VJAS Demands BT Cotton Sowing Intervention Vidarbha

VJAS DEMANDS BAN ON Bt. COTTON BOLLGARD - II IN VIDARBHA :

After the landmark mass sowing permission, by GEAC in June 2005, for Bt Cotton in Vidarbha, more than 2230 cotton farmers suicides have been reported and govt. of maharashtra has compensated cotton growers Rs. 219 core and Rs. 210 crore in the year 2005-2006 and year 2006-2007 for the failure of Bt.cotton in rain fed area of Vidarbha.
Maharashtra govt. has on record admitted that Bt. Cotton has failed in rain fed areas of Vidarbha, whereas 95% area of vidarbha is rain fed.
Now Bt.cotton seeds manufacturing, American company, has introduced Bollgard - II.
For promoting the Bt cotton seeds in Vidarbha, the company, with an elaborate network of Indian seed distributors and dealers, has started its high profile advertising campaign, backed by credit incentives - that it is highly profitable and gives minimum 11 quintal productive yield, where as according to govt. of maharashtra official report the cotton average yield has been dropped down from 120 kg per acre to hardly 50 kg per acre after introduction of Bt.cotton in vidarbha.
The advertising slogan catch line is "your farming, your profits"....
The claims made by the Monsanto company were patently fraudulent, as cotton growers pesticide uses was not dropped down where cotton output was drastically effected resulting mass suicides of cotton farmers in Vidarbha, Kishor tiwari added.
The Indian government is more busy at this time setting its cricket team into good shape for the next World Cup rather than rectifying the wrong decisions of GEAC regarding poor judgement in cropping and sowing patterns in Indian agriculture as a whole.
What a mockery of an Agriculture Ministry.

Total Failure of Rural health care support system, employment and social cum civil administration are the main reasons of farmer's suicides in west vidarbha.
Dr. Sudhir Goyal, IAS, who is Relief Commissionor, and implementing prime minister package himself has asked Indian govt. that low cost sustainable farming is only solution of stop these suicides.
The officials are more busy trying to show that there is no agrarian distress on Indian farms.
Ban on Bt. Cotton and chemical farming is need of hour, and cotton farmers should cultivate there than cotton should the programme of the state the official further demands. Restoration secondary systems like rural employment, health is also needed to stop these on going suicides but nobody is acting in this direction more over misleading press releases are adding fuel to extremely critical situation in vidarbha, as per Kishor Tiwari of VJAS.

11/04/2007

Western Vidarbha : Vidarbha Jan andolan samiti - Nagpur, Maharashtra

NAGPUR - 11TH APRIL2007

IN LAST TWO DAYS 8 MORE VIDARBHA FARM SUICIDES REPORTED IN VIDARBHA DUE TO DISTRESS OF AGRARIAN CRISIS MOST OF THE FARMERS ARE IN DEBT TRAP AND SMALL RAIN FED FARMERS, THEY ARE :

1. DHANRAJ HOLKAR, PATAPANGARA, YAVATMAL
2. MAHADEV DANAV, PAVHNA, CHNADRAPUR
3. BALIRAM INGALE, AMONA, BULDHANA
4. RAMESH HARANE, GAVANDGOAN, AMRAVATI
5. RAMABAI PHATE, DIVANKHED, AMARAVATI
6. GOVINDA JUNGHARE, METIKHEDA, YAVATMAL
7. JAGDIAH TIKALE, TALEGOAN, AMARAVATI
8. GULAB NEWARE, BELORA, YAVATMAL

YAVATMAL AND AMRAVATI DISTRCIT REPORTED THREE SUICIDES EACH , CHANDRAPUR AND BULDHANA REPORTED ONE EACH AS CONFIRMED IN LOCAL NEWS PAPERS TODAY .

VJAS LEADER KISHOR TIWARI TODAY VISTED METIKHEDA AND PATAPANGARA IN YAVATMAL DISTRICT AND URGED GOVT. OF INDIA TO ARRANGE URGENT RELIEF AID TO THESE FARMERS WHO ARE DEEP DISTRESS AND FACING STARVATION.VJAS REQUESTED TO INDIAN GOVT. TO START DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD GRAIN UNDER PDS ANTYODAYA AND ANNAPURNA SCHEMES.
TIME HAS COME TO SAVE THESE DYING FARMING COMMUNITY OF VIDARBHA AS MORE THAN 5000 FARM SUICIDES HAVE BEEN REPORTED SINCE 2004 AND DAILY 3 TO 4 FARMERS KILLING THEMSLEVES AND GOVT. OF MAHARASHTRA AND INDIAN GOVT. HAS BEEN WATCHING AS THIRD PARTY SPECTETOR ,KISHOR TIWARI ADDED.