February 09, 2006, The Shillong Times
Shillong
By Our Reporter
Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Mr VK Nautiyal on Wednesday highlighted the need to eradicate certain subsidies by the developed countries in World Trade Organization and also allow the farmers to have an access to the different market so as to developed the country marginal or subsistent farming.
Delivering his inaugural address at the Capacity Building Workshop on Benefit Sharing and Informed Consent held at NEHU Campus, Mr Nautiyal said that the government has always neglected the marginal and subsistence farming as a result this type of farming continued to be in its primitive nature and farmers are totally depended on nature.
“In reality this type of farming cannot be neglected because still a large section of the people are still involved in this kind of farming, adding 70% of the country economy comes from the agricultural sector”, Mr Nautiyal said.
He said that it is also important to protect our wild medicinal plants and especially the traditional bio diversity for the used of our future generation.
Further, he called upon people from all sections of the society and even the government to be provide some kind of assistance to the problems faced by the farmers as this is an important aspect in the coming years”.
Mr AC Mahapatra from the Geography Department, NEHU said that it is important that farmers comes in the light and get themselves involved in the trading sector so as to developed the country subsistence and marginal farming to a certain extent.
Mr Mahapatra said, “The State Government should take the initiative to protect the rights of the farmers, adding that even the NGOs can facilitate to the problems face by the farmers by conducting a research to developed a traditional trading system to market their products”.
Further, Mr Mahapatra said that in the future Constant Capacity Building is very important as it is related with the life and death of the farmers community and also in protection of the economy of the country.It may mentioned that the workshop is organised by Consumer Unity Trust Society (CUTS) in collaboration with the South Asian Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SWATEE), OXFAN Netherlands and the Ford Foundation.
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