Former Prime Minister of India - Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee

PRIME MINISTER'S CONCLUDING REMARKS AT THE CHIEF MINISTERS' CONFERENCE ON WTO/AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE AND FOOD MANAGEMENT ,

Following are the concluding remarks of the Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, at the Chief Ministers’ Conference on WTO/Agreement on Agriculture and Food Management, here today:

“I sincerely thank all the Honourable Chief Ministers for a very fruitful conference.

It is one of the most constructive and satisfying conferences of Chief Minister in the past three years.

The nature and depth of participation has shown that, cutting across party lines, all of us can adopt a common approach to the problems of agriculture.

This conference has laid a strong basis for a notional consensus on an effective action plan for the future.

Agriculture is a state subject. However, the challenges as well as the opportunities before Indian agriculture have made it imperative for the closest possible cooperation between the Centre and the States on a continuing basis.

One of the important issues on which we heard divergent views in today’s conference is the proposed decentralized system of procurement of foodgrains.

I agree with some of the concerns expressed by the Honourable Chief Ministers. At the same time, you will appreciate the glaring problems in the present centralized system of procurement, under the aegis of the FCI.

I would like this issue also to be examined by the Committee which is going to be set up.

Shri Chandrababu Naidu, in his impressive presentation, has rightly pointed out that we cannot find an effective long-term solution to the many problems in agriculture by avoiding the hard decisions.

It is obvious that all these problems are inter-related. If we want to solve one problem – for example, the problem of increasing productivity – then we have to solve several other issues, such as power, irrigation, cheaper credit, rural infrastructure, etc.

None of these problems is easy to resolve. The Centre and the States have to work closely together at every step of the way.

But I am happy that we are steadily strengthening such a partnership between the Centre and the States. We had a useful conference on the problems in the power sector a couple of months ago.

I must record my sincere appreciation for the constructive and consensus approach that all of you adopted at that conference. The same was once again on display today.

As regards the WTO, I agree that we should no longer discuss the past. Let us look to the future with confidence and a common resolve.

One of the most important requirements is to enrich expert inputs into our deliberations and decision-making, both at the Centre and in States. This is also necessary for strengthening our market intelligence system.

Another pressing need is to effectively communicate all the salient aspects of the WTO and Indian agriculture to our kisans and to the people at large. In the absence of proper communication, many misgivings arise, which do no good to our ability to overcome the challenges.

As a first step, I would like the Commerce and Agriculture Ministreis to organize awareness-building meetings in all the State capitals, in collaboration with the State Governments.

Similarly, the Centre should benefit from the expertise developed by the States.

The Conference has once again highlighted the need for the States to share awareness about each other’s success stories. For example, I was very happy to learn from Shri Digvijay Singh how Madhya Pradesh has implemented the Grain Bank Scheme as well as the programme to recharge wells.

By publicizing such innovative initiatives, all of us can benefit from the Ideas that Work.

Some Chief Ministers have referred to genetically modified food. The Department of Biotechnology would be happy to assist the State Governments in creating awareness about both the problems and the opportunities in this new area of technology.

The emergence of trade blocs is an important development in today’s world. Some Chief Ministers rightly pointed out the need for India to secure the benefits of regional cooperation.

However, we should recognize that regional cooperation would entail some adjustment to be made by us in some areas, so that we can reap the benefits in some other areas.

As you know, this is an issue that came up during my recent visit to Malaysia. India has been trying to strengthen its relations with ASEAN, in the same way as we have done with the European Union.

I would like all of us, therefore, to take a holistic view of what is in the best interests of the nation.

Before I conclude, I must express my agreement with the suggestions made by several Chief Ministers that we need to evolve a consensus among political parties on the many issues that we discussed today. This would, in turn, help consensus action by the Central and the State Governments.

As suggested by many Honorable Chief Ministers, it has been decided to form a Committee on food management and agricultural exports. Terms of the reference are:

1. Enhancing the efficiency of procurement and reducing the cost of distribution of foodgrains under PDS through decentralisation and the active involvement of the States;

2. Strategy for diversification in agriculture;

3. Risk Management in agriculture through an effective Crop Insurance Scheme;

4. Review of the list of essential commodities and Control Orders to ensure free movement of agricultural products;

5. Implementation of Food for Work Programme and Grain Bank Scheme;

6. WTO agreement on agreement -- promotion of exports of agricultural products;

From the Centre, the Ministers who will be joining this Committee, or the members of this Committee are Agricultural Minister, Commerce and Industry Minister, Finance Minister, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister, Rural Development Minister, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission. The names of the Chief Ministers are like this: Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Kerala and Maharashtra. The Committee will be supported by a group of Secretaries comprising Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Expenditure, Food, Consumer Affairs and the Principal Advisor (Agriculture), Planning Commission as also the Chief Secretaries of the respective States.

That is all.

Thank you very much.”