Farmers to step up fight for Income Guarantee Act

Hyderabad: The third Kisan Swaraj Sammelan has called upon farmers to put up a unified fight in support of their demand for providing them with a comprehensive Farmers' Income Guarantee Act. They were of the unanimous opinion that such an Act alone would ensure an income that offers a chance for 'dignified living' to all those who depend of agriculture, including tenant farmers, shareholders and agricultural workers.

• Social activist Medha Patkar comes down heavily on AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for ‘grabbing fertile lands’ from farmers for high-rise buildings
• She also criticises Telangana State government for its ‘anti-farmer policies’

In its declaration on the final day of the three-day conference held in the city here on Sunday, farmers and NGOs from across the country felt that the annual budget speech by the Finance Minister, who promised to double farm income by 2012, appears to be hollow and inadequate.

“We demand that along the lines of the Seventh Pay Commission, a permanent farmer’s income commission be appointed to ensure parity of income in the society. All government policies that impact agriculture including support prices, marketing, credit, disaster relief and insurance, subsidies, trade, import and export policies should translate into ensuring incomes for dignified living and sustainability in farming,” the declaration stated.

National convenor of National Alliance for People’s Movement (NAPM) Medha Patkar, who attended the conference said that during last one decade the situation has worsened not only because of the depleting water resources, but also due to government’s anti-farmer policies where farm land is easily be transferred in to a non-farm land.

"While the land belonging to farmers is being seized by the government, the same is being bestowed to corporate companies. Unless we put up a unified fight over these issues that concern most of us, corporate companies will continue to get patronage from government,” she said. Patkar pointed out that the decisions taken at the international level for the last few decades have proved to be detrimental for farmers in India.

Unfortunately, India remains one of the participants and nothing has changed. Be it WTO talks or DOHA declaration or implementation of the World Bank policies, Indian government bows down to the demands of big economies jeopardising the future of the country, she said.

She blamed consecutive governments at the Centre for not providing any scope for farmers or farmer representatives to make their voices heard at the international level.Medha Patkar condemned the way Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments were dealing with farmers. She said that the Andhra Pradesh government has resorted to injustice while building the State capital Amaravathi. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, she said indulged in ‘land pooling’, seizing rich agricultural lands for high rise buildings. In Telangana, she said that despite achievement of a separate State, the government was unable to control suicides by farmers.