Bharat Krishak Samaj (BKS), a leading all-India organisation of farmers, has come out in support of genetically modified crops, saying their use will help cut down expenses on pesticides for better returns on yields.
BKS urged the government to also promote research on crop biotechnology to evolve varieties that could withstand drought and erratic weather.
In a pre-Budget memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and other ministers and BKS Chairman Ajay Jakhar said that at a time when India was emerging as a research and development hub for the world, allocation for agricultural research remained static in the last Budget. They called for higher allocation for both research and development programmes this year.
The memorandum said that growers should be allowed to benefit from the rise in the prices of agricultural commodities. “If the government wants to subsidise consumer goods, it should do so on its own and not at the cost of farmers,” the letter said.
BKS suggested removal of curbs on marketing of produce by farmers to enable them get remunerative prices. Besides, it asked for linking farmers with futures trading and introduction of options trading in commodities, which, BKS felt, could give farmers the right, without the obligation, to sell at a pre-committed price at a future date.
The memo also suggested that a code of conduct be evolved for organised retail chains to prompt them to purchase 50 per cent of goods directly from farmers. “Land should be allotted in every city to farmers’ organisations or their cooperatives to sell their produce directly to the consumers. This will benefit both farmers and consumers,” BKS said.
Regarding National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the BKS memorandum said the 100 days of employment it provided should be made available during the agriculturally lean seasons so that it did not create shortage of labour for key farm operations. “This will increase the overall job opportunities for the poor, as they will get employment in the fields during peak farming, and off-fields, at other times,” BKS said.
The farmers’ body underscored the need to promote special agro-processing zones (APZs) for value-addition to farm produce and minimise wastage of perishable goods like fruits and vegetables. “The APZs should be allowed to sell goods in the domestic market, besides exports. Food processing machinery should be allowed to be imported at zero duty,” it said.
It called for removal of excise and import duties on agricultural machinery, as greater mechanisation would help increase farm production at reduced costs.
BKS also asked for further lowering of interest rates on agricultural loans. “It is better to help farmers repay their loans, rather than waiving them,” the memorandum stated.
Pointing out that actual loans to farmers constituted only a small part of what was being shown by banks as agricultural credit, the BKS memorandum said indirect loans and those disbursed to non-farm rural sector should not be shown as agricultural credit under priority credit norms.
