‘Cooperatise’ to tackle farm crisis
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury has said that cooperatisation, and not corporatisation, is the need of the hour to address the agrarian crisis in the country.
Speaking after inaugurating a seminar on ‘Agrarian crisis in India,’ organised by the All India Kisan Sabha, at Nadavayal in the district on Saturday, Mr. Yechury said that empowering farmers in rural areas under cooperative movements was a possible measure to address the farming crisis in the country.
The freedom struggle was not only a revolt against British imperialism but was also against the rule of the feudal landlords. However, there were no change even after independence for the peasantry in many States owing to the policies of the Congress government. The feudal landlords became capitalist landlords under the Congress regime. Whereas a radical change was seen in Kerala after the Land Reforms Act in 1957 it had also created a new spark to the agrarian sector, Mr. Yechury said.
Now, corporates were targeting the total elimination of Indian peasantry after the implementation of the neoliberal policies in the country. Waiving farmer loans and procuring farmer produces at a minimum support price (MSP) as per the recommendations of the M.S. Swaminathan Commission were the major promises of the BJP during Lok Sabha election, he said.
Though the Narendra Modi government had written off Rs. 11.5 lakh crore of the corporate companies, it failed to waive off farm loans of Rs. 2 lakh crore. The Centre was yet to provide the MSP for farmer produce as per the recommendation of the Swaminathan panel, he said.
