5,000 farmers protest against FDI

Farmers protest against the Agri Business Meet to be held tomorrow in the city.

By Deepashri Varadharajan

BANGALORE (Nov. 30)—Nearly 5,000 farmers from all over Karnataka staged a protest in Bangalore against foreign direct investment, lack of government subsidies and what they say are unfairly low market prices for their products.

Chennaveerappa, president of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, a farmers’ movement, said: “We met the chief minister in this regard. He asked us to submit a proposal regarding the revoking of FDI, which we did. We will stage another protest at 11 a.m. outside the Vidhana Soudha [legislative assembly] tomorrow.”

Murugesh, a farmer from Mandya, said he and his fellow farmers want to fight for their rights to sell products at a fair price at the markets.

“We are forced to sell one quintal of cotton to private contractors for Rs. 3,000. They in turn sell to the market at Rs. 10,000,” said Neelesh, a farmer from Haveri, a district in Karnataka. “We suffer heavy losses because of this.”

“The government promised to give us six hours of electricity every day. But now we hardly get it two to three hours,” said Gaddigappa, a farmer from Irikere taluk in Karnataka. “We cannot operate bore wells to water our fields without a power supply.”

“We do not receive government subsidies. They sell old stocks of pesticides and fertilizers to us,” Gaddigappa said. “We don’t have money to buy additional fertilizers and pesticides.”

Gaddappa has incurred a loss of nearly Rs. 60,000 this year. The bank has refused to give him further loans till he repays his previous debts.