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Farmers' rights will be fully protected under WTO regime: PM

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Monday asked the states to urgently evolve a consensus action plan to decentralise food grain procurement and distribution system with foodstocks worth over Rs 500 billion lying in the godowns.

Inaugurating the chief ministers' conference on WTO and Agriculture and Food Management, Vajpayee assured full protection to the farmers under the World Trade Organisation regime, asserting that India need not reduce its domestic support and subsidise agriculture under this agreement.

Describing the cost of centralised procurement, storage and distribution as 'unacceptably high', the prime minister said this has resulted in both higher subsidies and issue prices creating serious administrative and fiscal consequences both for the Centre and the states.

"Our hands are in no way tied to prevent us from taking further protective and promotion measures for farmers", he said adding the anti-dumping and other new measures announced in the EXIM policy was intended to fully protect the interest of farmers.

He said contrary to the impression being spread by some people, the record of recent years clearly show that the government has taken adequate measures to protect the interest of the farmers.

"We must find an effective solution to the present anomaly between surplus foodgrains and hungry stomachs", the prime minister said adding it is necessary to improve implementation of Food for Work programme to create durable rural assets.

In the direction of decentralising the procurement system, he said the government proposed to restructure the Food Corporation of India.

Under this year's Budget the government has unveiled a new system of decentralised, state-level procurement and distribution system under which financial assistance will be provided to the state governments instead of providing subsidised foodgrains.

This is to enable them to procure and distribute foodgrain to the people living below the poverty line at subsidised rates.

Since many State governments are still unclear about the advantages of this new initiative, the Centre would apprise them of its benefits, the prime minister said.

Seeking to allay apprehensions of an adverse impact of removal of Quantitative Restrictions on the farm sector, Vajpayee said recent data shows this has not led to any surge in imports.

"Non-Oil imports have actually decreased by 14.7 per cent in 2000-01", he said.

The prime minister said since the present rates of import duty are less than the maximum possible rates or "what are called the bound rates, we have ample scope to increase duty still further if necessary".

He said India was able to raise the maximum import duty for 15 sensitive items whose maximum import duty had been historically set at zero or a low level.

He also said India had not undertaken any commitment to providing minimum market access to other countries.

"Our minimum support price scheme and the public distribution system can continue without any hindrance", he said, adding India does not have to reduce its domestic support or subsidy to agriculture.

While the present level of support is below the permissible level of ten per cent of the value of agriculture production, he said India could also continue to subsidise research, pest control, marketing and provide various infrastructural support and extension services.

India has adequate provisions under the Agreement on Agriculture to take effective steps against sudden surge in imports, Vajpayee said adding the ongoing negotiation on agriculture would help the country to air its views.

"During these negotiations (which began on January one, 2000) we will argue strongly for a complete level playing field in the global trade so that domestic producers do not suffer from any disability", he said.

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