The United National Progressive Alliance decided to continue its nation-wide campaign to bring pressure on the Union government to address the problems confronting the farmers across the country, alliance convenor N Chandrababu Naidu [Images] said in Hyderabad on Sunday.

Briefing newsmen after a meeting of UNPA leaders before they proceeded to Akola in Maharashtra for a farmers' rally, Naidu reiterated the demand for a substantial increase in the minimum support price for various crops in consonance with the recommendations of Dr M S Swaminathan Report.

Naidu said that the National Commission on Farmers, better known as Swaminathan Commission, in its final report submitted in November 2006 had recommended that farmers should be provided remunerative prices for their produce.

The commission had suggested that the minimum support prices be fixed for ensuring a net income of 50 per cent over and above the production costs of different crops.

He said that the UNPA had organised a massive farmers' rally called "Rytu Garjana" at Vijayawada in November 2007 and a national seminar on Swaminathan report in New Delhi in December 2007.

Subsequently, the UNPA had represented to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices chairman T Haque to give its recommendations 'independently.'

Naidu pointed out that the Union government had imported 70 lakh tones of wheat at Rs 1,600 per quintal whereas the indigenous farmers were offered a MSP of Rs 850 per quintal. The foreign producers were paid double the price at the cost of the local farmers, with the result that the Indian consumers were paying heavy prices for farm products.

"In continuation of our efforts to get better MSP for farmers, we have decided on a series of steps to pressure the government of India to implement the Swaminathan Commission report and to announce a waiver of all loans and debts of the farmers," the UNPA convenor added.

He said that the nation faced a serious threat to food security. Though the Swaminathan Commission submitted its report in 2006, the recommendations were not implemented so far.

The result was that the farming community was in distress all over the country and it was evident from the spurt in suicides by farmers. Over 1.5 lakh farmers committed suicides all over the country during 1997-2005, he pointed out, quoting National Crime Records Bureau statistics.

In Maharashtra alone, particularly in Vidarbha region, 3,926 farmers had committed suicide in 2005 and the number rose to 4,453 in 2006.

Altogether, 29,000 farmers' suicides were reported in Maharashtra during 1997-2005. In Andhra Pradesh, too, farmers' suicides had peaked during 2004 and 2005. "All these suicides have occurred because of huge farm debts, crop failures and crop losses," he pointed out.

UNPA leaders, including Chandrababu Naidu, Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh and National Conference leader Dr Farooq Abdullah,  later left for Akola to address a farmers' rally there on Sunday.

The Akola rally will be followed by a rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on February 3, Ranchi in Jharkhand on February 6 and Sonepat in Haryana on February 11.

Apart from raising the issue in the Budget session of Parliament, the UNPA will also organise a farmers' rally in New Delhi during the inter-session period of Parliament.