ISLAMABAD, Oct 16: The proposed corporate farming in the country will deprive the small farmers from their right to live in the presence of multinational companies, said the speakers during a talk.

The talk, held in connection with the World Food Day, was organized by the Sustainable Agriculture Action Group (Saag) here on Wednesday.

A farmer from Huripur, Jan Nisar Khalil, said in the past a family, comprising 25 individuals, could easily sustain on the indigenous agriculture, which had become difficult now.

He said the agriculture ministry, ignoring the needs of small farmers, was signing various agreements, such as Agriculture on Agreement, Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights and Plant Breeder Right, with the WTO.

With the multinationals in the run, it would be hardly possible for the farmers to compete with them both in production and marketing, he added.

Dr Shahid Zia of Sungi was of the view that the idea of corporate farming would hardly ameliorate the bread earners, who, according to latest statistics, were being pushed to below the poverty line.

He said with the multinationals in the business, the local farmers would be totally redundant. He claimed that they would shift from traditional crops to the profit earning ones, like tobacco, which would create food shortage in the country.

Mr Ashraf said the corporate farming could never improve the economic conditions, as the MNCs would shift the local capital abroad.

Under the corporate farming, which had already been approved by the federal cabinet, the state-owned land would be leased out to the foreign firms, he said adding,”I am foreseeing the Sudan-like situation.”

He said the theme of World Food Day 2002 was “Water, a source of food security” which underlined the need for effective use of this precious source.

At present, 70 per cent of the world’s freshwater is being used for the agriculture and by the year 2030, the world will require 60 per cent more food, 80 per cent of which will be produced through the irrigated agriculture, he said.

“Therefore, the prudent management of water is important so as to have a healthful future for the next generations as far as the availability of staple food is concerned”, he maintained.