The Vicious Cycle of Hope and Despair
January 2012
By: Sayani Hazra
Solutions much discussed, policies thoroughly analysed often fall short of what is expected at the grassroot. The reality down there is miles apart from what we can ever conceive. We might read reports speaking about market dependence of farmers leading to their ever increasing debt burden, further leading to suicides(which nowadays does not even raise a brow and is as common as the death of a highway dog), but seldom do we come up with the multipronged and interlinked problems that this community goes through that makes survival difficult than death.
I faced a similar situation when I visited Sambalpur on January 16 with an intention to collect some information for case studies on hybrid rice, Sambalpur being one of the key areas where hybrid rice is being promoted in Orissa through Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. The initiation of the effort to secure agriculture for future has a huge sum of 400 crore for the outlay. The perspective of the government to allot such a huge sum for a new program definitely raises concern considering the fact that there is already existing mesh which the farmers are troubled with and groping for a possible relief. On the face of this, introducing hybrid seems to be exposing them to another ray of hope, which might also land up adding to their woes in the end.
BASUDHA RELOCATED to Odisha
After the 2010 experience of too late arrival of the monsoon, we were worried about the likely recurrence of drought in 2011 and afterwards. Although Basudha's accession of ca. 700 folk rice varieties includes 14 drought-tolerant landraces that can withstand too late and too scanty rain, all the other varieties, especially those adapted to low- and deep low-land conditions, cannot survive in the event of prolonged drought period. The impending drought poses a great threat to the survival of our rice genetic diversity on Basudha farm, which has no irrigation facility. (Irrigation by pumping up groundwater is an unsustainable option.)
Living Farms works with landless, small and marginal farmers and consumers in Orissa, India to improve food and nutrition security, food safety and to uphold food sovereignty. Sustainable agriculture and Natural Resource Management is our key strategy.
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