News
The small farm is a standard figure in India’s agricultural history, but the image is changing from the hard working successful farmer to one who can't get out of debt. The large number of farmer suicides tell a tragic story with more than 150,000 in the last 10 years. The government tried to help by redefining the term "farmer" to reduce the number. But what are the reasons? To start, excess food supply has decreased crop values. Also, lenders no longer give easy unsecured loans, taking away short term liquidity options. The Green Revolution gets mixed reviews. Chemical fertilizers raise the cost of farming while neo-liberal trade policies have lowered selling prices. But what about the modern high-tech seeds that were supposed to lead to higher yields and wealth? Companies and researchers call Genetically Engineered (GE) seeds the future of Indian agriculture. But some independent groups place part -- if not most -- of the blame for farmer suicides on these same GE seeds. The Indian government has mostly avoided the question. For more information visit genecampaign.org. Other sources that contributed to this report include khetivirasatmission.org, indiagminf.org and Kavita Kuruganti (kavita.kuruganti @ gmail.com) People who are interested are encouraged to read "BT Cotton in India: A Status Report" by the Asia-Pacific Consortium on Agricultural Biotechnology, New Delhi, India.