Badal for working group of Commonwealth nations

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday mooted a proposal to form a working group of members of Commonwealth nations with its permanent headquarters in the state to create a mechanism for the exchange of ideas, experiences and future strategies.

In his keynote address during the inauguration of three-day Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) at Punjab Assembly, the chief minister said countries taking part in this conference were confronted with similar socio-economic challenges.

He sought cooperation and support from Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for establishing a permanent Headquarter of CPA in Punjab. The state is famous for the most advanced agriculture practices and its enormous contribution to the country's food bowl.

Badal said he was sure the discussions in this workshop would surely go a long way in enhancing understanding among people of different countries and offering solutions to the vexed agriculture scenario to make it economically viable and sustainable.

He said in India, a system of minimum support price (MSP) for assured marketing was initiated to increase productivity for meeting nation's food demands.

Dwelling on the Indian agriculture scenario, he said our economy was predominantly agrarian, with more than 60 per cent of its population still relying on farming. But the share of agriculture in national income had been constantly falling, he said. In 1965-66, 65 per cent of the population depended on agriculture and contributed almost 65 per cent of the gross domestic production (GDP). However, now nearly 60 per cent population is dependent on agriculture but its contribution to GDP had drastically dropped to 17 per cent

Even in the most advanced countries, governments provide liberal income support to save their agriculture economy.

Referring to the plight of farmers, the chief minister justified the need for giving incentives to them as they were at receiving.

Badal also stressed the role of Parliamentary Committees on Agricultural in formulating policies and giving directions to sustain agricultural production besides creating a check on the excess use of pesticides and fertilisers.