National conference of farmers to be held in Mysuru in December

A national conference of farmers will be held in Mysuru while a farmers festival will also be held as part of World Farmers Day, during December.

This was announced by State Sugarcane Cultivators Association president Kurubur Shanthakumar, here on Thursday. He said hundreds of farmers from across the country will take part in the national conference which will discuss key issues plaguing the agricultural sector.

Mr. Shanthakumar said the conference is being held in the backdrop of growing uncertainty among farmers who are increasingly abandoning agriculture as successive governments have failed to redress their grievances.

Agricultural sector is weakening day by day while the government was encouraging corporatization of the sector which will be debilitating for farmers with small and medium-sized land holding, he added.

Referring to the plight of ginger cultivators, Mr. Shanthakumar said they were in dire straits as the prices have collapsed. A bag of 60 kg of ginger used to fetch nearly ₹5,000 last year. But due to a combination of factors the prices are below ₹1,600 per bag this year as a result of which ginger cultivators are facing financial distress, said Mr. Shanthakumar. Vagaries in the market tend to destabilise prices and that is one reason why farmers are seeking minimum support price for all agricultural crops, he added.

The association members said farmers will intensify their agitation in Delhi from November 25 when the winter session of the Parliament will commence, in a bid to draw attention of the government to their predicament.

Lashing out at the Congress government in Karnataka Mr. Shanthakumar who also represents the Federation of Farmers Association, said that the State government has failed to release the promised incentive of ₹5 per litre of milk promised to dairy farmers and is pending since the last 8 months.

The Association also demanded ₹500 per quintal as a special incentive in addition to the minimum support price for paddy and urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to take measures for its implementation.

Mr. Shanthakumar also said that agents in APMCs are prohibited from seeking commission from farmers on the purchase of crops and they risk losing their permits in case of any violations and called for greater awareness of this among the farmers.

Association office-bearers Attahalli Devaraj, Bardanapura Nagendra, Kiragsur Shankar, and others were present.

Published - November 14, 2024 07:20 pm IST