Farmers to present charter of demands to political parties

LUCKNOW: Farmers’ organizations from across the country will meet in Lucknow on March 28 to hand over a charter of demands to political parties as was done in New Delhi recently.
The charter has been tweaked to include regional demands, including that losses caused to crops by wild animals are covered in crop insurance scheme and the entire premium is paid by the government.Besides, there should be unconditional waiver of all types of loans of all farmers within six months of government formation.
Furthermore, an additional support of Rs 10,000 acre/ year be given to ensure minimum income to a farmer. Besides, small and marginal farmers should be given pension of Rs 5,000 per month after 60 years of age.
“Parties should include our demands in their manifestos and give us a timeline for their implementation,” said Dharmendra Malik of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU).
The charter of demands also states that besides timely payment of cane dues, cost of sugar should be fixed at around Rs 40 per kg. “The state should ensure that a farmer does not get less than the MSP for his produce,” said Malik. MSP should be decided as per Swaminathan panel recommendations, which say that MSP should be worked out after adding 50% profit to the cost of production, he added.
“Increased production should not be the criteria to work out farmers’ growth. Instead, the profit that a farmer gets from the increase in production should be the basis for his growth and prosperity,” said BKU national vice-president Deewan Chandra Chaudhary.