BENGALURU: Karnataka farmers will stage a state-wide protest against Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, on October 31, where they will demand that the central government refrains from signing the agreement which has the potential to severely damage the agricultural sector.
Farmers will hold protests in their respective district centers and will hand over their petition to the district commissioners.
"Several agricultural produce will have zero import duties in the long term, and will only benefit nations that are looking to dump their excess produce in Indian market," said Chandrashekar Kodehalli, state president of Karntaka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene, a statewide farmers organisation.
He said that crores of small farmers and particularly women farmers who eke out a living through dairy farming are vulnerable to risk, if this agreement is signed by the union government.
Those involved in producing silk, areca nut, horticultural produce and spices are among those who will be impacted by the deal.
While farmers are set to protest for a second time, the negotiations surrounding the agreement are expected to conclude in the coming week.
It was also reported that the managing director of Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) had raised concerns about the agreement's impact on the dairy cooperative in a letter to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal recently.