Demands

1. Withdraw the anti farmer Central Notification banning cattle trade inside the cattle market.

2. The Government must give market price to the farmers and purchase unproductive cow, she buffalo and male cattle.

3. The Government must procure stray cattle and keep them on cow shelter without burdening the public.

THE All India Kisan Sabha, in a statement issued on June 3, has called upon the peasantry all over the country to observe June 9 as protest day against the anti-farmer decision of the NDA government to ban the cattle trade in the cattle market. Copies of the central notification will be burnt in each village across the country to express the fury against the attack on the age-old right of farmers to trade their cattle wealth.

The AIKS has categorically rejected the notification as a well calculated move to impose contract farming on small and poor cattle breeders by monopoly corporate houses owning big agro industries in meat and dairy sector. The right of petty producers on their cattle wealth has been snatched by the prime minister through this notification. The market is the place of bargaining and ban on trade of animals inside the market for the purpose of slaughter aims to crush the bargaining power of the farmers. If the trade of cattle needs to be done outside the market then the cattle will become worthless and farmers will be forced to give up their valuable cattle wealth for cheap price to agents of monopoly meat processing companies.

The small and poor peasantry that constitute 48.5 per cent of the land owners who have below one hectare of land holding own 50 per cent of the animal wealth in the country. The cow gives milk from 3-10 years of age and after that, it will live up to 20-25 years. If a cow becomes unproductive, then farmer will sell it. If the farmer cannot sell the cow then the expense of keeping the productive as well as the unproductive cows will make the dairy farm unviable and farmers will be forced to give up the dairy farm. Hence, let the BJP ruled state governments and the central government give market price to the farmer and purchase the cow and keep in cow shelter. The farmers also demand the governments to save the standing crops from stray cattle by incorporating provision in the cow protection Act that the government must procure all the stray cattle and keep in cow shelter without burdening the public with extra cow tax.

The AIKS warns that if the anti-farmer notification is not withdrawn immediately the peasant and agriculture worker organisations across the country will jointly come on the streets along with the cattle in struggle till the demands are met.