BHUBANESWAR:
“Unless and until the agriculture and allied sector in the rural areas are
strengthened, issue of unemployment and loss of productive human resources
cannot be solved,” said representatives of farmer bodies addressing the
Presspersons here on Saturday.
The farmer
organisations under the banner of Odisha Krushak Sangathan Samuha (OKSS) unitedly
demanded the political parties to add agricultural issues in their election
manifesto.
The farmer leaders
stated the debt burden of farming families are rising and reaching unbearable
limits. It is distressing to notice that more than 4604 farmers have committed
suicide in Odisha between 1995 and 2011.
The farmer leaders
said that 66 per cent of our agriculture land does not receive adequate
irrigation even during Kharif season. The income to farmers as compared to
agriculture input costs in negligible and private sector procurement agencies
are either missing or highly exploitative, they added.
According to a member
of a farmer body Saroj Mohanty, the Government infrastructure is inefficient
and corrupt for which the farmers have to go for distress sales of agricultural
produces. There is no effort by the Government to construct adequate number of
warehouses and cold storages. Provision and accessibility of institutional
credit, lack of insurance coverage, diversion of irrigation water to
industries, land grabbing by industries are some other issues that add to the
woes of the farmers, he added.
They demanded the State and the
Central Government to ensure income security for all farm households, so that
producers find it viable and dignity in their profession, and are not forced to
leave agriculture out of distress.
Among others, Saroj
Mohanty, Murari Prasad Purohit, Panchanan Dalpati, Simanchal Nayak, Muka
Madkami and Bhajaman Mahanta were present.
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