Small farmers

India today said that the interests of small and regional farmers must be protected at the WTO negotiations on agriculture.

Inaugurating the sixth meeting of the Asian Farmers' Group for Cooperations (AFGC) here, Minster of State for Agriculture Kanti Lal Bhuria, said that the interests of developing countries must not be sacrificed during the WTO negotiations.

Bhuria said that agriculture was the backbone of the majority of economies in Asia and farmers in the region faced various problems due to seasonal fluctuations.

He strongly advocated the setting up of equitable and transparent international regulations so that the developing countries did not face hardships.