AIKS national conference to be held in Nalgonda from November 15 to 18

The 36th national conference of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) will be held in Nalgonda, Telangana, from November 15 to 18, Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham State secretary K. Prabhakar Reddy said.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, he said the conference would deliberate on the major challenges facing the agricultural sector and farmers across the country, including farmers’ suicides, remunerative prices for crops and the impact of international trade agreements on Indian agriculture.

The implications of agreements entered into by the Union government with the United States and European countries, as well as the proposed Electricity Amendment Act and Seed Amendment Act, would also be discussed, he said.

A massive public meeting, expected to draw one lakh farmers, would be held on November 15 as part of the conference. Former MP Brinda Karat would be the main speaker. AIKS president Ashok Dhawale, general secretary Viju Krishnan and former general secretary Anan Mulla would also participate.

Mr. Prabhakar Reddy appealed to farmers in Andhra Pradesh to attend the conference and make it a success.

Andhra Pradesh Tenant Farmers’ Association State general secretary M. Haribabu said the two organisations would campaign in villages to highlight the significance of the conference. Farmers and tenant cultivators would be mobilised to hoist flags on November 14 and 15.

Referring to the crop damage caused by successive cyclones in the State, he said the organisations would tour villages under the programme ‘Let us hear and understand the problems of distressed farmers and tenant cultivators’.

He alleged that international agreements entered into by the BJP-led Union government were exposing Indian farmers to competition from foreign corporate interests. The conference would seek to bring major farmers’ organisations onto a common platform and lay the foundation for a united movement against policies detrimental to farmers and tenant cultivators, he said.

The leaders also unveiled the wall poster of the national conference. State Rythu Sangham president V. Krishnaiah, Tenant Farmers’ Association president B. Balaram and senior farmer leader Y. Keshava Rao were among those present.