The Hindu Sept, 26th

“Sainath blames mindless deregulation, commercialization for agrarian crisis”

“Predatory commercialization” of the countryside and “mindless deregulation” of the agricultural sector have contributed to the worst agrarian crisis in decades, according to P. Sainath, Ramon Magsasay Award winner and Rural Affairs Editor of The Hindu.
Delivering a “millennium lecture” at the M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) here on Tuesday, Mr.Sainath said the agrarian crisis had affected several sections. “We must remember that the crisis is not just limited to the agricultural sector”.
“Carpenters have died of starvation in the midst of an agrarian crisis and the profession of potters and blacksmiths has collapsed in several areas. Pastoral nomads in Gujarat and Rajasthan have been devastated in Gujarat and Rajasthan have been devastated by the agrarian changes in Vidharbha. The linkages and the effects of the crisis are so complex and widespread.
Mr. Sainath said the crisis had been driven by the withdrawal of the state in sectors that mattered most to the poor and the collapse of public services.
The withdrawal of the credit to the poor when the costs were rising and incomes falling was inextricably connected to the phenomenon of farmer suicides.
Farming unviable
Citing a National Sample Survey, Mr.Sainath said farming had become so unviable that 40% farmers sought to quit their profession. The monthly per capita expenditure for a farm household is Rs.503. Around 55% is estimated to be spent on food, and 18% on clothing. What will they have to spend on education and health?
Mr. Sainath said a change in the economic mindset that stressed the primacy of the market was needed to arrest the trend. Deregulation in agriculture and a drive towards corporate farming resonate with this sentiment. “In the United States, only one percent of the population is involved in farming as it is largely done through corporate or factory farming”. Mr. Sainath said “But when you apply this to a country where agriculture is not just about food, but is connected to millions of livelihoods, where are the farmers supposed to go? Will they be employed by Infosys?”
Low Wages
Despite the growing crisis in agriculture, Mr.Sainath said, he believed the problem could still be solved. “What we need are long term plans instead of short term patch work solutions”.
”We also need to accept that wages in agricultural sector are lower than in other sectors. We have to stop thinking of agriculture as a cancer or illness and to think of is as a livelihood”.

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