BHUBANESWAR: A delegation of Tamil Nadu All Farmers Organisation Coordination Committee led by its leader PR Pandian on Thursday met Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment minister Ranendra Pratap Swain at Krushi Bhawan here. The members of the delegation discussed problems confronting the farming community across the country.
The delegation is on a journey from Kanyakumari to New Delhi demanding fulfilment of promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during farmers’ protest in 2020. It held wide-ranging discussion on farmers issues with Swain seeking the support of the state government to its demands.
The charter of demands of the committee include a law assuring a profitable minimum support price (MSP) for all agricultural produce, loan waiver of farmers by commercial banks, preventing big corporates from engaging in contract farming and agriculture marketing, supply of organic inputs to farmers and revocation of cases slapped against agitating farmers.
Swain explained the steps taken by the Odisha government under the leadeship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for the farmers who constitute 60 per cent of the total work force of the state’s population. The minister said the state government has made an outlay of Rs 24,829 crore for agriculture sector which is 21 per cent higher than last year’s budget.
Apart from providing agricultural inputs to farmers and farm loans up to Rs 1 lakh without interest, the government has launched KALIA scheme to financially assist small and marginal farmers for undertaking farm activities.The delegation also submitted a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik seeking his government’s help in realising its demands.