National
Farmers plan stir against imports
By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, DEC 6. Kerala-based Indian Farmers' Movement (INFAM) - a body of small and marginal farmers - plans a joint farmers movement across the country against the impact of the General Agreement of Trade and Tariff(GATT) and globalisation.
Addressing a press conference here today, the president of INFAM, Mr. Mathew Vadakkemuriyil, urged the Government to take steps to control the import of farm products.
Focussing on Kerala farmers, Mr. Vadakkemuriyil said the State farmers who were not familiar with international marketing strategies were often without a clue on the global stage. Besides, on account of the imports of agriculture commodities under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime, the price of commodities had fallen resulting in a loss of about Rs 7000 crore annually. The commodities affected are coconut, rubber, pepper, cashew and coffee.
Any fall in prices affected the income of individual farmers, which in turn reflected in his purchasing capacity. An indication of the fall of the purchasing power of farmers was reflected in the collection of sales tax in the State which had shown a downward trend, Mr. Vadakkemuriyil said. At the same time, input prices and incidental expenses of production and marketing were increasing every year which affected the farmers badly.
Mr. Vadakkemuriyil alleged that the Government did not discuss the implications of the GATT Agreement in Parliament, nor were people informed about it. There was no awareness.
Now, INFAM planned to make available `constructive support' to outline successful strategies by experts, committed to the cause, in the marketing field so as to prevent exploitation and deterioration of market potential.
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