Page 5 - Farmers Issues

Farmers' protest: Haryana extends mobile internet suspension in 7 districts

The Haryana government has further extended the suspension of mobile internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts by a day till Saturday in the wake of the ongoing farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' agitation, according to an official order. Mobile internet and bulk SMS services were first suspended in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa on February 11 and the suspension was extended on February 13, 15, 17, 19, 20 and 21. In the order issued on Friday, Additional Chief Secretary T V S N Prasad said, "After assessment of the current prevailing law and order situation in the state, the conditions are still critical and tense in the district Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa." "...There is a clear potential of disruption of public utilities, damage to public assets and amenities and disturbance of public law and order in these districts on account of misuse of internet services by way of spread of inflammatory material and false rumours,

Farmers' protest: Candle marches to be held at Shambhu, Khanauri borders

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that on February 26, effigies of the WTO, corporate houses and governments will be burned

'Delhi Chalo': Will decide next course of action on Feb 29, say farmers

Farmer leaders Friday said they will decide their next course of action on their 'Delhi Chalo' call on February 29, and announced a candle march on Saturday and burning of Centre's effigies two days later. A decision to this effect was taken Friday evening by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), which are spearheading the ongoing agitation at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Haryana and Punjab over various demands including a legal guarantee for MSP. "The next announcement about the agitation will be made on February 29," KMM leader Sarwan Singh Pandher told the media at the Khanauri border point. He also announced they will hold a candle march on February 24 and will burn the effigies of the Centre on February 26. Farmers leaders had Wednesday put the 'Delhi Chalo' march on hold for two days after a protester was killed and about 12 police personnel were injured in clashes at Khanauri. The incident took place when some protestin

Farmers' protest: SKM observes 'black day', burns effigies of BJP leaders

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) observed a "black day" on Friday and burnt effigies of BJP leaders in protest against the Haryana Police's action against agitating farmers camping at two of the state's border points. The call was given by the SKM on Thursday to mourn the death of Shubhkaran Singh, who died in clashes between the Haryana Police and farmers from Punjab. The incident took place on Wednesday when the farmers taking part in a "Delhi Chalo" march organised by their unions rushed to the multi-layer barricades set up by authorities to prevent them from proceeding with their plan and clashed with police at the Khanauri border point between Punjab and Haryana. The Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), which is a part of the SKM, said on Friday that it held demonstrations at 47 places in 17 Punjab districts in protest against Singh's death. BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan said they burnt effigies of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Haryana Chief Minis

LS polls: Odisha extends farmers' welfare scheme 'KALIA' for another 3 yrs

Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections, the Odisha government on Thursday decided to extend its farmers' welfare scheme 'KALIA' for another three years, sanctioning a total outlay of Rs 6,029.70 crore for the purpose. The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved three proposals in this regard, Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain told reporters. He said the state has been implementing the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme since 2018-19 as a majority of the population of the state is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Similarly, the state had implemented the KALIA scholarship to ensure the educational development of the children of KALIA beneficiaries so that they avail of professional and technical education in different educational institutions, Swain said. For hassle-free and smooth implementation of this welfare scheme and to bring the ..

Protesting farmers to pay any loss to public property: Ambala Police

"Proceedings have been initiated under the NSA National Security Act 1980/NSA against the chief officials of farmer organizations and the agitators," the Ambala police said on X

Farmers from 10 EU countries join forces to protest agricultural policies

Czech farmers were driving their tractors and other vehicles to several border crossings on Thursday to meet their colleagues from neighbouring countries and join forces in their protests against European Union agriculture policies, bureaucracy and overall conditions for their business. Farmers complain that the 27-nation EU's environmental policies, such as the Green Deal, which calls for limits on the use of chemicals and on greenhouse gas emissions, limit their business and make their products more expensive than non-EU imports. The farmers also complain about low prices for their products and say grain and other agriculture products coming from Ukraine and Latin America negatively affect the market. The farmers met their colleagues from neighbouring Germany, Poland and Slovakia at a number of border crossings. Farmers from 10 EU countries, ranging from Central Europe to the Baltics and the Balkans, were participating in the protest, organisers said. The farmers invited Czech ..

Amid protests, PM says govt working on improving lives of small farmers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said his government was focusing on improving the lives of small farmers through various schemes and initiatives, comments coming in the backdrop of protests by Punjab and Haryana cultivators in support of their demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP for crops and a farm loan waiver. During his day-long visit to Gujarat which was packed with multiple programmes, Modi travelled to Ahmedabad, Navsari, Mehsana and Surat and attended several events, including golden jubilee celebrations of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets daily products under the Amul brand, and inaugurated or laid foundation stones of a slew of projects. He also dedicated to the nation two new Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) with a cumulative capacity of 1,400 megawatt at Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in Surat district. Addressing a gathering of nearly 1 lakh people, mostly cattle-rearers and farmers, at the Narendra Modi

Govt hopeful of resolving farmers' concerns before wheat procurement season

The government is hopeful of finding a resolution to the concerns of farmers before the start of wheat procurement season from March, Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said on Thursday. His comments also come against the backdrop of farmers' protest raising various demands, including guaranteed minimum support price for crops. At a briefing here, he also said that wheat crop is in good condition and procurement may commence early depending on arrivals in growing states. Barring rice, prices of wheat, wheat flour, sugar and edible oils are stable, he said. According to him, there is no proposal to allow further diversion of sugar for ethanol production.

