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Kathmandu Wednesday January 10, 2001 Paush 26,, 2057.
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RPP to hold farmers’ rally nationwide
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Jan 9 - Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) on Monday announced a
nationwide farmers rally beginning from Kapilbastu on January 10, as a part of its protest
program to pressurize the government to immediately resolve the farmers’ problems.
Speaking at a press conference, Jog Mehar Shrestha, Coordinator of
Farmers’ Awareness Building Campaign Committee, said that they are organizing the
farmers rally across the country to draw the attention of the government to the
deteriorating condition of the farmers.
"The price of agricultural products has reached a five-year low and the
price of chemical fertilizers and other agricultural tools is sky-rocketing, but the
government has paid no heed to this. We are holding the nationwide rally to press home the
problems the farmers are facing to the government", he said.
We demand that the government immediately fix the price of agricultural
products in the ratio of price hike and to purchase agricultural products, to adopt a
policy of protecting domestic products and to expand irrigation facilities, he said.
Similarly, we strongly recommend that the government resumes subsidies in
seeds and chemical fertilizers, reduces interest rates on agricultural loans, provides
subsidies in petroleum products used for agricultural purposes, waives the interest of
loans taken by poor farmers, develops a strict monitoring mechanism and immediately ends
milk holiday.
The protest program will last until the third week of February and memoranda
to the prime minister will be given through the Chief District Officer (CDO) of each
respective districts where the rally is held, he added.
The Nepali Congress Party, which claims to be the synonym of democracy, has
been in power most of the time after the restoration of democracy, but the condition of
the farmers has deteriorated ever since the party came to power, Shrestha said.
He also criticized the government for cutting subsidies in seeds and chemical
fertilizers and the Small Farmers Development Projects and the Cooperatives for being
city-oriented. Instead of facilitating the poor farmers, they are exploiting them,
charging high interest rates and capitalizing interest, he accused.
Price of petroleum on the international market has
plunged but the government has not yet reduced the price. This has had a negative impact
on the poor farmers who depend on generators for irrigation and tractors for cultivating
land.
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