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Odisha Resolution 4 (E)

Stop Foreign Dominance in Agriculture

Lack of capital investment, technological enhancement, killing of traditional occupation and natural way of organic farming, traditional way of creating employment opportunities, migration of agricultural labour has been reducing productivity and increasing cost has virtually broken back bone of farmers in last 10 years due to new economic policies.

Today agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries & forestry are facing challenges. On one side the MNCs like Monsanto are eyeing India and corporatizing farming, and trying to exploit natural bio diversities. On another side the modern agriculture is converting fertile lands to become barren and uncultivable. The so called growth oriented large projects have created environment related issues, water logging and marshy unusable land. The question relating to water, land and forest is creating so many contradictions. SJM urges upon the government for better land & water resource management and using of Swadeshi hybrid seeds in the farm lands.

Compulsory acquisition of land ends up in acquisition of fertile lands of poor farmers. Real Estate and SEZ setting up are causing tremendous loss of land under agriculture. SJM firmly believes that the farmers / artisans / labours / support activities create important role in development of a Swadeshi, self reliant, self sufficient, self dependent, self respecting Bharat. It creates mass employment opportunities also.

Swadeshi Jagaran Manch firmly believes that land acquisition needs to reworked without diluting its current provisions relating to giving better prices payable to the farmers and the existing law must be changed only to the extent, such that no acquisition of fertile lands should be allowed and in any exceptional case when the land is acquired, farmer be made Stakeholder in such venture / project. The land must not be transferred on ownership rights basis and the ownership must remain only with the farmer always and lease must only be given for 30 years. The farmer must be able to buy or acquire new fertile land with the compensation he receives for 30 years lease of his agricultural land.

It is time that the corporatization of farming and allied activities be banned and un remunerative parcel of small lands be formed into farmers co-operative to help farmers to create economies of scales. As a policy only use of unfertile waste lands must be encouraged for industrial use.

Change is required in the modern agro system where we encourage organic farming and more food processing industries must be started in rural areas to support prices of farm produces and create alternate employment opportunities. Mass Agro based industrialization must be adopted in rural areas.

Permission for experiment of GM foods / seeds / field trial has dangerous implications for the entire humanity as it creates ecological contamination and could be poisonous to human and animal health and must be banned. The field trials can permanently contaminate regular farming as no control is possible in such field trials.

Agricultural price policy must be declared on cost plus profit basis. As per the, election manifesto in which it was unequivocally stated that agricultural support prices will be declared such that the Minimum Support Price would not be less then cost of production plus 50 % as per the report of Swaminathon commission. Public declaration of cost of production should be made from time to time. This Rashtriya Sabha urges and demands the government to immediately implement its electoral manifesto promises made in this regard.

This Rashtriya Sabha reiterates earlier resolve of SJM that the cost of production of processed food must be declared without fail and must be mentioned on the product alongside MRP so that terms of trade between agriculturist and food processing industry remains balanced with a guarantee of Fair & Remunerative Price.

Lots of farm produces are lost in transit, or due to lack of storage facilities. Protection and reduction of loss of farm produces after harvesting needs to be focussed. This would increase overall productivity. This was the main reason stated of inviting FDI in retail trade. While FDI in retail trade was not required but improvement in local storage facilities and proper transportation facilities were expected to be adopted. SJM demands that to achieve these feat, proper cold and dry storages has to be introduced along with proper handling and transportation of such produces in the national interest.

Food processing industry is also in a dilemma like Sugar industry for example. Where the FRP (Fair Retail Price to the producers) of the sugar cane needs to be revised due to increase in cost of production, and on the other side the government has not increased the off take of ethanol and prices of sugar causing the industry to perish. SJM Rashtriya Sabha demands the government to remove the dilemma and as suggested earlier a cost plus policy be adopted Fair & Remunerative Price be introduced which does not harm the general public also.

SJM Demands that agriculture and rural food processing industry must be brought in to the ambit of MNREGA and the funds of MNREGA can be channelized to increase productivity which would increase farm productivity and cause employment opportunity for the masses. This would help government to make country self reliant, self dependent, and growth oriented with over all social economic revolution.

It is ironical that a country where more than 55 percent of population is engaged in agriculture, there is no agriculture policy. Government should déclaré Bhartiya Agriculture Policy, without any further delay.

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