STWR - Share The World's Resources

This was the underlying message of a comprehensive speech delivered at the national seminar on "Alternative Strategies for Development" held in Bhopal, India last month, by one of STWR's contributing writers, Devinder Sharma.

Feb 06, Rajesh Makwana ~ STWR

In an effort to highlight the inefficiencies and misplaced agendas of Indian agricultural policies, Sharma explained their consequences on small farms and farmers. He criticized the imposed industrial farming models that pursue economic growth for devastating the livelihoods of Indian farmers and local communities.

One of the biggest concerns affecting farmers is the government's inability to manage agricultural surpluses "while people die of hunger, the government sits atop a mountain of food grains". Millions of Rupees are spent yearly trying to maintain these food stocks which end up rat-infested and rotten. Meanwhile some 500 children a day in India succumb to diseases related to malnutrition and hunger.

During the "green revolution" the emphasis shifted to a 'commodities' approach to agriculture, resulting in monocultures, depleted soil based nutrients, the use chemicals, increased water mining and greenhouse emissions from additional food miles. Donors such as IMF and World Bank are still pressing India to concentrate on cash crops. Sharma argues that through the resulting lack of biodiversity, communities no longer have access to the same variety of nutritious crops, fruits and vegetables they once had, resulting in the acute malnutrition that prevails in the countryside.

There are currently a huge number of farmers committing suicide each year due to the sheer frustration of helplessly watching their livelihoods and the health of their loved ones fall apart. The "green revolution" has now turned red, proving its effectiveness as a short term measure only. India now needs long term, sustainable agricultural models.

Sharma goes on to propose comprehensive reforms designed to get the agricultural community back on its feet. In essence the proposals are designed to replace the imposed industrial farming based models with traditional, community based approaches. These sustainable practices would require investment into low input agriculture instead of chemical inputs, and encourage local available technology. In this way production can be improved and the environment protected.

Cash crops must be replaced by traditional multi-cropping, and the water sources need to be secured and better managed, for example by swapping sugar cane production with staple foods and pulses.

Emphasising the need for the country to firstly provide for her own needs, Sharma gives examples of how communities and villages are taking responsibility for their own welfare by creating Village Republics, controlling their own resources so as to effectively combat poverty and provide everyone with the opportunity to earn a sustainable livelihood. To Ddate around 1500 villages have imposed self-rule.

In some villages, Community Grain Banks have enabled the village to achieve food security through the effect distribution of grain over the year. Such initiatives are a "tribute to human ingenuity, cooperation and traditional knowledge". Surpluses of grain are initially deposited with the Bank and can be borrowed at times of distress. What is borrowed is then paid back, usually at the harvest, with a little extra as "interest". The loans can also be written off for those who cannot afford to pay, or they can pay back with labour for community projects.

Such initiatives have ensured that the poor and needy are no longer stalked by starvation and hunger, whilst providing local answers to the nation's problem of surplus grain management. Sharma concludes with his strong belief that self-reliant villages are the answer to India's multiple and complex problems of food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition.

Click here to read the full speech.

Rajesh Makwana is the Director of Share The World’s Resources (www.stwr.org), an NGO campaigning for global economic and social justice. He can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Copyright 2007 Share The World's Resources (www.stwr.org)   

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Write comment