Agriculture-India not Shining
Hans Adam
With the country firmly racing ahead on the IT highway and the countries economy high on an unprecedented growth rate, which touched 9.3% in the Q1 in the year 2006, the farmers remain a neglected lot and have become small particles in the radar of politicians and policy makers, this despite constituting the bulk of India's population (approx.650 million) and being essential to the country's economy and food security.
They are being made refugees in their own country in the name of development.In Narmada to make space for huge dams, in Orissa displaced to make way for steel plants and mines which not only feed the future (unsatisfiable) energy needs of the economy but also to still the hunger of profit hungry Mittals.Their knowledge base is being destroyed and livelihoods taken away. It seems no one ever questions why it is always the poor and voiceless marginal and subsistence farming communities who are paying the ‘price’ for an urban centric development programme. They are the victims of this development strategy which destroys their cultural,ecological and thereby social security.
In the last decade Rs. 30000 crore have been cut in rural investment which translates into a whopping Rs. 115000 crore income loss to the affected.
The national media’s prime attention is the glitzy, new rich peoples’ lifestyle and the success stories of the last decade. Signifying this is the recently held India Fashion week held in Mumbai, 500 journalists covered this all important event, while only 6 journalists covered the Vidharbha humanitarian crisis, and even when they cover it, they only report about PROCESSES not CAUSES.
Liberalisation
When the government ushered in the new age of liberalisation it promised economic growth, higher incomes and opening up of employment opportunities and thereby alleviating poverty. Yes, the economic growth increased (6% average since ‘91), employment opportunities were created in future sectors (IT,BPO etc) and incomes also increased. But it has to be said that these benefits have reached mainly the top 10% of the population (English speaking, educated, urban) but for the others especially for the least 10 % of the population (rural and illiterate) the situation is grim.
The dominant paradigm of the Market economy pushed by the WTO ignores the plight of the rural poor. The WTO for instance asks national governments to cut their fiscal deficits, this they often do by cutting rural budget allocations, privatising public utilities and cutting subsidies. (The word ‘cut’ in the defence sector is unheard)Budget allocations for agriculture were cut by as much as 50% during the last decade.Further, governments in the developing world are being asked to open up their agricultural sectors to make them ‘competitive’ and to benefit from ‘market opportunities’. Thereby not noticing that the developed world subsidises their farmers by 350 billion dollars each year, which leads to overproduction and consequently a general fall in world market prices and it is the domestic farmers in the developing countries who suffer from these depressed prices. A new round of WTO talks held in July 2006 failed again to reach a census on subsidy reduction in the developed world due to the selfish opposition of the
Economic liberalisation and Free Trade have further widened the gap, nowhere else were the negative impacts expected to hit more than in agriculture, the first line of defence against poverty. Agriculture is key to poverty eradication and removal of hunger and sustainable development, thereby ensuring peace and sustainability. The Naxal problem is among others a result of a failed government approach. It engulfs meanwhile ¼ of the nation’s territory (120-160 of a total of 607 districts).Still the government is turning a blind eye to how its ruling ideology of development is worsening the situation.
The liberalisation of the Indian economy was launched with a view to accelerating agricultural growth, by ending discrimination against agriculture. The idea was to turn the terms of Trade in favour of agriculture through a large devaluation of the currency and increase output prices of agriculture.
But now nearly 15 years after starting the economic liberalisation drive, the impact on farming communities has been disastrous, the past decade has seen rural livelihoods collapsing, leading to more unemployment and more migration from rural to urban areas, import surges, depressed prices, closing down of domestic enterprises, shifts of cropping patterns to export oriented cash crop agriculture and corporate take over of farming had their effects.
The agricultural sector is faced with a serious crisis. This is also reflected in a significant deceleration of the growth rate of agriculture both in terms of gross product and terms terms of output as compared with a growth rate of 3.5% during the 1980s, the growth rate decelarated to only 2.3% in the 90s and further reaching a new bottom in 2004-2005 with only a 1.5% growth rate.
The tragedy of farmers ending their own lives is an alarm signal reminding us of the current state of agriculture. A total of 9000 suicides were reported btw. 2001-2006 in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala.Karnataka and
According to a recent estimate the cost of fertiliser,seed,pesticide and labour is 17500 Rs .For a return of about 15quintals of cotton, at current price of 1,500 rs. per quintal of cotton the average annual net income is just 5,000 rs. For an average family of 5, this income amounts to 1,000 rs. per person a year.For those trying to pay off huge debts, the financial crisis becomes unbearable.
