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Coconuts and onions dominate LS agenda

Farmers' issues dominated the zero hour in the Lok Sabha today, with members raising matters relating to the havoc caused by the mite disease in Kerala and the falling prices of paddy, onions and sugarcane in different parts of the country.

Almost all the members from Kerala were unanimous that the Centre should send an expert team of scientists and step in with financial help by declaring the situation a national calamity. The entire coconut cultivation in the state, they pointed out, was being ruined by the mite disease and it had affected one million farmers.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan assured the agitated members that he would convey their sentiments to the agriculture minister. The issue was raised by N N Krishnadas and T Govindan (both Communist Party of India-Marxist), V M Sudheeran and A C Jose (both Congress), P C Thomas (Kerala Congress-M), E Ahmed (Muslim League) and other members from the state.

Kishan Singh Sangwan (Haryana Lok Dal) said that because of ruined samples of rice sent abroad, all export orders had been cancelled leading to a steep fall in the prices of paddy, particularly in north India. The government agencies were not buying any paddy and therefore it was selling at below the minimum support price. The Centre should step in to compensate the affected farmers, he demanded.

U V Krishnam Raju (Bharatiya Janata Party) in a separate mention said the farmers in Andhra Pradesh were also being affected adversely by the fall in the prices of paddy, especially since the quality available there had been declared as of low quality. Ram Nagina Mishra (BJP) said the prices of sugarcane had fallen and several sugar mills had closed down in Uttar Pradesh, to the farmers' detriment.

He said all pleas to the government had fallen on deaf ears, and promises by the prime minister and the home minister had not been honoured. Uttamrao Dikhale (Shiv Sena) lamented that the ban on export of onions had resulted in a fall in the prices and farmers were facing hardships. He wanted the ban to be lifted and the minimum support price to be honoured. Girdharilal Bhargava (BJP) referred to the problems faced by farmers because of drought conditions in Rajasthan and wanted central intervention.

UNI

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