The government constituted a National Commission on Farmers (NCF) under the chairmanship of Planning Commission member Som Pal to review the state of Indian agriculture and its allied sectors and recommend measures for their faster development. | |
| The commission has been asked to submit its report within two years. |
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| The announcement of the government's intention to set up such a commission was made by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in his last year's independence day address. |
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| Som Pal, a former minister of state for agriculture with independent charge, will have full Cabinet rank as NCF chairman. |
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| The commission has two full time members and three part time members. Agriculture Secretary RCA Jain has been made the member secretary. |
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| Full time members are former Pusa Institute director RB Singh and former NABARD chairman YC Nanda. |
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| The part time members are economist RL Pitale, and agriculture and rural development experts Chilakam Ramachandra Reddy and Kunverji Bhai Jadav. |
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| Besides assessing the condition of farmers in different parts of the country, the NCF will identify factors responsible for imbalances and disparities in the farm sector. It will suggest measures for achieving sustainable and equitable agricultural development. |
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| It will also examine issues relating to existing price and marketing policies and legal framework for improving the income of farmers. |
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| Besides, it will address the on-going changes in national and international economic and trade environment and its impact on the livelihood sustainability in the rural sector. |
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