| The Killing Cotton (11/7/2006) | |
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EXCERPT: Indian film star Nana Patekar, the brand ambassador of Monsanto, toured this region to promote Bt cotton seeds. In 2004, up to 80 percent of cotton growers harvested Bt, genetically modified seeds produced by Monsanto. The seed, with prices ranging above Rs 1,600 ($34.88) a packet, compared to the normal hybrid variety of Rs 450 ($9.81) a packet, have demonstrated no sustainability in the parched environment of Vidarbha. Meanwhile, the cotton farmers have been destroyed and Monsanto and Nana Patekar have made a small fortune. The Killing Cotton The rich mineral resources and lush green deciduous forests of Vidarbha in the northeastern region of Maharashtra, India, are home to a variety of flora and fauna. The main cash crops of the region are cotton, oranges and soybeans. But presently Vidarbha is in the news due to the ongoing agrarian crisis and the hundreds of farmers committing suicide every year. In Maharashtra, as well as in all of India, people are living in two different worlds and two different centuries. There is little in common between them. In the present scenario the two worlds are getting further and further apart. One a fairyland of wealth, the other an abyss of destitution. One, being more and more sanitized from the surrounding filth and muck; the other becoming more and more marginalized. Similarly, urban Maharashtra in contrast to Vidarbha is an affluent land. There are 2.5 million cotton producers in the eight districts of Vidarbha. Most of them have been reduced to penury. About 90 percent of these households are indebted to loan sharks. The bulk have to depend on the rapacious moneylenders who extract about Rs 500 ($10.90) interest every four months on Rs 1,000 ($21.80) borrowed. Cotton in Vidarbha, once referred to as king cotton because of the high price it fetched, has now come to be known as killer cotton. Most of the moneylenders are also traders, loaning seeds and fertilizers and then taking away the crop on highly reduced prices. The moneylenders have been seizing not only the farmer's land but also their household goods. In addition, they have been crushed by fake seed dealers due to the mindless deregulation of the distribution network. The government's negligent decision to withdraw bank guarantees pushed farmers further into the clutches of the moneylenders. The state government has helped boost private traders who lift the farmers' produce at rock-bottom prices. There is no restriction on importing cotton from out of the country as the import duty on cotton is a mere 10 percent while on sugar, rice and second-hand cars it is 60, 80 and 180 percent respectively. Crushed by the state government's reckless approach and the plundering of moneylenders, thousands of farmers have committed suicide in the last few years. There are now two to three suicides a day. Cotton growers have been hit by rising cost of inputs and the crash of output prices. The agrarian crisis in Vidarbha has now spun out of control. While hundreds of farmers have already taken their lives, the Maharashtra government this year has reduced the price of cotton by a massive Rs 550 ($12) from Rs 2,250 ($49.06) per quintal (100kg) last year to Rs 1,700 ($37.06) this year. The government admits it costs around Rs 2,200 ($47.97) to produce a quintal of cotton. This amounts to nothing but a wholesale slaughter of thousands of innocent farmers and their families. But this is not all. The Cotton Federation deducts previous loans and interest thereon before paying the sale price. It also pays the farmer late and in installments. So, many farmers resort to distress sales at a price of 1,400 ($30.52) per quintal and also to the private moneylender for loans. Hundreds of peasants are taking their lives so that cotton can be sold cheaply to the big business textile and garment industries and enable them to maximize profits. The Federation, supposedly set up for the farmers, is a highly autocratic body which has not had an election since it was set up in 1972, with farmers having no say in its decisions. It has been a mere tool in the hands of the powerful textile lobby. The input costs have been going up each year. But cotton has increased by 30 percent due to the massive promotion of these seeds by high-level advertising by Ministers, officials and film stars. Some film stars have earned thousands of dollars through this promotion; all recovered from the farmer through the high cost of the seed. This implies even higher input costs. And some of them have sown two, even three times in the same season after being hit by crop failure. Indian film star Nana Patekar, the brand ambassador of Monsanto, toured this region to promote Bt cotton seeds. In 2004, up to 80 percent of cotton growers harvested Bt, genetically modified seeds produced by Monsanto. The seed, with prices ranging above Rs 1,600 ($34.88) a packet, compared to the normal hybrid variety of Rs 450 ($9.81) a packet, have demonstrated no sustainability in the parched environment of Vidarbha. Meanwhile, the cotton farmers have been destroyed and Monsanto and Nana Patekar have made a small fortune. The government has not procured the cotton this year. Farmers were pushed into the arms of private traders. Last year, there were 411 official centers to procure cotton; this year there were only 185. In this session the cotton federation had purchased a mere 0.63 million quintals compared to 18.5 million quintals last year. The private traders are paying only Rs 16,00 ($34.88) per quintal, which is 100 rupees less than the reduced MSP (minimum support price). The government sent a team of National Commission on Farmers (NCF) members to Vidarbha in October. After the investigation, it brought out a serious report that revealed some astonishing facts. Unfortunately, the NCF's findings are too hard for the government to swallow. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Vidarbha and gave a hearing to the widows of victim farmers. Later he announced a "relief package" worth nearly $815 million for the region. But it too remained a package only and could not bring much relief for farmers. Going a step further to ruin the peasantry, the state government passed a draconian act that will make irrigation water charges one and half times more expensive. Thus Vidarbha is in fact the hunting ground for money-grabbers of all types. By the end of June since the beginning of the year, 463 farmers have already committed suicide in the eight districts of Vidarbha. The Yavatmal district leads with the most suicides: Last year, 167 farmers took their lives, and for the first half of this year, 118 farmers have died. In developed countries, farmers are subsidized so that they live well. But this is not the case for "backward" countries like India. Most of the peasants in India have no capital, they are confined to small plots of land, and being continuously looted by rural elite: moneylenders, traders, landlords and officials. The tale of Vidarbha is a tale of wretchedness being repeated on a small or large scale from north to south, from east to west in Indian states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Punjab. Thus, for the Indian peasantry all roads lead to hell. Peasants must raise their voice against these atrocities, instead of committing suicide. |
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