And the recently announced aid package of 3750 rs. crore will do little to help instead of using it to pay off the debts of 80% of the people, which amount to 25,000 rest. on an average, the package draws from other schemes and carefully avoids the most critical areas.
The high number of farm suicides began in Andhra Pradesh; it send out shockwaves through media and politicial circles only in the aftermath of the stunning electoral verdict that unseated the then government of C.Naidu who was being touted as a new age indian politician, high tech savy and well connected with the corporate world, but the echo of the farmers to his policies was being felt during the election time. The fate of the SM Kirshna Government in Karnataka was similar.He was voted out on grounds of neglecting the rural areas and spending most time and resources on developing urban centres like
The BJP-led ‘India shining’ national government was also unable to garner a majority of votes because they were unable to convince the land population of why India was actually shining for them.high economic growth and record Forex reserves failed to impress them.
While still debating about the plight of the agricultural sector and why actually so many suicides are happening it can be clearly said that it is the industrial farming model being forced upon small and marginal farmers.
No politician has been frank (truthful?) enough to raise the issue.
High Chemical input based technology that mines the soils and which is suffocating the land and water guzzling crops(hybrids and bt cotton) sucking the groundwater acquifier dry and with the failure of the markets to rescue the farmers from a collapse of the farming system, the tragedy is that the human cost is entirely borne by the farmers.
The National Bureau of soil survey and land use planning in
Productivity increase a solution?
One of the arguments put forward by so called experts is that the low productivity of the indian farmer is a main reason for their economic plight.
But this is wrong and incorrect.
The grain stock build up over the last few years has seen India's rice and wheat surplus increase to an unmanageable level of 51.4 million tonnes.The FCI and the Chief Ministers of surplus rice producing states have been repeatedly asking their farmers not to produce more rice as they have no place to stock it.
Also the Central government has been toying with the idea of getting out of food procurement, leaving farmers to the vagaries of the market. To ask Indian Farmers therefore, to increase paddy productivity is absurd and pushes them into a death trap.
Thousands of rural poor are frustrated, hungry and without a livelihood, they leave- heading for other parts in the country, mainly to urban areas with nothing but hope.
Stocks are piling up when at the same time 1/3 of the worlds 840 million hungry and poor live in
Green revolution
The means to purchase might not be there but ,as said, the food is.This food self- sufficiency and reserve build up is based on home grown wheat and rice and is a remarkable achievement, attributed to the so famous ‘Green Revolution’.
But the Green Revolution came with a huge price tag in terms of environmental costs.It used massive amounts of chemicals, fossil fuels and water.Monoculture, mechanical ploughing, soil erosion, the extension of crops into forests and the use and abuse of chemicals has contributed to the second generation environmental impacts that the intensively-farmed lands of the country have to bear with.(For example large tracts of Punjab are under the threat of desertification due to the overdrawing of ground water resources.)
Also several years, almost 2 decades down the line, basking in the afterglow of the green revolution and with abundant monsoons to boost of, farming and agriculture ceased to attract attention. Policy makers were gripped by the illusion that the country easily had the capability to produce a 2nd green revolution not realising that the first one had run out of steam and rural despair was growing.
Employment growth in the agricultural sector is trailing behind the increase in labour force and among the multiplicity of problem confronting agriculture, rapid fragmentation of land holdings is keeping pace with increasing population.Over the last 30 years
Today, 30 years after the green revolution farmers came to realise the stark realities of the aftermath of the green revolution. As intensive farming began to show its dark side by way of mining ground water and destroying soil fertility .
Sustainable livelihoods began to fall apart. The green revolution is beginning to show its real face.
The unexplained high number of farm suicides is a testimony to its failing.
The farmers today are being asked to diversify, produce crops that are suitable for export and to compete in the international market keeping in line with the WTO guidelines of Trade liberalisation.This despite the necessity to produce enough food for a burgeoning population growing by 19 million each year.
Cultivation of staple food is being replaced by cash crops, tomatoes in place of wheat, dhurum wheat replaces wheat as staple diet in
In Kerala for example, vast tracts of forest land so essential for its ecological balance have been converted into rubber, coffee and coconut plantations. Commercial crops are eating into the fertile land tracts meant for growing essential food grains. The diversion of good agricultural land which in any case is limited to commercial farming and even industries is further exacerbating the crisis in sustainability.
The reforms being introduced in the name of increasing food production and minimising the price risks that farmers continue to be faced with is actually aiming at helping the agri-business industry whether it destroys the production capacity of the farm lands and leads to further marginalisation of the farming communities does not figure in the planning process.
