By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal : The Nagpur-based Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, (VJAS), has strongly opposed the Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP), national general secretary Gopinath Munde’s demand that Maharashtra Government should allow non-farmers to buy agriculture land as small farmers cannot do profitable farming.
VJAS president Kishor Tiwari was reacting to media reports published today wherein Gopinath Munde was interacting with industrialists and experts at a meeting organised by Maharashtra Economic Development Council (MEDC).
It may mentioned here that Economic Times carried a news item entitled “Allow Non-farmers to Buy Agri Land: Munde”. The story datelined Mumbai said:” The BJP wants the government to do away with the condition that prevents ‘non-farmers’ from buying agricultural land. BJP general secretary and party’s chief ministerial candidate Gopinath Munde said on Friday that co-operative and corporate farming needed to be promoted in Maharashtra to bail the farmers out of distress. Mr. Munde was interacting with industrialists and experts at a meeting organised by Maharashtra Economic Development Council (MEDC)”.
The report stated that “The BJP leader pointed out that average land holding in Maharashtra was five to six acres, and its was a major hurdle in making agriculture a viable industry. Around 95% of farmers in Maharashtra are small-time farmers. An overwhelming majority of them do not have basic capital to invest in modernising their farms.
It does not make economic sense to invest in small farms. There is a strong case for roping in corporates and forming farmers’ co-operatives,” Mr. Munde said. He acknowledged the point raised by industrialists that a ceiling on holding agriculture land and the condition that only a farmer could purchase farm land were major obstacles. “Making agriculture viable is
the only solution to farm suicides,” Mr. Munde said, the newspaper quoted.
Tiwari said when small farmers in western Maharashtra with lesser land holdings than cotton farmers of Vidarbha and Marathwada regions are doing extremely well, it’s almost ridiculous to say that small is impossible. Munde is not aware that experiment of corporate farming has
failed in America, he wondered.
The official promotion of multi-national companies and corporate in farming by BJP is very unfortunate as this will add fuel to Indian Government official agenda of elimination of small farmers as per direction of the World Bank, WTO and America, Tiwari lamented. ([email protected])