The Hindu Business Line : Parliament Members Farmers’ Forum set to be revived

Chennai, March 10 The Confederation of Indian Farmers Association (CIFA) has initiated a move to get the concerns of growers voiced in Parliament through the revival of Parliament Members Farmers’ Forum. As a first step, the forum, which will meet on March 13, will discuss the Rs 60,000 crore farm loan waiver announced in the Budget proposal by the Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram.

According to the association, the waiver actually is only for the loans availed by farmers for their inputs and it could actually be around Rs 30,000 crore only. “This is nothing when the loan waiver for the industry is around the same amount. Also, the Budget has not made allocation for improving productivity,” an official of the association said.

According to Mr Chengal Reddy, Secretary-General of the association, the waiver would only help 40 million of the 115-million farmers in the country. The Union Food and Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, will preside over the meeting, while former prime minister, Mr H.D. Deve Gowda; former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Mulayam Singh; the BJP President, Mr Rajnath Singh; the BJP leader, Mr Venkaiah Naidu, and former union minister, Mr Ajit Singh, will take part.

Coffee growers

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Growers Federation, in a statement, said coffee growers would not benefit much from this package.

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