Dallewal demands welcome by BKU Mann. BKU (Mann) Chief and All India Kisan Coordination Committee welcomes Dallewal’s demand of reforms in agriculture
7.1.2025 In a press statement issued here today, BKU Mann Chief S Bhupinder Singh Mann, EX MP welcomed the stance of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dalewal who had said that “Agriculture reforms priority, my health secondary”. Dallewal had told this to the Supreme Court committee”.
Mann was joined by Sh Gunvant Patil, General Secretary AIKCC and Shetkari Sangathana, Th Guni Parkash President BKU (Mann), Haryana.
S. Mann, who also chairs All India Kisan Coordination Committee said that we had been firmly on the stand that only reforms and liberalization in agriculture can change the current stressed agriculture sector. He said the farmers need to have access to technology and markets and most importantly farmers need to be freed from the regulatory, constitutional and legal shackles.
It quotes several key recommendations made by the Swaminathan Report, much talk of which everyone is hearing lately, which even now is being selectively read in broken bits and pieces by a handful of farmer leaders to misguide the farmers. The National Commission for Farmers suggests the following as measures:
· Promotion of commodity-based farmers’ organisations such as Small Cotton Farmers’ Estates to combine decentralised production with centralised services such as post-harvest management, value addition and marketing, for leveraging institutional support and facilitating direct farmer-consumer linkage.
· The MSP implementation is better. Other crops than paddy and wheat will require setting of MSP. Besides, millets and other nutrient cereals need to be made permanently available under PDS.
· The MSP should be 50% higher than the weighted average cost of production.
· Data regarding spot and future prices of commodities available through the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCD) and the NCDEX and the APMC electronic networks covering 93 commodities through 6000 terminals and 430 towns and cities.
· State Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee Acts [APMC Acts] relating to marketing, storage and processing of agriculture produce need to shift to one that promotes grading, branding, packaging and development of domestic and international markets for local produce, and move towards a Single Indian Market.
The NCF also suggests that “Agriculture” be added in the Concurrent List of the Constitution. It is a very significant recommendation.
S. Mann lamented that the report is being read with convenience of selective blindness for misguiding the farmers. S Mann also called upon the media to indulge in self research and bring factual position before the farmers otherwise the mafia of food grain procurement system will keep sucking the blood of farmers and the tax payers.
Welcoming the new stand of S Dallewal S. Mann stated that reforms cannot be stopped which are bound to happen in all spheres of life. These might be delayed in the name of vested interests.
Reforms and liberalization is the only solution to bring out agriculture from distress. He requested S Dallewal to end his fast and initiate the process of dialogue; which hitherto has been a “Yes or No” stance by the farmer leaders.
S Mann said that he and his group have maintained a constant and un-waivery stand on this issue inspite of sever mis-campaign against them by few farmer leaders. Ultimately the truth and righteous path; has; and will prevail
