Green Revolution in Eastern India – which way forward?
Dt :07.09.10
“Green Revolution in Eastern India should be based on inherent strengths / constraints of the region and on sustainable development approaches, not on earlier failed models” : farmers, activists & scientists
Bhubaneswar : A 2-day national workshop on “Green Revolution in Eastern India – which way forward?” organized by Living Farms concluded here by demanding that the Green Revolution proposals in Eastern India should be based on the inherent strengths and constraints of the region and based on sustainable development approaches and not earlier failed models of Green Revolution witnessed in this country. Farmers, activists and scientists from more than ten states of the country, including the six states involved in the current proposals of the government, took part in this workshop.
The participants reiterated that Green Revolution in this country has taught us many lessons with regard to implications of such an approach on social, economic and environmental fronts. Data about Punjab today show that the very productive resources on which agriculture is based, have been degraded and eroded in irreparable ways in this model of farming. Most of the state’s blocks fall in the dark zone; water sources have been contaminated with various chemicals; chronic diseases like cancers and reproductive health problems are on the rise. In fact, Green Revolution has only negative connotations given the huge fallout on all fronts and it is surprising that the Government of India is still talking about bringing in a Green Revolution in Eastern India. Participants also pointed out that Green Revolution has already made its inroads in these states too and has been responsible for high use of agri-chemicals and erosion of farm diversity in several pockets already in the Eastern Region too.
Analysis also shows that this is correlated to farmers’ suicides in this region. Participants also questioned the ostensible reason of the government for wanting to bring in this green revolution and pointed out that food security is only a bogey for creating large markets for agri-corporations. Food security is not linked to any production problems as the record production or procurement figures show but that of access to food for the poorest and their purchasing power which can be addressed only through sustainable livelihoods.
In contrast, a presentation on Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture programme of Rural Development department of Andhra Pradesh demonstrates that agro-ecological approaches combined with institutional innovations centred around farmers, with women farmers leading the effort could lead to better livelihoods for farmers, improvements in the environment as well as create food security.
Farmers and activists also made presentations on the rich diversity of rice varieties in the region and highlighted that this is our heritage which needs to be protected. Given that there are already many varieties to suit various needs including various growing conditions, jeopardizing this diversity would be disastrous for the farmers and their rice cultivation. The issue of irrigation water and chemical fertilizer requirements for intensive models of farming based on hybrid seeds was also brought up and concluded as being unviable in the case of this region.
Evidence from all over Asia was presented in the workshop about the failure of hybrid rice to improve the incomes of farmers or to conserve their environmental resources.
Speakers also pointed out that positive examples like System of Rice Intensification or biodiversified farming models are the ones that should be promoted through the RKVY funds for this Green Revolution. It would be a great irony and unpardonable if the RKVY funds meant for alleviation of agrarian distress actually end up pushing the resource-poor small and marginal farmers in Eastern India towards greater distress.
The workshop was attended by Prof Manhar Adil, Advisor to the Chattisgarh Agriculture Minister, Shri Vijay Kumar (IAS, Jt Secretary in Rural Development Dept, GoI), Prof T K Bose (Member of the erstwhile State Agriculture Commission of West Bengal), Dr Sudhirendar Sharma (agriculture policy analyst), Prof Radhamohan (former Information Commissioner), Saroj Mohanty (Paschim Orissa Chassi Samanwaya Samiti), Dr Debal Deb (ecologist), Dr Ilina Sen (Rupantar), Jaikrishna (Greenpeace India), Dr V S Vijayan (former Chair of Kerala State Biodiversity Board) and others. More than 75 participants from several states took part in this two day workshop.
