Will the government disregard lobby pressures and back these methods?
In the last few years the prices of almost all agricultural commodities shot up by more than sixty per cent.
Prof Anil Gupta, Co-ordinator, Sristi and Honey Bee Network, and Executive Vice Chair, National Innovation Foundation, Ahmedabad in his blog mentions one clue on why this problem is becoming intractable - we are too focussed entirely on output prices as a balancing exercise.
Need more attention
We do not pay enough attention to reduction of cost in most commodities. We need to aim at reducing unit cost of all goods and services in manufacturing as well as agriculture sector.
Farmers also will not plead for higher prices every year if the cost of their inputs can be controlled and reduced, according to him.
He adds that it is alright for the agricultural minister to say that to pay farmers well, society should bear the inflationary burden.
But that is not the right or understanding attitude towards the poor who suffer the most, nor towards farmers who do not care about prices as much as profits.
Convincing problem
He even wonders how to convince the wise people in the planning commission considering the inflation, and adding cost of ten per cent or so to every unit cost.
He gives the example of growing cotton. The crop consumes almost forty per cent of the country’s chemical pesticides followed by paddy at 20 per cent.
What are we doing?
“What are we doing to reduce the cultivation cost of cotton? Farmers like Mr. Lakhra Bhai of Surendra Nagar in Gujarat used the idea of growing lady’s finger around cotton crops to trap the cotton pests nearly 20 years ago,” he says.
If that did not work, they sprayed jaggery or sugar solution to attract black ants which controlled the pests.
Prof Gupta was requested by the Government to look into the problem of farmers’ suicides in India. “While recommending establishment of village knowledge management systems, I pointed out a great tragedy confronting the children of farmers who committed suicides.
“I asked them whether they knew about any low cost or non-monetary technologies for reducing pest in cotton, since that is what pushed their fathers to the extreme step with no hope of coming out of their debt. The answer was a loud and repeated NO,” he rues.
Ironically, farmers from another district of Maharashtra which he visited, shared a traditional practice (also found in many other parts of India) that lady’s finger as border crop acts as a good trap crop.
It belongs to the same family as cotton and flowers earlier than cotton.
Wrong practice
“Has any experiment been done to prove that the above simple traditional method is wrong in India or Africa or central or West Asia?” he asks.
But will these practices ever reach the masses?
“No. because then farmers will become self reliant and sustainable. Will the department of agriculture share this disregarding the pressure from the pesticide lobby, I doubt it, as for twenty years they did not do it,” he voices his point emphatically.
Free for all
“These kinds of solutions are available on sristi.org web site in open source for decades. When the cost of failure is low, and chances of success high, only inertia can explain the indifference to such bottom-up grassroots solutions for decades.
“These solutions will reduce cost, check inflationary pressure, and make the poor better off too as they will not suffer from exposure to chemicals. I hope technocracy will prove that we are wrong,” he concludes with a chuckle.
Dear sir, Excellent idea. How can we inform the farmers who are not knowing to reduce cost or any other alternatives for saving money?I want to involve myself to help the poor farmer. This is the best way i can help.
of course I agree that simple practices will reduce the prices, in
that case who will support the farmer's livelihood. today he is going
for high inputs just to increase his farm output/unit area so as to
make up his living cost and to fulfill his family needs which is
heading northwards day by day. He is left with no other options now he
is forced to practice such kind of agriculture practices which is
approved by the so called universities. I strongly feel this perennial
problem can only be solved when the educated youth goes back to the
villages and start professional farming. In the present context
farmers have become the subjects of experiment for every one and are
the topic of boardroom discussion and are the timepass snacks for our
policy makers
Low external input based agriculture is the need of the hour,when pesticide lobby is making the Raj. Farmers need these small and beautifully effective skills.Farmers in Bonei subdivision of Odisha uses the juice of Ipomea (Amari) leaves as effective pesticide, which costs nothing. Kudos to Honey Bee data base on these simple but great solutions.
Respected Gupta sir,
first i salute to you,and also i proud to you.
this is a wonderful idea and this idea can change a india(BHARAT) Name
in the world.
Thank Yor Respected Sir.
We are also going the US way.Multinational corporations decide what we should do and they do not allow any ingenuos effective technology to take root. The solution like Mr Gupta proposes are effective but they would rob these MNC cartels and whole lot of corrupt officials of their livelihood. Common man suffers.
Thank u professor for providing new insights on how to tackle inflation from grass root level all people must try spread this message at personal level to the extent possible.
Commendable suggestion : Inflation is key social problem for Indian Economy and looking at the Global Economic scenario if any such intellectual sugesstions come for help the Govt. of India should take it into consideration after all we all r working for the better india.
Wonderful ideas- but our government led by Dr Manmohan Singh is guided by interests of global transnationals including Monsanto.So it is doubtful if such ideas can be propagated- as then we should get back to simple living!
No. because then farmers will become self reliant and sustainable. Will the department of agriculture share this disregarding the pressure from the pesticide lobby,a matter for thought.
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