Kerala Govt. Initiates Process to Cancel Visa of Farmer Missing in Israel

Agriculture Minister P. Prasad said on Wednesday that steps had been taken to cancel Kurian's visa, which had been arranged through State government channels. He added that the incident would not have an impact on the future of the farmer exposure tour program.

Prasad reiterated his belief that Kurian's disappearance was possibly premeditated and planned. "The government has taken steps to track him down and return him," Prasad said at a press conference.

Kurian, a member of a 27-member team that traveled to Israel to study modern farming techniques, went missing on the evening of February 17. The team, led by Agriculture Secretary B. Ashok, returned to Kerala after notifying the Indian embassy and Israeli police that he was missing. Prasad insisted that the incident would have no bearing on the future of the State's exposure tour scheme for farmers. The Agriculture Department had planned more than one trip to Israel, but this was the first. Similar trips to countries such as Vietnam were planned, he said.

It cannot be argued that the entire program should be scrapped because of one person's actions, he said.

Overall, the Israel tour was extremely beneficial to farmers, and the government was planning a three-pronged strategy to reap the benefits for the State's farm sector, according to Prasad.

First, consultations with the 26 farmers would be held to determine what Kerala could learn from the Israeli experience. Second, what modern techniques could be implemented in the field here, and third, interactions between the farmers who participated in the tour and their counterparts in different districts.