The Hindu Business Line : Farmers' bodies to hold workshops on Budget

FARMERS' associations under the Confederation of Indian Farmers' Associations (CIFA), across the country, in a bid to create awareness among farmers about Union Budgets, have decided to organise workshops on February 28 and March 1, to evaluate Union Budget 2006-07 presented by the Finance Minster, Mr P. Chidambaram.

The recommendations of the workshops will later be submitted to the Union Finance Minister and others through members of Parliament as well as through CIFA.

According to Mr P. Chengal Reddy, Secretary-General of CIFA, various policies and programmes initiated by the Central Government in various Union Budgets have not helped the farming community, "especially in areas like crop insurance, irrigation, agricultural research, quality inputs etc.

He said farmers' associations were of the view that 65 per cent of the rural population dependent on agriculture have been neglected in successive Budgets.

Mr Reddy informed that discussions in the post-Budget workshops will cover subjects such as allocation to irrigation sector and its impact on irrigation projects, allocations to agriculture research and agri-universities, on resources for supply of quality/hybrid seeds to farmers, breed improvement and animal husbandry, minimum support price and procurement policies vis-à-vis their benefits to farmers, and broadly on the partnership programmes between Government, university and the private sector.

Suggesting that the Budget should throw light on Government's commodity-wise policy issues, mainly pertaining to cotton, sugar, oilseeds in relation to imports and exports, he felt it was necessary to know the incentives that are now given to the private sector for investments in agriculture and rural development, and whether these were sufficient to attract potential investors.

According to him, investments in the agriculture sector have come down from 47 per cent in the Fifth Plan to 10.6 per cent in the Tenth Plan.

Credit disbursement in the agriculture sector, considered as a priority, was fixed at 18 per cent, but this target was never achieved by bankers under successive finance ministers, including Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr Yashwant Sinha and Mr Jaswant Singh, he pointed out.

Mr Reddy said farmers' associations including UPASI, Gujarat Kapas Utpadak Sangh, MAHAGRAPES, Aqua, poultry and milk unions, and over 30 organisations across the country will be involved in the deliberations. In addition, the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) and 36 agriculture universities are being involved in the exercise.

More Stories on : Industry Associations | Budget

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Livestock insurance scheme coming — Centre to bear 50 pc of premium, says Cabinet panel

Foodgrain production seen up at 209.32 mt
Rabi output likely to be tad lower; wheat crop seen below initial estimates

Windfall for fisherfolk

Spot rubber prices firm on low arrivals

Farmers' bodies to hold workshops on Budget

Vegetable oil price outlook seen positive in short-term

Poultry sector plan to get back on its feet — Bollywood likely to lend succour

Allow poultry vehicles, AP tells neighbours

Bird flu: Five-star hotels keeping guests informed

Chicken prices crash 35 pc

`Bird flu scare results in Rs 200-cr loss to truckers'

Poultry insurance covers bird flu losses, clarify officials

Culling of chicken in Navapur completed

Chicken check

Post-harvest tech expo in Hyderabad

Palm oil conference to focus on bio-diesel