Ref : E&B/Press/2004/Farmers/Sam-DG

CERC Urges Long-Term Solution to farmers’ Problems

Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC), Ahmedabad, in a representation to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, has urged the Government of India not to make a minimum support price for agricultural products, including sugar cane, a permanent feature of the Indian economy and instead to find a long-term solution to their problems.

It also called upon the Government to develop an effective mechanism for education and awareness among farmers on the safety, quality, quantity and pricing of major agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilisers and pesticides in terms of cost benefit.

The representation pointed out that an organisation such as CERC, which undertakes comparative testing of consumer products, can also test such major agricultural inputs as mentioned in terms of safety, quality and efficacy, requirement of quantity, pricing, cost benefit analysis and the like. The test findings can be widely disseminated among farmers or their cooperatives. This may take care of many problems faced by farmers, CERC added.

The Union Ministry of Agriculture should be more careful and proactive with all the State Governments about ensuring that agricultural extension services are not only acquainted with the comparative knowledge of agricultural inputs but also become result-oriented and effective, CERC said. It enquired about the extent to which these extension services are aware of such data, the system and procedure evolved to ensure farmers’ availability of all the information in time and in a language they understand, and about the effectiveness of the systems now operating.

According to CERC, farmers should be able to mobilise financial resources so that they do not have to borrow money at heavy cost from lenders. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the State Governments should work out an arrangement with farmers cooperative credit societies for the disbursement and recovery of loans through an effective and binding system.

Farmers in Andhra Pradesh and other States committing suicide made the matter more serious. Since they did not have adequate financial resources, the traders of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides became money-lenders and it put the life of farmers in jeopardy. Farmers had no choice but to purchase their requirements from them at a heavy cost. They were also forced to buy a larger quantity of fertilisers and pesticides than they required and the cost of production also went up.

Instead of looking for a permanent solution to the problems of farmers, the Government comes out with a Minimum Support Price for farm produces. The recommendation of the Mahajan Committee for a Minimum Support Price for sugar cane is one such instance and announcing such Minimum Support Price may not be a permanent solution, CERC added.

Date : 15/07/2004
Place : Ahmedabad

Pritee Shah
Editor
INSIGHT - The Consumer Magazine

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CONSUMER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTRE
“Suraksha Sankool”, Thaltej, Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway, Ahmedabad- 380 054 (INDIA)
Phone: 079-27489945-46 Fax: 079-27489947
E-mail: cerc@wilnetonline.net
Web Site: http://www.cercindia.org
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