We urge you to improve access to food and livelihood security for farmers and the poor. At a minimum:

• Set Minimum Support Price to cover cost of production including labor so that farmers' and farmworkers' families earn a stable and dignified living year round.
• Offer low-premium insurance to small farmers as recommended by the PM’s Council on Trade and Industry.
• Grant loan relief and low-interest credit as prescribed by PM's package.  Ensure that interest never exceeds principal.
• Train farmers who wish to move away from mono-cropping to multi-crop, sustainable agriculture. Strictly regulate seeds, pesticide and fertilizer industries.
• With farmers, NGOs, panchayats and community groups, design and analyze Government relief packages in suicide prone regions. Recommend crops and seeds by season.
• Hold commercial seed suppliers liable for ineffective seeds.  Promote indigenous and organic seeds.
• Permit agricultural work such as mulching, sowing, weeding and composting under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
• Support millet. This highly nutritious, low-input crop yields fodder for cattle that are part of your relief package. Prohibit the shift of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses, including Special Economic Zones.

To see full text of the letter that 2000 people signed and sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, please see agri.aidindia.org .