'MNCs destroying farm sector'

Law should be enacted to make seed manufacturing companies responsible for low farm produce: Minister E Pratap Reddy

Hyderabad: Law Minister Erasu Pratap Reddy has stressed on the need for stringent laws and mechanism to counter the ever growing influence and interference of Multi-National Companies (MNCs) in the State agricultural sector.

A new law along the lines of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act should be enacted to make the MNCs supplying seeds responsible if the farmers face losses due to low produce and other factors, he felt. A He was speaking at 'Release and Distribution of Improved Varieties of Seeds' programme organised by Suvidha, an NGO, on Sunday.

Pratap Reddy observed that the government's failure coupled with the negligent attitude plunged the agricultural sector of the State into misery. As if this was not enough, administration yielding to the pressure tactics of MNCs further compounded the woes of the farmers to such an extent that many had resorted to suicides in the last few years, he pointed out.

The Minister stated that he had thorough knowledge of the crisis in the agriculture sector because he came from the same background.A Speaking earlier, former union minister and BJP national vice-president Bandaru Dattatreya stated that it was the government's duty to supply quality seeds and uninterrupted power to the farmers besides ensuring Minimum Support Price (MSP).