The Hindu Business Line : ‘Farmers must get better price for their produce’

Consumers have to pay more to the farmers if the country must produce the food that is required for a billion people, the Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, has said.

“There is no other way. You (consumers) have to cut back on entertainment and other expenses. The only way in which we can keep agriculture growing is to give the farmers a price at which he can lead a reasonably decent life. That price we are not paying,” Mr Chidambaram said in reply to a question at an event organised for launch of a portal to awaken the youth on relevant social issues.

The online resource is www.jaagoindia.org and created by Jaago India Foundation, which is supported by Tata Tea.

The Finance Minister highlighted that there are 120 million farm households with average holding of about 2.2 acres. He highlighted that farmers would not be able to break from the circle of poverty at the current prices.

Structural change

“I recognise that unless you bring about a structural change in the distribution chain, paying farmers more may mean consumers may have to pay more.

“If we bring about structural changes, there is no need for consumers to pay more. But farm families cannot break out of circle of poverty at the prices we pay,” he added.

Mr Chidambaram said that growing urbanisation and industrialisation would over a period of time help wean farm children away from agriculture and that there was no quick solution for the problem.

“It is only over a period of time that we can wean them from farm activity to off farm activity before taking them to non-farm activity,” he said.

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