

International year of Family Farming.

Documents

Mr. BASAVARAJ INGIN. CIFA (Consortium of Indian Farmers Associations). India