Big brands will gobble us up, say TN traders

COIMBATORE: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s decision to oppose FDI in retail sector and her justification thereof appears to be in sync with the ground reality.Farmers and small retailers, in fact, share her view that the global retail giants, if allowed to open shop here, would gobble up small businesses and also sound the death knell for traditional farming. “The issue is not about what percentage of farmers will benefit from the entry of multi-brand retailers, it is the percentage of farmers who will be affected from the development that matters,” says Vazhukkuparai Balu, Coimbatore district president, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam.Arguing that small and marginal farmers cannot match the demand for corporate farming activities, he cautions that “in course of time, traditional farmers will be forced to sell their land to these corporates.” As it is farmers are selling their land to realtors unable to survive the pressures of the market.Balu dismisses as unrealistic, the Centre’s claim that allowing FDI in retail sector would eliminate the role of middlemen in markets and yield higher income for farmers. At one point of time farmers would become pawns in the hands of the retail giants and would be forced to sell their produce for a price quoted by the corporate outlet, he feels.Tamil Nadu Agricultural University’s Centre for Agricultural and Rural Development Studies Director N Ajjan is also skeptical about if the role of middlemen would indeed be redundant as and when Walmart shop. “The big question though is what percentage of farmers would be roped into this agreement by the corporates. If only 10 per cent of the farmers are roped in, the remaining 90 per cent will still have to sell through other channels and that means middlemen will be there,” he insists.