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VIJAYAWADA, March 7: A round-table conference of all political parties and Rytu Sanghams demanded that the government take control of the supply of fertilisers in the state to check irregularities in distribution to the farmers.
Leaders of Rytu Sangham, the Congress, Telugu Desam, CPI, CPI(M) and the Praja Rajyam attended the all-party round-table conference organised at the Freedom Fighters Association Hall on Sunday by the Andhra Pradesh Rytu Sangham district committee.
All-India Kisan Sabha vice-president and senior farmer leader, Mr Kolli Nageswara Rao, said the survey conducted for the 2009-10 Budget disclosed that food production is already declining in the country and reached -.2 per cent. He said 52 per cent of the country’s population depends on agriculture for livelihood and the problems of the farmers should not be ignored by the government.
Mr Nageswara Rao said the multi-national company Mon Santo has been trying to increase the price of BT cotton-1 variety from Rs 650 to Rs 850 and type-2 variety from Rs 750 to Rs 1,050 per packet. He said the farmers could not bear the expenses if the prices of BT seeds are increased by the company.
He said the government announced to give Rs 1.19 lakh crore to the urea manufacturing companies this year and Rs 70,000 crore to the farmers in the Budget 2010-2011. He demanded that the amount to the farmers should be increased to Rs 1.20 lakh crore.
The Rytu Sangham district vice-president, Mr Yelineni Kesava Rao, demanded that the share of foreign investment in seed companies should be restricted to 49 per cent and royalty to the foreign companies should not be more than eight per cent. Mr Kesava Rao demanded the implementation of crop insurance scheme for the farmers and proper allocation for agriculture sector in the Budget.
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http://www.deccanchronicle.com/vijayawada/state-told-control-supply-fertilisers-087
08 March, 2010 by admin