Now Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) to study Maharashtra Agrarian Crisis

Now Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) to study Maharashtra Agrarian Crisis

Nagpur-13 March 2012

After High published recent visit of special parliament panel headed MP Basudeo Acharia to farm suicide hit region of Maharashtra now the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) chairman Ashok Gulati is visiting Marathwada another worst hit region of Maharashtra where more farm suicides are reported than than vidarbha in 2011 to discuss basic issue behind the agrarian crisis of region in third week of march before the presentation of Indian budget , informed farm activist Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti VJAS,.

‘The visit of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) chairman Ashok Gulati who is accountable to fix minimum support price (MSP) for main crop of Maharashtra which are cotton,soya ,paddy and pulses failed to give any justice in last two years as MSP fixed CACP was fixed much below the cost of cultivation and he ignored the recommendations of state Govt. asking for it’s revision but all time he manage to shift focus of sustainable price to agriculture produce of dry land farmers of region to issue of irrigation as he Recently, the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) had in a report stressed the need for a financial package to improve irrigation in the region advocating urgent need for special integrated watershed management programme for Vidarbha, of around Rs 30,000 crore, dovetailing it with agriculture which is baseless as he is not our of the basic crisis of dry land farmers who are forced to cultivate non-sustainable highly risky and volatile to climate and market which is killing farming community at large .when CACP talks about fixing of cost there is total failure of UPA to procure cotton ,paddy or pulses when they are being traded below the MSP which is just mockery of CACP existence’ Tiwari asked.

‘CACP chairman Ashok Gulati’s visit drought-prone dry land region of Maharashtra is create environment for UPA Govt. declare another contractor driven financial package for farmers in Vidarbha in name of Bringing Green Revolution in Eastern India plan (BRGEI) and CACP is likely discuss the issues from the impact of low rains, high inputs costs and diminishing returns on investments with hand picked 400 progressive farmers and will discuss the expected dams to make best use of scarce water resources the package could be one of the biggest central government doles to Vidarbha, after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Rs 3,750-crore debt relief package in 2006. all packges failed west vidarbha hence he has shifted his visit to Latur from Amaravati but these are proven futile exercise and CACP chairman Ashok Gulati knows truth that faulty policies at the centre is root cause of agrarian crisis not the issue of irrigation or farm mechanization. BGREI is eye wash as dry land region agrarian crisis has touched to it’s bottom land has lost fertility, chemical farming is 100% loss making and rain sensitive crop like cotton and soya are killing the farmers due to successive crop failure and non-suitable American Bt.cootn seed’ Tiwari

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BGREI needs to have focus on sustainable agriculture in dry land and CACP should focus on MSP which is rational price to Agri. Produce and stabilization fund and mechanism for the proper procurement when prices are below MSP that is need of hour not packages planned in budgets ,Tiwari urged.