Punjab's first farmer body gears up for changes

The Chamber of Punjab Farmers,' the first formal platform for the state's farmers, has a lot of initiatives lined up to make its voice heard.

"We are the Confederation of Indian Industry for the farmers. We needed this platform because even agriculture policies were being devised by the CII. Apart from this, our main objective is to restore the lost dignity of Punjabi farmers,'' said Avtar Singh Dhindsa, the first president of the six-month-old chamber.

"Our first task is to see that the farmers get the payment for their produce. There is no trade in the world where the producer is not paid. But in our case, it is the commission agents who get the money. For this, we have already filed a public interest litigation in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the court has asked the state to reply on the issue," he said.

The chamber has an 11-member executive body, which includes dairy farmer Daljit Singh and potato growers Sukhbir Singh Bhatti and Jang Bahadur Singh Sangha.

"Another important issue is making agriculture sustainable. While we have a whole battery of scientists for this, we need to do more. The chamber has planned a series of guest lectures, where we will invite speakers like Vandana Shiva. If we like their model of sustainable agriculture, we will adopt it. The idea is that to broaden our vistas of knowledge," the president said, elaborating on the chamber's plans.

"From now on, we farmers, too, will have a pressure group in the form of this chamber, which will help voice their concern directly and not through the industry," he said.