Act against Farmer Suicides in
Thousands of farmers have
committed suicide over the years as a result of intensifying anti-farmer
policies in the country!
This is The
Time to ACT!
When: Tuesday,
Oct 2, 2007
at
7:00PM
Where:
&
Contact: 650-861-2122 (Megha) 404-934-4902 (Samantika)
408-761-5004
(Sridhar)
Join us for a peaceful candlelight Vigil to demand the
Indian Government to get their act together soon!
Ø Provide a guaranteed Minimum Support Price that is more than the cost of production
Ø Waive debt currently owed to private money-lenders
Ø Set up a committee, with proper representation from farmers and people's groups, to carefully analyze the current situation, and implementation of Government relief packages, in suicide prone region and make real numbers of farmer's suicides public.
Ø Increase grants and provide training to farmers who wish to move away from mono-cropping to multi-crop, or organic agriculture – this will serve to increase food and livelihood security
Ø Set up a system of checks and balances in the marketing of seeds, and make available at the time of sowing, good quality seeds
Ø Explicitly make agriculture a permissible work under the NREGA* – this will allow farmers, who want to make the shift to low-external input, sustainable farming, to hire the help they need for activities such as mulching, sowing, weeding and composting. Such a move would address aims of the NREGA as stated in section 1.1 of the NREGA, 2005 – protecting the environment as well as reducing rural-urban migration
Ø
Support
farming of traditional Jowar and Ragi – this will not only provide local access
to nutrition, but will also provide a source of fodder for cattle that were
part of your previous relief package
*NREGA:
National Rural Employment Guarantee
Act provides a legal
guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult
members of any rural household willing to do unskilled manual work at the
statutory minimum wage.
For more information:
http://agri.aidindia.org/october2
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main19.asp?filename=Ne090906The_relief_CS.asp
http://www.countercurrents.org/glo-shiva050404.htm
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