Trade organization for farmers proposed

    Hyderabad: The National Commission on Farmers (NCF) has recommended the setting up of an Indian Trade Organization (ITO) and its own boxes for domestic agricultural support on the model of WTO's Blue, Green and Amber Boxes. Addressing the 93rd Indian Science Congress here today, Chairman of the Commission Prof. MS Swaminathan said that the Indian Trade Organization (ITO) could be a virtual organization, specializing in WTO affairs, which could serve as a brain and information bank for enabling Government to take informed and proactive decisions.

   "It can provide timely advice on potential, surplus and shortages in major Agricultural Commodities, by maintaining a trade watch," prof. Swaminathan said, adding that the proposed ITO should serve as a friend and guide to small farm families, besides providing proactive advice and land use and crop planning. He further said that it should help to save resource poor families from the onslaught of the subsidy, technology and capital driven agri-businesss paradigm of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. For this purpose, the proposed National Land use Advisory Service could function as an arm of ITO, he added. Prof. Swaminathan, who submitted third report of the National Commission on Farmers to the Union Minister of Agriculture and Food on December 29 last year, said, the commission had proposed launch of the crop year of 2006-07 as the year of Agricultural Renewal Movement. "This movement may be launched on Baisaki Day (April 13, 2006) with the support of State Governments, Farmers Organizations, Business and Industry, Academia, Civil Society Organizations, Panchayati Raj Institutions and Mass Media," he said. Prof. Swaminathan went on to say that the commission would provide to Minister of Agriculture a draft National Policy of farmers in April so that it could be widely discussed with farmers organizations during May-December and finally adopted before the 60th anniversary of independence (August 15). Since 70 per cent of India's population was rural, the year of Agricultural Renewal programme should become a national movement, Prof. Swaminathan added.