On Thursday, Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment minister Ranendra Pratap Swain met with a delegation of Tamil Nadu All Farmers Organization Coordination Committee led by its leader PR Pandian at Krushi Bhawan, Bhubaneshwar. The delegation members talked about issues that affect the farming community nationwide.
The delegation is travelling from Kanyakumari to New Delhi to urge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi keep the commitments he made during the farmers' protest in 2020. It held a wide-ranging discussion on farmers' issues with Swain seeking the support of the state government to its demands.
A law guaranteeing a profitable minimum support price (MSP) for all agricultural products, loan waivers for farmers from commercial banks, preventing large corporations from contract farming and agriculture marketing, the provision of organic inputs to farmers, and the revocation of cases brought against agitating farmers are all included in the committee's charter of demands.
Steps taken by the Odisha government under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for the farmers who constitute 60 per cent of the total workforce of the state’s population were explained by Swain. According to the minister, the state government has allocated Rs 24,829 crore for the agriculture sector, a 21% increase over the budget from the previous year.
The government has introduced the KALIA scheme to financially support small and marginal farmers in carrying out agricultural operations, in addition to giving farmers access to agricultural inputs and interest-free farm loans up to Rs 1 lakh.
A memo from the delegation asking Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's administration for assistance in enforcing its demands was also submitted.
