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Sohag farmers need care and support

The Land Center for Human rights held a meeting at the headquarters of the Anibs Association for Development on Thursday 24/7/2008. The meeting was attended by more than fifty farmers from the villages of Sohag governorate. The meeting discussed the problems of farmers which were due to the lack of fertilizer in the governorate and their high price, and their problems in the west of Tahtah which are due to the lack of irrigation water which does not reach the end of canals. The meeting also discussed the problems of farmers in Dar El-Slam, especially the problems of sugar cane farmers with the Sugar Company because of its refusal to receive the crop directly after it is broken, and because the farmers are not being able to know the exact weight of their cargo, in addition to the problems of the farmers with the Bank of Development and Agricultural credit due to the high interest rates of the bank which leads to the farmers being late in repaying back their debts, and threatens them with imprisonment. The meeting discussed the rights of farmers to the safety of their agriculture, their right to get sufficient irrigation water, and their right to form independent cooperatives to defend their rights, support agricultural production requirements, help them in marketing their crops, and provide them with seeds and their different needs for the agriculture process. The meeting ended with the need for coordination between the LCHR and the farmer associations in the villages of the governorate, and the need to organize campaigns for all farmers in partnership with farmer leaders, on the condition that the LCHR supports these campaigns in order to improve the conditions of farmers and fulfill their rights to a dignified life and a safe agricultural process.