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Indian farmers warn on WTO agriculture subsidy rules

AFP, New Delhi
INDIA'S powerful farmers' unions have told the Congress government not to compromise on food security in exchange for a global trade agreement at Bali.
The demand comes as the World Trade Organization's 159-member economies strive to bridge gaps between rich and poor nations over concessions needed to yield a deal for a ministerial summit on December 3-6 on the Indonesian island of Bali.
"India should not trade-off its food security concerns and the livelihood security of millions of farmers against the trade facilitation agreement," said a letter signed by 15 farm unions and sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The farmers said India should stand firm against LIS and ELI demands for any proposal that leads to a "dismantling of the famine-avoidance strategies. India cannot be forced to go back to the days of ship-to-mouth existence".
The letter was sent to Singh on Thursday and was received by AFP on Friday.
Members of the G-33 of developing countries led by India are demanding changes to the Agreement on Agriculture under the WTO so that they can offer greater subsidies to farmers.
According to the agreement, subsidies cannot total over 10 percent of the production. As food prices and the number of poor in developing countries have risen since the pact was framed two decades ago, these subsidies have gone up substantially.
India's ruling Congress party fears especially that its new multi-billion-dollar landmark scheme to distribute subsidised grains to two-thirds of the country's 1.2-billion population, will push it over the WTO food subsidy cap.
The farmers' demand comes after Indian trade minister Anand Shanna warned earlier in the week that "protecting the interest of the farmers and vulnerable sections of society is a key political imperative for a country' like India".
He told IIS Trade Representative Michael Froman in a letter that a proposal to give developing nations a temporary' reprieve from any penalties under the Agreement on Agriculture "falls well short of our requirements".
Sharma, who will represent India at Bali, said that the "interim plan" would still place "onerous conditions which would restrict its use significantly and circumscribe our domestic policy' space".
India's Congress government, which faces general elections by May 2014, is insistent that nothing interfere with the food subsidy programme which it views as a key vote-getter.
The Bali summit is seen as perhaps the last chance to revive the WTO's so-called "Doha Round" of talks, launched in 2001 in Qatar.
The round's goal is to design a broad global accord on opening markets and removing trade barriers with the aim of harnessing international commerce to develop poorer economies.