Hyderabad, Oct 30: Farmers from all over the country will converge at the Mumbai Port on February 19 next, and `physically obstruct import of goods and dump them into the sea' as part of a protest to oppose the opening of the food and agriculture sector to unlimited imports, noted activist MD Nanjundaswamy said. Farmers spread from Kashmir to Kanyakumari would also take out, `ryot yatra' (farmers rally) and lay siege of all other ports in the country, Mr Nanjundaswamy, newly elected National coordinator of National Coordination Committee of Farmers (NCCF), told reporters here.NCCF, an umbrella body of all farmers organisations in the country, was constituted after a conference of the farmers organisations yesterday. The body has chalked out a nation-wide Direct Action Programme against opening up of the food and agriculture sector.
Itaka-based farmer Mr Nanjundaswamy, along with three others, including Mahidersingh Tikait of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Ajmersingh Lakhowal of Punjab and Yudhirsingh of Delhi were elected as the National coordinators of the Committee.
They said, the farm sector was facing unprecedented crisis in the wake of the new agricultural policy and India adhering to WTO agreements on agri sector.
They alleged that the opening of the food and farm sector to unrestricted imports has hampered domestic agricultural production. The introduction of biotechnology and genetically modified organisms has also posed a major threat to the farm sector, the farmer leaders added.
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