Speakers at Peasant Convention urged that the government should introduce crop insurance, eliminate corporate farming and land reforms policy where 10 acres should be provided to landless peasants. They said this while addressing the National Peasants Convention on Food and Seed held at local hotel on Friday which was organized by Sindh Agriculture, Forestry Workers Co-ordinating Organisation (SAFWCO) and Society for Environmental Actions, Reconstruction and Humanitarian Response (SEARCH).
National Peasants Convention was attended by Assembly member, peasants, member of civil society and other stakeholders who came from every nook of the country.
Professor of Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jam, Ismail Kumbhar said that the issues of peasants would not resolved, until the policy of land reforms would not adopted where lands should be provided to landless peasants in the province.
MQM MPA Rashid Khilji said that they were interested in addressing the issues of peasants where they were facing the agriculture-related issues in the province. Such issue was raised at different forums and even taken up with Sindh government, he said suggesting all stakeholders have to gather at one platform for resolving the issues peasants and food security.
NGOs are playing their role in addressing such issues but more efforts are needed to address prevailing issues, she said while assuring MQM would do its part job as it has already done for urban population in the province.
Representative of South Asia Partnership (SAP), Shahnaz Sheedi said that 70 per cent population are peasants while limited number of families were holding majority of lands in the province. Income of riches is being doubled every year and at same time, the purchasing power of peasant is declining with same passage of time and even he cannot buy food for their children, she said while referring the case of Thar-drought.
Ameer Jamiat-e-Islami (JI) Hyderabad, Abdul Waheed Qureshi said that the revolution would not come, unless the efforts were not taken to bring a change within the system.
Social Activist, Taj Mari said that there was a need of amendments in Tenancy Act to protect the rights of peasants in the province.
Leader of Peasants' organisation, Netraj Kolhi said that their representatives were not taking sufficient efforts to resolve the issues of peasants. "We have to form alliance of peasants for fighting for their rights", he said adding this is only way to achieve their rights in the province.
Azhar from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said that agriculture policy was being adopted where all stakeholders were taken in confidence to make it more workable for peasants and growers.
Women field assistant should be appointed to mobilize the women peasants and such proposal was approved by the government, he added.
Renowned Scholar, Jami Chandio said that the peasant alliance should be formed which will launch country-wide movement to protect the rights of peasants.
Such struggle of alliance would bring a change, he assured.
Later, the agriculture-related resolutions ensuring protection of peasants were adopted by peasants' assembly. Other speakers also spoke on the occasion that came from every corner of country.
Comments
Comments are closed.