(Contract farming- A firm only guided by profit motive rents a piece of land from a farmer[for a fixed period of 5 years] who is in quick need of cash, the firm intensively cultivates the land drawing ground water resources and polluting the soil by overtly resorting to chemicals and pesticides, after the lease period expires the land is returned leaving the farmer with infertile and uncultivable land)
One more reason which should set the alarm bells ringing is the growing tendency of multinational corporations to acquire huge tracts of fertile land.This they do on the pretext of generating more employment and increasing production, the need to sustain cultivable land ,whose area is already declining is completely ignored and again thousands of families are loosing their livelihood base and are being forcefully displaced from their ancestral land.
Alternative Development solutions (Devinder Sharma)
Following decisions should be taken in order to engage in a sustainable farming pattern and to sustain rural livelihoods, which would consequently ensure the food security and well being of the country.
1) Sustainable farming
The green revolution areas are encountering serious bottlenecks to growth and productivity. Excessive mining of soil nutrients and groundwater have already brought in soil sickness.The dryland areas (70% of cultivable land) continue to drown in misery. Indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides has done serious harm to environment, human health and ecology.
Contract-farming and use of genetically engineered crops will further worsen the crisis.
Encouraging sustainable and traditional farming practices therefore is the only way ahead.Investments and increased outlays for agricultural research that is based on external chemical inputs like fertiliser and pesticides need to be discouraged. Cheap and locally available technology in turn improves production and and protects environment. Water productivity and efficiency has to be central to any research process.
2.) Local solutions
International agricultural research, as well as the national agricultural research , should re-orient the focus of research to farm friendly, environment friendly and long term sustainable techniques. The farmer shouldn’t be asked to fit into a new technology package but the technology should be made to serve him.
Technology need not be expensive and high-tech, cheap and low-tech solutions can itself be sufficient. This technology should be made available free of cost to the farmers.
3.) Dryland farming
The policy makers have failed the dryland farmers. External models which were brought in did not help their situation.Drylands continue to be plagued by drought. The reduced availability of water is emerging as a major social and economic crisis. Investment in a faulty rainwater harvesting technology called ‘Ridge to valley’ from the
Traditional forms of water conservation-ponds and tanks, should be supported.
The Bishnoi community uses these means of water conversation.In contrast to other areas in Rajasthan for instance, the bishnoi lands are green and fertile.
Water hungry hybrid crops should not be cultivated in the water scarce regions. Instead dryland crops such as coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds need to be encouraged.
Further, instead of importing exotic breeds of cattle local breed of cattle should be encouraged.
Framers in the rainfed areas need to be insured against drought. This can be done by making it mandatory for foreign insurance companies to invest at least 40% of their funds for farm insurance.
4.) Sugar mills
Sugarcane is a big threat to
Since there is no shortage of sugar in the country all budgetary support to the sugar industry need to be cut. The area under cultivation should be reduced and unproductive sugarmills disbanded.
Instead pulses and fodder crops be cultivated.Pulses are essential for the country’s nutritional security and fit well into the harsh environments.
It also helps restore soil health and draws nitrogen from the atmosphere.
5.) Marketing
Providing an assured and remunerative market for agricultural producers cannot be left to market forces alone. The procurement prices should be announced before the crop season.Agri-processing too needs to be strengthened, but not at the cost of the domestic producers. Food-processing sector should be directed to use the abundant raw material available within the country.
Creating a global market for farming produce is destroying local markets and foods. The seed multinationals, the food giants and the supermarkets, have cornered the food chain in the process thereby destroying the food chain, destroying livelihoods, local markets and also drastically reducing food choices. Local markets should be strengthened, which would then also bring back traditional and neglected crops.
6.) Farm incomes
The increasing number of farm suicides is also attributed to the growing indebtness of farmers. There is a lack of farm credit.Banks are no longer treating agriculture as a priority sector for lending.Institutional finance has almost disappeared over the last years.Agriculture credit has to be revived. Schemes that encourage banks to provide easy credit facilities to farmers need to be spelled out also to support sustainable farming systems. At last crop insurance should be extended to cover the entire farm sector immediately.
These steps will be necessary to relieve the farm sector from its current pitiable state and to guarantee sustainable rural livelihoods and the future food security of the country.
References
Devinder Sharma-‘Agriculture,Food security and Hunger’
Approdev/Devinder Sharma-Liberalizaton of Trade
P.Sainath-Everybody loves a good drought
The Hindu-Agricultural survey 2005
The Hindu-Issue 25/7/2006 ’Alternative Development’
Frontline-Village for sale
www.wsws.com - Prawini Zora-Maharashtra cotton farmers face destitution
