"No Thanks" to British Grant for Indian Farming

[Guest guest]

>"Ashwini Kumar"

>"No Thanks" to British Grant for Indian Farming >Sun, 07 Apr

2002 10:30:07 -0400 > > > >"No Thanks" to British Grant for Indian Farming

>Source: >http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/world/story/0,1870,112133,00.html?

>LONDON, ENGLAND, April 4, 2002: A British government grant of US$90 >million

>to fund farming development in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh >(AP) will

>throw millions of farmers out of work, MPs in London have been told. >The

>massive grant is being given to the state government to consolidate >small

>farms into large ones, buy huge machines to sow and harvest crops, >introduce

>new pesticides to promote the growth of produce and to start the >growing of

>genetically-modified (GM) crops. But the funding for the project, >known as

>Vision 2020, from Britain's Department for International Development >(DFID),

>has provoked fury from farmers and international charities. A >delegation of

>farmers and agricultural scientists from the Indian state has flown >to

>London and has already met scores of MPs, demanding that the grant >be

>cancelled. The powerful environmental and human rights organizations

>Greenpeace, Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth and the Small Farms >Alliance

>are supporting the farmers. The Institute of Development Studies and >the

>International Institute for Environment are also supporting the >campaign by

>the farmers' delegation against British interference in traditional >and

>family farming in the huge, but poor Indian state. Delegation leader >P.V.

>Satheesh said: "Vision 2020 is an aid package for big farmers and

>corporations who supply machines, pesticides and who want to promote >untested

GM crops. The British grant will result in huge >corporation-owned >farms,

instead of hundreds of small ones which give a livelihood and >jobs to

>millions of peasant farmers and their families. These farmers will >be thrown

>off their land and in AP, there is no other work for them." > Send and receive

Hotmail on your mobile device: Click Here