Implications of the National Policy for Farmers, 2007
On 9th - 10th (Saturday-Sunday), February 2008,
Sachivalaya Gymkhana, Opposite Mantralaya, Mumbai

24th January 2008

Dear

The National Policy for Farmers, 2007, was announced in November last year with the stated aim of substantially improving the livelihood of peasants and agricultural labour in India. The policy is largely drawn from the final report of the National Commission on Farmers chaired by Prof. MS Swaminathan. In October 2006, the Commission had submitted a revised draft of the national policy in order to 'serve farmers and save farming'. The new policy is apparently aimed at improving farmers' productivity and profitability and providing an appropriate price policy and risk management measures. It also aims at improving the economic viability of farming by "substantially improving the net income of farmers" and seeing that the govt "ensure that agricultural progress is measured by the advance made in improving that income".

By John Hilary
The Guardian | January 21, 2008

Gordon Brown's focus on British interests threatens to condemn millions of poor Indians to despair

Yesterday saw the official start of Gordon Brown's visit to India, and the fourth top-level summit between our two countries. This is Brown's first visit as prime minister, and comes hot on the heels of his stay in China last week. The business delegation which has accompanied him hopes to sign deals worth billions of pounds during the stay, and Brown himself has highlighted the importance to the British economy of cementing links with the two Asian superpowers.

 

Analysis by Aileen Kwa

GENEVA, Jan 24 (IPS) - Process issues have once again risen to the fore in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as members brace themselves for the release of a new set of negotiating texts for agricultural and industrial tariff liberalisation at the end of this month or early February.

Delegates are concerned that WTO Director General Pascal Lamy might wrest the negotiation process out of the hands of the chairpersons of the negotiating groups when the texts become available, take control of the process and involve only a small group of delegations in the negotiations.

"There Must Be a U-turn to Create Healthy Domestic Markets"

Interview with Dr. Walden Bello, executive director of Focus on the Global South

HALIFAX, Canada, Jan 15 (IPS) - In 1992, Dr. Walden Bello issued a macro-economic warning about the so-called Asian miracle in his book "Dragons in Distress". Six years later, the Asian financial crisis Bello predicted swept the region, throwing millions into poverty.

Born in the Philippines in 1945, Dr. Bello is the author of more than 10 books, including "People and Power in the Pacific" (1992), "Dark Victory: The United States and Global Poverty" (1999), "Global Finance: Thinking on regulating speculative capital markets" (2000) and "The Future in the Balance: Essays on globalisation and resistance" (2001).