CAIT urge govt to include traders, other stakeholders in talks with farmers

They stressed that any proposed measures would have far-reaching implications, affecting every stakeholder involved in the agricultural supply chain

Ahead of LS polls, BJP to woo farmers through 'Gram Parikrama Yatra'

A Gram Parikrama Yatra started on February 12 in Sukh Teerth of Muzaffarnagar in Western Uttar Pradesh

CM Yogi forms panel to look into long-pending farmers' issues in Noida

The farmers demand that 10 per cent of residential plots or their equivalent compensation be given to them in lieu of land acquired from them for development projects

More efforts needed on both sides for consensus: Munda on farmers' protest

The Union Minister highlighted the graph of grain production under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also emphasised the achievements in the horticulture sector

Govt committed to fulfilling pledge for farmers' welfare: PM on cane hike

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday underlined his government's commitment to fulfilling its pledge for the welfare of farmers, asserting that a "historic" hike in sugarcane's price is part of such efforts. This will benefit crores of sugarcane farmers, he said in a series of posts on X, highlighting several decisions taken by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday. The Cabinet meeting headed by Modi hiked the minimum price that mills have to pay to sugarcane growers by Rs 25 to Rs 340 per quintal for the 2024-25 season starting October. An official statement had said after the decision, "The new FRP will ensure prosperity of sugarcane farmers. It is noteworthy that India is already paying the highest price of sugarcane in the world and despite that the government is ensuring the world's cheapest sugar to domestic consumers." Reacting to other Cabinet decisions, he said the step taken by it relating to the National Livestock Mission will bring exciting opportunities for entrepreneurs

Despite PM's 'guarantees', farmers are committing suicide: Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said on one hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi is giving various "guarantees" to farmers, but on the other cultivators are committing suicide due to growing debt. Addressing NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) workers at a conclave at Manchar in Ambegaon tehsil, the home turf of Maharashtra Cabinet minister Dilip Walse Patil in Pune district, the former Union agriculture minister painted a grim picture of the farm sector. "Today, farmers are facing hardships in the country. He toils hard but despite that he does not get remunerative price for his products. If input cost is high and output is low, then it leads to farmers getting debt-ridden and due to this situation, farmers take extreme steps. Such a scenario is currently prevalent in the country," said the veteran politician. Newspapers and television channels are full of advertisements where the PM is seen offering various "guarantees" to farmers such as good price and ...

Ready for talks with 'our brothers': Anurag Thakur on farmers' protest

The Centre is ready for talks with protesting farmers who are our "brothers" and "annadaatas", Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Wednesday, asserting that the Modi government has taken various steps to ensure higher income for farmers. At a cabinet briefing, Thakur said the government is committed to doubling of farmers' income and has taken several steps toward this end. On whether the issue of farmers protesting at Punjab-Haryana borders was discussed during the Cabinet meeting, the minister said the Centre is ready for talks. "We were ready for talks earlier and are ready even today and will be ready to discuss their issues even in future," he said, adding that, "we have no problem as they are our brothers and are 'annadatas'." Thakur highlighted various steps taken by the Modi government to double farmers' income and achieve higher growth in the agriculture and allied sectors. He said the government has doubled the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and ...

Farmers' protest: Centre proposes 5-year plan to buy pulses, maize at MSP

A panel of three Union ministers on Sunday proposed the buying of pulses, maize, and cotton crops by government agencies at minimum support prices for five years after entering into an agreement with farmers. Speaking to the media after a more than four-hour-long meeting with farmer leaders here, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said the innovative and out-of-the-box idea came up during the discussions. The minister said the farmer leaders will decide on the proposals put forward by the government by Monday morning. "Cooperative societies like the NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers Federation) and NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) will enter into a contract with those farmers who grow 'tur dal', 'urad dal', 'masoor dal' or maize for buying their crop at MSP for next five years," said Goyal. There will be no limit on the quantity (purchased) and a portal will be developed for this," he added. It will save Punjab's farming, improve the groundwater

Avoid policy of dilly-dallying, accept farmers' demands: Dallewal to govt

The central government should not dilly-dally and accept the demands of farmers before the model code of conduct comes into force, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said ahead of a meeting with a panel of Union ministers here on Sunday. The Lok Sabha elections be announced next month. Three Union ministers and farmer leaders will meet here at 6 pm to discuss their demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP for crops and farm debt waiver. The meeting comes amid thousands of farmers staying put at the Shambhu and Khanauri points of the Punjab-Haryana border with layers of barricades and a large number of security personnel halting their protest march to the national capital. The two sides -- ministers and farmer leaders -- had met earlier on February 8, 12 and 15 but talks remained inconclusive. "We want to tell the government that it should avoid the policy of dilly-dallying," Dallewal told reporters at the Shambhu border point. If the government thinks it will continue to hol

Farmers' march: 'Ball is in govt's court', farm leader ahead of talks today

A panel of Union ministers will hold a fourth round of talks with farmer leaders here on Sunday over their demands, including loan waiver and bringing an ordinance on giving legal guarantee to MSP for crops. The meeting comes amid thousands of farmers staying put at the Shambhu and Khanauri points of the Punjab-Haryana border with layers of barricades and a large number of security personnel halting their march to the national capital. The two sides -- ministers and farmer leaders -- had met earlier on February 8, 12 and 15 but talks remained inconclusive. Besides loan waiver and a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP), farmers of the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation, which entered is sixth day on Sunday, are also demanding implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, and withdrawal of police cases. There was no report of any confrontation between the protesters and Haryana security personnel on Saturday. The farmer leader

Farmers' march: Govt requested time for talks, says farm leader Pandher

Earlier, Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda on Friday said that efforts to find a solution continue and the next round of talks with farmers will take place on Sunday