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Corporate farming initiative rejected
MULTAN (July 15 2002) : Speakers at a media seminar strongly
rejected the government's initiatives on corporate agriculture
farming (CAF), termed it against the interest of small
farmers, threatened food security and control over resources
of small and landless farmers by multinational companies and
feudal lords.
They demanded immediate suspension of CAF initiative and renew
commitment to the land reforms agenda, the only way for food
security can be ensured. The decision of CAF and thwarting of
the land reforms agenda will hammer the final nail in small
and landless farmers' coffin, they said.
The speakers condemning harassment of landless tenants on
state land in Punjab, said it stands out a glaring example of
the unjust and corporate-centred policies that the government
was propagating. They demanded immediate end to harassment and
violence against tenants and positive action towards the
conferment of propriety rights to them. The speakers also
declared CAF a serious threat to ecology and bio-diversity of
agriculture in the country
and indeed the actual sovereignty of the State and demanded
immediate withdrawal of serious blunder committed by the
federal cabinet.
Sustainable Agriculture Action Group (SAAG), a coalition of
civil society organisations, at a seminar at Multan press
club, criticised the government for backing out from its
commitments made at various international forums such as World
Food Summit-2002 to eliminate hunger by
year 2015. The speakers said there will be no upper land
ceiling and no labour laws for the people working on big farms
as labour. No duty will be charged on agriculture equipment
imported by the agriculture firms.
This will give an opportunity to the transnational
corporations (TNCs) and feudal lords to maximise profit while
denying small and landless farmers the right to food or
livelihood security.
Main speaker Mushtaq Gaddi said, it is not only against the
article 253 of the constitution but also it is also against
the Supreme Court and Federal Shariah Court decision against
private appropriation of land. The 93 percent of agriculture
economy is comprised of small farmers who were already facing
miserable environment due to government's unfriendly policies
and the rigours of multilateral trading system while they will
be unable to compete with giant TNCs.
Courtesy Business Recorder
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Pakissan.com;
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