Indian farmers want place at CoP7

The government of India has been urged not to discriminate against tobacco growers when looking to improve the lot of the country’s farmers, according to a story in the Deccan Chronicle.

‘It is encouraging that the prime minister has set a target for Indian farmers to double their income by 2022…,’ said D S Rawat, the secretary general of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (Assocham), in a statement.

‘However, the government must carry all farmers together and not discriminate against tobacco farmers, who have made an immense contribution to India’s cash crop farm economy.’

Assocham and the Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA) made a presentation to members of parliament at an interactive session to discuss the opportunities and challenges raised by the prime minister’s target of doubling farmer income by 2022.

FAIFA wants farmers to be part of the official Indian delegation to the seventh Conference of the Parties (CoP7) to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which is to be held in Delhi on November 7-12.

“We appeal to the government of India that Indian farmers must be part of the official delegation of CoP7, else it would put [the] livelihood of millions at risk without any public health benefit,” FAIFA president B V Javare Gowda was quoted as saying.

FAIFA vice-president Gadde Seshagiri Rao said: “It is disheartening that the Indian tobacco farmer today is subjected to the worst-ever discrimination by way of harsh policies and attacks on their livelihoods without providing either a scientific justification or an alternative to safeguard their interest”.