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Tokenism will not help revive farming, says Kagodu

  •   Fri, Oct 30 2015 10:17:45 PM

From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Oct 30: "Agriculture is in doldrums," said Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker KagoduThimmappa, and pointed out that the State Government’s measures in the form of tokenism to revive farming will not succeed.

Releasing a documentary, "When death strides the fields,” brought out by two senior journalists in Bengaluru on Friday, the Speaker said farmers have not been receiving remunerative prices for their produce owing to lack clear-cut agriculture policy at the national level.

He said agriculture in the country was beset with deep rooted problems.

“Tokenism will not improve agriculture. The farm sector has to be strengthened. A national thinking is needed,” he said.

The documentary is produced and directed by senior journalists Maya Jaideep and KesturVasuki, who travelled with a team of senior colleagues to the suicide-hit districts of Mandya, Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Davangere, Bagalakote, Belagavi, Ramanagaram, Mysuru and Chamarajanagara.

“Farmers are in a helpless state owing to denial of scientific and fair price for their produce," he said.

The Speaker said: “There should be a system that ensures fair price to farmers but it is not easy.”

He regretted the recent changes in the Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 2015.

It increased the income limit for non-agricultural sources to purchase farmland from Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 25 lakh, he said.

He felt elected representatives were not debating enough on the plight of farmers on the floor of legislature or in parliament.

Veteran journalist Sathyanarayana and Karnataka Media Academy Chairman M APonnappa were present.

With nearly 550 farmers taking their lives in the past six months in the state, the documentary, both in Kannada and English, brings the agrarian crisis into sharp focus.

Interviews with experts, farmers, activists and thinkers form major part of the 28-minute documentary.

The documentary also highlights the Gandhian way and the need to promote organic farming to save the farmers from the agrarian crisis.
  

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Comment on this article

  • Joe Britto, Nakre/Bangalore

    Sat, Oct 31 2015

    The Culture of all cultures is Agriculture. Whatever be the main Industry in a country, it has to final come back to Agriculture for food and sustenance. Therefore we need to give Agriculture priority it deserves and all Government bodies need to make a concerted effort and ensures Lab to Land is a success.
    The farmer is presently at crossroads the farmer can reduce risks by going in for Animal husbandry, tree growing , Bee keeping and other avenues which will augment his income. But are these and other suggestion are alone enough Post the Green revolution the following changes are observed in Indian Agriculture:
    1.The farmers were earlier dependent on the Money lenders and the landlords. Today they depend on Banks, Government and Private sectors to meet their various requirement of finance and inputs.
    2. Traditional varieties have been replaced with Hybrids and now even that is being replaced by GM crops and the farmer will be a slave of the private firms .
    3. All farm operations are mechanized and hardly any farmers have cattle on the farm. This has caused a acute shortage of natural manure.
    The 3 points apart, the ground water resources have been depleted,farm labour is scarce and climate change becoming a challenge .The price for ,most crops is not sustainable for the farmers .
    Today more than ever before the Government has to come out with a real strategy to support and reward the farmer for growing crops and especially traditional crops like Paddy which preserve the biodiversity. There should be a way to reward the farm and put it into practice and have PES ( Payment for protecting the Eco System) .
    Crops like Paddy should be on top of the list. Plantations like Coffee also help preserve the Forest . The PES is already in place in some countries and the FAO and other UN bodies are examining these in depth .It is a question of time for India also to examine the same and reward the farmers for contributing to protect the Environment.

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