Food security, farmers' subsidy top priority in WTO meeting: Suresh Prabhu

As the world leaders are set to meet in Argentina for the forthcoming ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday said the issue of food security and farmers' subsidy would be raised at Buenos Aires.

The commerce minister said the officials were discussing the issues with other countries also, to gain their support and would take the matter forward along with them.

"We will discuss the issue of food security, coming in the form of public stock holding. We will try to improve the permanent peace clause and will try to come out with some permanent solution," Prabhu told ANI.

"Whether it is protecting the farmers' interest by the way of ensuring that minimum support price that is paid to the farmers is not affected as well as the public distribution system will also be not jeopardised. We will take care of the interest of fishermen. Keeping these things in mind, we will emphasise on the same," he added.

Endorsing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to double the farmers' income, Prabhu said they would pitch the countries to end the subsidy given to the farmers, so that the Indian farmers can export in their country.

He also stressed on allowing the Indian farmers to get market access of the other country to make the export process easy.

"In a developing country, farmers get a huge amount of subsidy. We will ask the countries to end their subsidy completely so that our farmers get more opportunity to export their products. If they provide subsidy, our farmers will not be able to export their products, as the price of their products will be so low that the Indian farmers will not get much benefit," he said.

He also emphasised on the fishery subsidy and said that having a long coastline of 7,600 km, a large number of population living in the region depends on the fishing. So, that the subsidy provided to them will not be disturbed.

The 11th Ministerial Conference of the of the 164-member WTO will be held at Buenos Aires, from December 10 to 13.