June 13 (LPAC)--Ahead of a WTO Ministerial meet in July for finalizing drafts on Agriculture and Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA), India's top 30 farm leaders had a day-long marathon session in New Delhi on June 12 on the draft presented by the WTO earlier this month and came out with a resolution that "India should come out of the WTO and should not sacrifice the livelihood of 800 million farmers, advasis, dalits and rural women”.

“India should not dilute its position at the WTO negotiations as the 'special products' (SP) and Special Safeguard Measures (SSM) offered to us, are only a smokescreen and offer no real protection to Indian agriculture, fisheries and forestry,” the resolution underlined.

The resolution will have major impact on the ruling UPA coalition government in light of the fact that the opposition, and some within the ruling coalition, are crying hoarse for focusing attention on the weakening agricultural sector.

India's general elections will be held in April 2009 and the farmland possesses about 70 percent of nation's votes. It is likely that New Delhi will find it difficult to ignore what the farm leaders so clearly resolved.