Lok Satta and FIFA hails NREGS extension to agriculture

The Lok Satta Party and the Federation of Independent Farmers’ Associations (FIFA) today welcomed the Union Rural Development Ministry decision to bring 30 kinds of agricultural operations under the purview of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).

In a media statement, Lok Satta Party Working President D. V. V. S. Varma recalled that it was the Lok Satta Party and FIFA under the leadership of Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan which had first sought NREGS extension to the agriculture sector.

The measure will facilitate extension of a little investment subsidy to the farmer and provide relief to the crisis-ridden agriculture sector, said Mr. Varma.

He suggested that the NREGS allocate funds for 20 work days per acre and not merely 12 days as proposed to cover operations like sowing, weeding, application of fertilizer and pesticides and land leveling. The scheme should benefit farmers as well as tenants.

If farmers are united and have credible leaders, they can forge many victories in their battle for a better deal, Mr. Varma said.