Drought Affected Farmers of Odisha demand
definitive Climate Deal at Paris
More than
three hundred farmers in Nuapada and Bargarh districts
organised a “March To the Crop Field” on the
Global Mobilization Day for CoP 21
Sambalpur,
India: 29th November, 2015 -
As the global leaders prepare to strike a new
deal to fight climate change during the Conference of Parties 21
(CoP21) meeting at Paris that starts tomorrow,
villagers from drought affected districts of Nuapada and Bargarh organized a
“March to the Crop Field” asking the world leaders to make a definitive climate
deal that reduces global warming and greenhouse gases and support small and
marginal farmers in adapting to negative impacts of climate change.
This March was organised at two places –
Kharamal village in Bargarh district and Kushmal in Nuappada district – where
about three hundred villagers – including women and children participated to
send out their message to the world governments to save small farmers from
vagaries of climate change by signing a strong climate deal in Paris.
The villagers have demanded that:
1. Small and marginal farmers are
facing the maximum impacts of climate change and as a result are losing on
their livelihoods, resorting to distressed migration and even committing
suicides due to crop failures and other reasons. We want the governments at CoP21
to finalize a deal that arrests global warming and helps small farmers to fight
the impacts through schemes and programmes suitable for the small farmers.
2. We want the governments to
support local agro-ecology based farming projects and programmes.
3. We
want the governments to support decentralized water harvesting and management
systems.
4. We want the governments to end
corporate control of the farm sector including their control of our seeds.
5. We want the governments to
promote organic farming.
6. We want the governments to
ensure local farm based enterprises owned and operated by small and marginal
farmers with all kind of support provided to them.
7. We
want the governments to ensure best remuneration to farmers for their produces
and insure all crops and farmers irrespective of land ownership, with adequate
and dignified insurance amounts.
8. We
want the governments to provide assured irrigation, cold storage facilities and
ensured marketing of farm produces to the farmers.
9. We
want the governments to help the farmers fight with all sorts of disasters such
as droughts, floods and cyclones and support farmers in their coping and
resilience efforts.
10. To strengthen climate change
adaptation programmes like the MGNREGA.
Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO) and Mahanadi
River Waterkeeper facilitated this action along with Vikash, Khariar; CANSA and
Action2015India as part of a global mobilization day being
organized throughout the world by thousands of common people including small
farmers, landless labourers, fisherfolks, forest dwellers, concerned citizens,
social activists, civil society organisations and others who want the global
leaders to take a strong decision to deal with climate change.
For further details, please contact:
Ranjan Panda
Convenor, Water Initiatives Odisha
Mahanadi River Waterkeeper
Convenor,
Combat Climate Change Network, India
Mob: +91-9437050103
Email: ranjanpanda@gmail.com
====================
Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO) is a state level
coalition of civil society organisations, farmers, academia, media and other
concerned, which has been working on water, environment and climate change
issues in the state for more than two and half decades now.
Mahanadi River Waterkeeper, a member of Global Waterkeeper Alliance, works towards conservation of River Mahanadi in India
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