Ensure WTO does not affect Indian farmers: Shettar

Ensure WTO does not affect Indian farmers: Shettar
The Hindu.com

Staff Correspondent

Need to create awareness about WTO among farmers stressed
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# Developed countries giving huge amount of subsidies to their agricultural sector
# Share of developing countries in world agricultural trade is very small
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HUBLI: Revenue Minister Jagadish Shettar has said that India needs to ensure that developments in World Trade Organisation do not affect Indian agriculture.

Inaugurating the Seminar on "World Trade Organisation and its implications" here on Thursday, he said: "It is a matter of concern that developed countries are giving huge amount of subsidies to their agriculture sector, which could be detrimental to our economic growth as 70 per cent of our population is dependent on agriculture."

The seminar was organised the Export Promotion Council of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in cooperation with the British High Commission, New Delhi, under the U.K. Foreign Commonwealth Office project.

Mr. Shettar said after the collapse of talks at Geneva recently, there was need to organise such workshops in small cities so that the stakeholders were aware of the implications of the WTO arguments on their business and activities.

"It is strange that India being founder member of the WTO is still in a disadvantageous position. Developing countries represent 90 per cent of the farmers in the world, but still their share in world agricultural trade is very small, whereas in European Union and the United States, only two per cent of the population is dependent on agriculture. But still they account for 50 per cent of the world trade in agriculture," Mr. Shettar said.

Chetan Bijesur, Senior Assistant Director of WTO, FICCI, stressed the need for creating awareness about WTO among farmers, businessmen and the people. He felt that the Indian industrial sector should transform itself qualitatively if it had to compete in the global market.

Shankaranna Munavalli, President, KCCI, welcomed the gathering and Mahendra Ladhad, honorary secretary proposed a vote of thanks. Office bearers of KCCI V.C. Hiremath, L.V. Magajikondi, Shivashankar Moogabast and others were present.

Later in the technical sessions, A. Jayagovind, Vice-Chancellor, National Law School of India University, Bangalore, and Prabhash Ranjan of CENTAD, New Delhi, delivered lectures on various issued related to WTO and interacted with the participants.