New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) Farmers under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) on Thursday demanded agriculture, dairy and poultry sectors be excluded from the proposed India-US trade agreement, emphasising that duty-free imports would spell doom for domestic producers.
The demand was raised at a Kisan Panchayat held at Ramlila Maidan here, which saw participation of thousands of farmers from across the country, according to a statement.
Farmer leaders said the proposed trade pact would be a “death warrant” for Indian cultivators if agricultural products from the US are allowed to enter the domestic market without import duties.
They also expressed eagerness to engage in an open debate with Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on the issue and urged the government to fix a date, time and venue for the discussion.
They clarified that the gathering was not meant to press new demands but to remind the government of assurances made to farmers over the years. Participants said they had assembled to convey their concerns directly to the prime minister.
Following the meeting, a delegation of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) visited the Prime Minister’s Office and submitted the resolutions adopted in villages across the country regarding various agrarian issues, the statement said.
The leaders also referred to past commitments on Minimum Support Price (MSP), stating that recommendations for a legal guarantee on MSP had been supported earlier but remain unimplemented.
They said promises related to ensuring MSP based on the Swaminathan Commission formula have not been fulfilled. Referring to reports and official statements, they alleged that farmers have incurred significant losses due to denial of declared MSP.
The farmer leaders cited an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report indicating that the country’s farmers suffered losses exceeding Rs 100 lakh crore as they did not receive the MSP announced by the government, the statement said.
They further cited government data presented in Parliament, claiming that large corporate loan waivers were in stark contrast to the lack of similar relief for farmers.
“Union Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Singh Karad had stated in Parliament that the total outstanding debt owed by farmers stands at a mere Rs 18.4 lakh crore,” the statement read.
Several farmer leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan attended the gathering, it added. PTI SHB ARB ARB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.