The Consortium of Indian Farmers Association (CIFA) urged the Prime Minister, Mr Manmohan Singh on Monday to speed up the process of foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail sector stating it would benefit the farmers.

“We met the Prime Minister and urged him to grant permission for FDI in retail before December 31,” said Mr P. Chengal Reddy, Secretary General, CIFA, which claims to represent over 40 million farmers. CIFA members will be forced to go on an agitation from January 1 if their demands are not met, he said.

“We also urged the PM to set up a regulatory authority to check exploitation of the farmers,” Mr Reddy said. Stating that reforms initiated in the retail sector would benefit 600 million farmers as well as 1,200 million consumers, Mr Reddy said FDI would help establish producer groups and arrange for forward-backward linkage between the farmers and retailers.

vishwa@thehindu.co.in

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