FDI in retail will fetch better price for farmers: Rahul

Sanand: Voicing his support for FDI in multi-brand retail, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said entry of international supermarket chains in India will allow farmers to get better price for their produce.

"Do you know why we brought FDI in retail? We brought it so that farmers can get better price (of their produce)," he said, speaking at an election rally here near Ahmedabad.

The Congress General Secretary told the gathering, which mostly consisted of farmers, that the "BJP did not care for agriculturists."

"This (FDI in retail) was included in BJP manifesto too, but still that party stood up in protest of FDI in Parliament...This will hurt people. If FDI had not been cleared, it would have hurt the farmers badly," he said.

The Amethi MP spoke in favour of retail FDI at another public rally at Amreli in scarcity-prone Saurashtra region earlier in the day.

To back his argument, the Congress leader asked the people at the rally to compare the price of one kilogramme of potatoes and one pack of potato wafers. He pointed out that at present wafer manufacturers were earning a higher profit margin than the farmers who grow potatoes.

"FDI will change this situation and the farmers will be able to get much better price of their produce," he asserted.