India is among the first countries in the world to have passed Farmers’ Rights and plant variety protection legislation. But can India’s burgeoning economy lead to prosperity for all of its citizens, urban and rural alike? Thus far, India’s economic growth has been concentrated almost exclusively in urban centers, while rural areas remain largely mired in appalling poverty. Since 70 percent of India’s population lives in rural communities, the vast majority of Indians find themselves cut off from their nation’s economic boom. Rural Indians generally depend upon agriculture for a livelihood and are trapped by a political system that privileges sharp-toothed middlemen over poor farmers. A law requiring farmers to sell produce through state-run markets encourages bureaucracy, waste and high consumer prices. Well-placed foreign investment working closely with India’s entrepreneurs, however, could give farmers direct access to urban markets – and thus allow rural Indians to share in their country’s economic growth.

India’s farmers are committing suicide by the tens of thousands, and globalization is partly responsible. In a well-written story on the front page of the September 19 New York Times, Somini Sengupta highlights the despair that has led more than 17,000 Indian farmers to commit suicide in 2003 alone, the last year for which numbers are available. An Inter Press Service story from July quotes the Indian agriculture minister as admitting that as many as 100,000 farmers committed suicide between 1993 and 2003 due to financial distress.

As promised in the last year’s conference on Agriculture and Rural development, Open Forum, as to bring the attention of Policy makers on the issue of Farmers of India and their challenges organized a National Conference in association with United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) with active involvement of 5 former Chief Ministers, more than 60+ Member of Parliaments from both Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha; Beaurocrats, Media Persons, and People from Civil Societies. Mr. Amar Singh, Governing Board Member of Open Forum and Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, himself was the convener of this National Conference.

National Conference on Farmers in India: Issues & Challenges was organized on Tuesday, December 18’ 2007 at Speaker Hall, Constitution Club, Rafi Marg, New Delhi. The panel of speakers included Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman, MSSRF and Member of Prliament; Prof. Anand Kumar, Professor at Jawharlal Nehru University; Mr. Y.C. Nanda, Mr. Sunil Khairnar, CEO of Agromart, Mr. Vijay Sardhana, Dr. Khushal Singh Purohit, Chief Editor of Paryawaran Digest; Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, Former Chief Minister, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh; Mr. Om Prakash Chautala, Former Chief Minister, Govt. of Haryana; Mr. Babulal Marandi, Former Chief Minister, Govt. of Jharkhand; Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav, Former Chief Minister, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh and Chairperson of UNPA, and Mr. Amar Singh, Member of Parliament.