VH group holds farmers’ meeting

the venkateshwara hatcheries group (vh) of companies organised a farmers' meeting at the ganesh kala-kreeda manch on wednesday (october 3) at 10.00 a.m. the function was presided over by the nationalist congress party president, sharad pawar, who was the chief guest. addressing the 4,000 farmers, who had gathered here from maharashtra, andhra pradesh, karnataka, gujarat and madhya pradesh, was b venkatesh rao, joint managing director of the vh, who focused on the technical issues. he said that they at the vh group would start 48 laboratories in the next two years, which would offer free services. besides, with the already existing 274 doctors, another 100 doctors would be added area-wise, giving 24-hour service. said he, according to the vision of padmashree b v rao, we want to help the farmers, without whom nothing will be possible. this was followed by an address by vh chairperson anuradha desai, who emphasised the role of the wto, which, she said, had made them more competitive. an important step which they are undertaking was to open more and more direct outlets with 20 shops being set up in pune. she further said, by urging farmers to open direct outlets, which will have a rate declaration, there will be a uniformity in the price. considering the current dull market, she said that she did anticipate an increase in average price soon. said she, even if the current market is not good, in the long run, you are providing nutrition at a comparatively cheap price and, ultimately, our aim should be to become self-sufficient and number one in this field. desai also commented on the occurrence of a turkey being passed off as chicken for the past 15 days under doubtful circumstances and urged for right action to be taken. concluding her talk desai said, with the wto being a big and ongoing challenge, i express thanks to the government for their role, besides the active role played by sharad pawar himself, to protect the indian farmer. one such step being the establishment of the centre for international trade for agricultural and allied activity (citaa) in delhi. the members of the organisation include those engaged in poultry, sugar, milk, beverage, spices etc. said pawar, there is an expert in each field, who is expected to keep up to date with the global status. pawar also pointed out that india could not be distanced from the wto, but had to see the advantages and gains from them, like some of the subsidies. he said, all in all, we should look after the product, yield, price and costing and, so far as imports are concerned, whatever is good and benefits us should be accepted.