Farmers Movement Archive

Farmer producer bodies to benefit UP, Bihar most: Radha Mohan Singh

The Centre’s decision to set up 10,000 farmer producer organisations (FPOs) in the country would be helpful to the small and marginal farmers, especially in farm driven economies like UP and Bihar, said BJP in-charge of Uttar Pradesh and former agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh.A farmer producer organisation, formed by a group of farm producers, is a registered body with producers as shareholders of the organisation. It deals with business activities related to farm produce and works for the benefit of member producers.“These FPOs would also help introduce farmers to newer techniques of agriculture. That is why the Modi government is busy preparing a massive infrastructure that helps promote and sustain FPOs which will bring about a massive transformation in agriculture produce and farmer income,” said Singh, the national vice president of BJP.Singh said that the opposition politics would be exposed as it had become clear that they were supporting the farmers’ agitation for political gains. Thousands of farmers are encamped at borders around Delhi demanding repeal of new agricultural laws and seeking a guarantee on the minimum support prices for their crops.“I challenge the opposition to prove that these farm laws were against farmer interests. There was this canard on minimum support price (MSP) but statistics exposed the opposition claim. In 2013-14 the wheat farmers were paid ₹33,874 crore but in 2019-20 they were paid ₹62,802 crore. In 2020-21 the farmers were paid ₹75,060 for their produce,” he said.“The number of farmers too has grown. In 2019-20 purchase was made from 35.37 lakh farmers. Their numbers increased to ₹43.36 lakhs in 2020-21,” he said.He also gave a detailed account of paddy purchase, saying in 2019-20 paddy was purchased from 1.24 crore farmers whose numbers increased to ₹1.54 crore in 2020-21. Paddy farmers, he said, were paid ₹63,928 crore in 2013-14, ₹1,41,930 crore in 2019-20 and in 2020-21 purchase worth ₹1,72,752 crore is expected.“I have been an agriculture minister and know that the farm laws are in the interests of the farmers. I have statistics to prove that under the Modi government the farmers have benefited,” he said.

Hindustan Times

08-02-2021

India