Sunday, August 7 2005 16:23 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today (August 7, 2005) expressed concern over decline in rural employment growth rate and agricultural production in the country.

Speaking at the 15th Foundation Day of the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation here, he said the annual growth of rural employment had come down to point 58 per cent between 1993-94 and 1999-2000 while the rural population grew by 1.5 per cent.

The country experienced a fall in the growth of agricultural production in the last decade, he said.

The rural development expenditure, which was 14 per cent of the GDP during the eighth five-year plan, had declined to five per cent, he said.

The withdrawal of subsidies on a number of agricultural inputs, the rise in the cost of seeds, irrigation and power and marked fall in bank lending had put the farmers to the mercy of money lenders, he said.

The vigourous implementation of land reforms alone could better the interests of rural masses and the country's economy, he said, adding, that several states had taken to 'dilute' land reform laws by raising the ceiling on land holding or by handing over the surplus lands to private parties and corporates, including multinational companies.

"This is detrimental to the interests of farmers', he said.

Farmers in some parts of the country had committed suicide because of their appalling conditions, particularly for not getting remunerative price for their crops, he said.