Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), farmer’s body of the Rashtriya swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), in a letter to Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) asked the organisation to desist from getting into ‘dubious’ agreements and MoUs in the name of farmers’ interest.ICAR is the apex public agricultural body under the government of India which has a network of 731 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs).BKS claimed that despite being ‘capable enough’, the ICAR has been continuously entering into agreements with private companies like Amazon, Dhanuka, Bayer, Coromandel etc. for agricultural research, agricultural advice to farmers, guidance of technical information and trade of fresh agricultural products.ICAR has at least signed six MoUs with private companies since June 2023.“We don’t know why ICAR has started entering into agreements with many domestic and foreign companies, embarrassing its own talent. Does ICAR want that these companies should submit their research papers and ICAR scientists should approve them keeping aside their talent, ability and skills?,” BKS said in its letter to ICAR chief Himanshu Pathak, written last month.The RSS’s farmers body claimed that institutions which are responsible for creating economic and environmental crisis in India’s agriculture sector are being partnered by ICAR for the so called solution while these institutions are only interested in their profits and not in sustainability.“Everyone knows that all these companies are experts in exploitative predatory business,” the BKS letter to ICAR reads.The BKS also demanded that all such agreements should be terminated and that ICAR should work to re-establish confidence among the farmers and sign an agreement, only after extensive debate and discussion.“Central Government should also make adequate financial provisions to the ICAR and related research centers,” the letter adds.BKS, in its annual meeting that held in Orissa in last week of July has passed the resolution that ICAR should refrain from getting into dubious agreements under the guise of farmers’ interest. Published – September 12, 2024 02:04 pm IST