Big bang UPA reforms will trigger agrarian crisis

15 September, 2012

In its big bang reforms, the government on Friday allowed 51% FDI in multi-brand retail, 49% investment by foreign airlines in aviation sector and sale of equity in four PSUs along with hike in diesel price and reducing subsidies. This will further aggravate the rural agrarian crisis as this move will now allow multi nationals to take control of the agrarian economy from the village itself.

HAVING ALLOWED MNCs to create vertical and horizontal monopoly in agriculture input such as seed, pesticide and fertilizer and controlling output price by prevarication it on commodity exchanges, has made vidarbha cotton farmers as slaves of these MNCs. The fate of other India farmers will be the same if this decision of opening FDI in retail is deeply established by destroying existing village economy.

Vidarbha farmers strongly oppose this move and demand the roll back of UPA Government's most unfortunate decisions. Vidarbha is classic example of FDI in agriculture. Companies have done massive investment in seed, pesticide and vedicides but it was not for welfare and progress of poor cotton farmers of the region as MNCs who promoted technology earned more than Rs.40,000 crore by converting the whole west Vidarbha being converted into a field of dying vidarbha cotton farmers.

Allowing FDI in retail and in rural economy will harm interests of farmers. Moreover, it will trigger an agrarian crisis in other parts of India as no FDI is for charity.