EXCERPT: Ms Shiva released an updated version of Navadanya's study estimating more than 40,000 cases of farmers’ suicides. She said, "Suicides are noticed in belts where farmers grow hybrid seeds and genetically modified seeds and cannot save these seeds for the next season. These suicides are nothing, but genocides."
[Dr] Chaudhary [executive chairman of India's leading farmers' organisation, Bharat Krishak Samaj - BKS - which has some 5 million farmer members] and Ms Shiva announced that they would undertake Bija Yatra-Asha Yatra (march to save seeds) in the suicide belts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka from May 10, this year.
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Farmer groups lash out at govt policies
Ashok B Sharma
Financial Express, May 9, 200
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=126434
NEW DELHI, MAY 8: Taking the cue from Congress president Sonia Gandhi cautioning Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to rush headlong with signing of free trade agreements (FTAs), the farmers and civil society organisations on Monday lashed out at unilateral liberalisation policy of government aimed at greater involvement of corporate houses.
The leader of the country's largest farmers' organisation, Bharat Krishak Samaj, Dr Krishan Bir Chaudhary and Dr Vandana Shiva of the Delhi-based Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology in a joint press conference criticised the government, particularly agriculture minister Sharad Pawar for going ahead to import 3.5 million tonne wheat when the granary is full. They alleged that it is a deliberate attempt to erode country's self-sufficiency in food.
They said that the government policies of the day are no longer based on ensuring food security and farmers’ livelihood, but are dictated by WTO, World Bank, IMF and USDA, and are best suited to serve the interests of corporate houses and multinationals.
Mr Chaudhary said, "It is shame on the part of the government to take the pretext of rising domestic prices of wheat to make a case for imports. There is enough stock in the country, with a wheat production of 72 million tonne in 2005, and expected 73.1 million tonne, this year. In the current season, the area under wheat has increased by 4 lakh hectare."
He said that the uptrend in domestic wheat prices is due to largescale hoarding by traders and multinationals. This is due to the removal of restrictions on stocking. The government should immediately re-impose stocking limits to check market manipulations, he said.
Mr Chaudhary criticised the involvement of corporate houses in direct wheat marketing, and said that they are paying more to the farmers taking advantage of the low minimum support price fixed the government. In the long run the corporates are not going to pay farmers lucrative prices and would buy the farmers' produces at distress sales, as has been the case with African cocoa growers, he said.
Ms Shiva released an updated version of Navadanya's study estimating more than 40,000 cases of farmers’ suicides. She said, "Suicides are noticed in belts where farmers grow hybrid seeds and genetically modified seeds and cannot save these seeds for the next season. These suicides are nothing, but genocides."
Mr Chaudhary and Ms Shiva announced that they would undertake Bija Yatra-Asha Yatra (march to save seeds) in the suicide belts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka from May 10, this year.