Farmers’ body opposes free trade agreement with U.S. in farm sector

Activists of Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha and Green Brigade held a demonstration outside the office of Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, Mysuru MP, in the city on December 15. They voiced their opposition to the Government of India’s proposed move to enter a free trade deal with the United States in the farm sector.

The activists, belonging to the ‘Collective Leadership’ faction of the farmers’ body, gathered in front of the MP’s office on the Command Area Development Authority premises holding green flags and placards while shouting slogans against any possible free trade deal with the U.S.

In a memorandum addressed to Mr. Yaduveer, the body pointed to the distress among farmers across the country owing to various reasons, including the lack of remunerative prices for their crops, impact of climate aberrations, rising cost of cultivation, and domination of the middlemen in the markets, all of which have led to the farmers finding themselves trapped in the vicious cycle of loans from banks and private finance companies.

The memorandum, signed by Chukki Nanjundaswamy, Honnur Prakash, and Manju Kiran, among others, also cites data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) about the high number of suicides among farmers in the country, including Karnataka.

Expressing concern over reports suggesting that the Government of India is preparing to enter into an agreement with the U.S. to allow the import of agricultural products like maize, rice, cotton, soybean, pulses, besides diary products and chicken on a “duty free” or “very low duty” basis, the farmers’ body claimed that the prices of maize had fallen in the country merely owing to the circulation of such news.

Claiming that pulses were also heading in the same direction, the Collective Leadership faction said it would be difficult to imagine the extent of damage caused to farmers’ interests if western countries begin flooding Indian markets with farm products which are produced abundantly in their countries at very low prices.

The farmers’ body claimed that the Union government was yielding to U.S. pressure to allow duty-free or low-duty imports of its dairy products, maize, rice, cotton, soybeans, and other grains as American farmers were under pressure.

It further stated that the agriculture sector provides employment to about 46% of the population in India, while the figure was only about 10.4% in the U.S.

“Entering such ill-conceived and logic-defying free trade agreements related to agriculture would completely destroy not only the agriculture sector, but also the employment sector and the overall economy of the country,” warned the farmers’ body.

In their memorandum, the farmers’ body expressed to Mr. Yaduveer: “As a public representative of our constituency, we urge you to raise your voice in the Parliament about the grave harm that a free trade agreement would cause to the farming community and firmly assert that the Government of India should not sign a free trade agreement with the United States in the farm sector.”