March 22, 2017
Aparupa Poddar speaks on the problems faced by jute farmers
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Thank you Madam for allowing me to speak during Zero Hour. Jute is one of the main commercial crops of our country; jute fibre is an industrial product and used to prepare biodegradable bags, eco-friendly cheap bags.
Jute growers in the country are facing a lot of problems and they are not getting proper price for their products. Jute cultivation is turning out to be a non profitable venture for the farmers due to increase in price of jute seeds, fertilizer, pesticides and other inputs.
Due to high investment involved in the cultivation, jute farmers have to go for loans. Being a cash-crop, insurance facilities are not also available for the jute farmers. Jute cultivation is a practice in my constituency Arambagh; it is a flood prone area and during floods, the jute farmers face a great loss in productivity.
Therefore it is the responsibility of the Central Government to
- fix a remunerative price for jute,
- provide for free and compulsory insurance for the jute crops,
- organise workshop programmes to train jute farmers with new technology, and,
- constitute a jute growers welfare fund to meet the various needs of the jute farmers.
Thank you, Madam.
