By IANS,
Kolkata: Averring that redistribution of land and land reforms were a must for ensuring food security, the Communist Party of India (CPI) Monday demanded that the central government adopt a universal Public Distribution System and not a targeted one.
Claiming that the land of peasants, particularly fertile land, should not be acquired for industrialisation, CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan said the Leftists would launch a struggle to ensure that proper measures for food security were implemented by the central government.
He said the peasants were the main players and must be provided fertilsiers and seeds at cheap rates and it should be ensured that they get remunerative prices for their products.
“Without these it is not possible to ensure food security in the country,” Bardhan said.
He said the government should also increase rice production and productivity and improve irrigation facilities. “Cheap credit at the rate of four percent interest must be made available to the poor,” he said.