Addressing a press conference in Kolar on wednesday, they said that the country’s farmers are deep in debt due to lack of rains, and low prices for agricultural products. They are now committing suicide because they are unable to repay their loans. A massive farmers’ rally will be held on November 6 to make known their problems and ensure that the government agrees to the farmers’ demands.

The Central government should implement the Dr Swaminathan report. The State government;s policies are not farmer-friendly, so new agricultural policies should be introduced, he demanded.

The Central government should immediately frame rules to bring the Forest Act (2006) into effect. The lands cultivated by small and medium farmers should be regularised and fertile lands should not be given away to developmental projects. Farmers who stand to lose their land should be given appropriate compensation - these are some of the demands made by the farmers.

The Central and State governments should waive off all farmers’ loans as a one-time action, and ensure that farmers can get loans at 4 per cent interest. Special schemes should be introduced to give loans to small farmers.

All poor farmers should be given BPL cards, and a price of at least Rs 1200 for a ton of sugarcane. They government should give sugarcane growers a subsidy to help them bear the losses incurred while making jaggery, they urged.

Some of their other demands include: the amendments to the APMC Act; a farmers’ market should be set up to provide a support price for agricultural produce; FDI should not be allowed in petty trading; the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme should be extended to all villages, and a minimum wage of Rs 100 should be fixed for coolie workers.

They have also demanded that the excess rainwater from the Western Ghats should be used to provide drinking water for Tumkur, Bangalore rural, Kolar and other districts, and a comprehensive plan for the same should be formulated.

The gram panchayat should be strengthened again, and decentralisation should take place. Rs one lakh should be paid as compensation to the families of the farmers who have committed suicide, and their loans waived off. The New Agricultural Policy (2006) introduced by the previous government should be scrappedthey urged.
These demands will be put forward to the government during the rally.