Alternative Agricultural Policy in the Specific Context of Climate Change

Much before the adverse impacts of climate change started manifesting themselves, it had become evident in the interests of equality, justice and sustainability that certain significant changes need to be made in agricultural policy. With the increasing manifestation of adverse impacts of climate change and warnings of worse to come, the urgency of these changes has become much more pronounced.

If we look not just at agricultural but the overall change in policy, it is very clear that while earlier too people’s movements had asked for changes based on justice and sustainability, with the advent of climate change the sense of urgency for making these changes gets multiplied several times. While earlier also people were getting impatient for change and there was a feeling of environmental damage going beyond the limits of tolerance, with the advent of climate change the need for change in favour of justice and sustainability has become so emphatic that we have to say—we just can’t wait any more. We simply have to move towards a system of equality, simplicity and environment protection —all of which are closely inter-related —or else we will not be able to avoid permanent damage to the life-sustaining systems.

This is what people’s movements with a strong commitment to equality and environment protection say. But there are vested interests who try to misrepresent the changes (related to global warming) to push their narrow interests of profit and plunder. Even when the basic life-giving conditions of planet earth are threatened, they cannot think beyond their selfish agenda of profits and plunder which in the first place created such a serious crisis situation. In order to meet the serious challenges of climate change, the narrow selfish agenda of such greed-driven forces has to be overcome.

Coming now specifically to changes in agricultural policy, we face a similar situation. On the one hand we need changes based on equality, sustainability and protection of environment more than ever before. But on the other hand we are confronted with the manipulations of those who want to misuse the changing situation to push their dangerous agenda of increasing corporate control, grabbing land or other natural resources and trying out potentially catastrophic technologies. So we have to combine the path of ‘struggle’ (sangharsh) and creative constructive activity (nirman) so that we can check the narrow vested interests while at the same time creating conducive conditions for sustainable farming based on equality, justice and protection of environment.

With this understanding of the difficult challenges ahead, we now list the basic components of an alternative agricultural policy.

1. Much Higher Priority for Agriculture and Rural Areas

Keeping in view the climate change related new threats, the government’s policies need a huge and significant shift (including Budget allocation, overall thrust of governance and other aspects) in favour of the poorest and marginalised sections, small farmers, rural life and farming based livelihoods (with their lower GHG emissions and importance for food security), environment protection and disaster prevention as well as better relief work at the time of disasters and adverse conditions. It can no longer be business as usual for the government as new threats bring new responsibilities. Budget allocations should shift very significantly in favour of agriculture and related activities, and environment protection.

2. Organic Farming

We need a change that strongly favours organic farming. In common discussion, this means agriculture which does not use chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Various methods of composting and making better use of dung, leaves and other organic manure are now well-established. But while using these some farmers still use some chemical fertilisers. Due to the tremendous bias provided to fertiliser-intensive cropping in the course of the so-called Green Revolution, such trends may persist for some time. Of course, there is absolutely no question of forcing anything on farmers. In a process of trial and error that will probably stretch over a number of years, farmers of various categories will pick up their own selection and combination. What I wish to emphasise here is that the government’s policy-choice has to shift from encouraging farming based on chemical fertilisers and pesticides to a farming which uses environment friendly methods of maintaining soil fertility and keeping away harmful insects or other pests. The financial, administrative, scientific and other resources which the government was earlier using for subsidising the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides need to be diverted entirely for directly helping, encouraging, rewarding farmers who are practising organic farming or else are in the process of shifting to organic farming.

Several questions relating to organic farming need to be carefully examined as the context in which organic farming is propagated can differ significantly depending on who is propagating and with what aims.

In the conditions of India’s villages, along with organic farming we need to strongly say the farming should be “as low-cost as possible” and “as self-reliant as possible”, these two aims being strongly inter-related. Our context is basically that of small farmers with a low resource-base. Dependence on chemical fertilisers and pesticides made them indebted. It is certainly not desirable that one dependance should be replaced with another dependance, for example, dependence on expensive market-purchased bio-fertilisers. So the entire emphasis should be based on making the best possible use of local resources (dung, crop-residues, leaves, cow-urine etc.) and farming practices like maintaining diversity, suitable rotations etc. to become as self-reliant as possible in maintaining the fertility of land and in keeping away harmful insects and pests.

Secondly, a question that needs to be asked is whether the promotion of organic farming can be compatible with the Green Revolution’s seeds which were specifically aimed at being more fertiliser-responsive. Clearly there is a contradiction here and so we have to go back to the rich diversity of our traditional seeds as our basic treasure of genetic material on the basis of which farming can progress on a sustainable basis. So the existing system of production and distribution of seeds has to be changed as well.

Thirdly, it is very clear that we can’t look at organic farming in isolation, we also need to think of systems of water-and-moisture concentration, good green cover in the form of trees and pastures and overall conducive conditions for animal husbandry to flourish well. These are very important in themselves but these are also important to create conducive conditions in which organic, low-cost, self-reliant farming can be successful. Similarly crop and variety diversity, crop rotations which maintain fertility of land are integral to our understanding of organic farming.

Also, we need to assert that while exports are welcome as an additional source of income, our main emphasis on organic farming is to first fulfil the nutrition needs of local people and provide healthy food to them.

In making such recommendations we are conscious of the problems encountered initially when the land, which has got ‘addicted’ to chemical fertilisers, is diverted to organic farming. One way out is for a farmer to make this shift in stages. The government policy should encourage this shift with suitable help and reward, instead of squandering resources on subsidising chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

3. Policy-changes regarding Mechanisation, Energy and GHG Emission

Earlier there were objections to the spread of combine harvestors on grounds of loss of livelihoods and wastage of fodder. There were objections to the purchase of tractors by small farmers on the ground of the indebtedness this caused. There were objections to excessive extraction of groundwater using electricity and diesel as this lowered the water table and hence damaged sustainable aspects.

Now in the age of climate change all these objections to excessive, rapid and ill-suited mechanisation get further emphasised by the need to reduce GHG emissions and curb the use of fossil fuels as much as possible.

On the other hand, renewable energy sources need to be encouraged. Innovations by rural innovators relating to improved tools and smaller machines relating to agriculture and crop processing should be encouraged. Innovations such as Mangal turbine (the work of a village-based innovator of Lalitpur district, UP which helps to lift water without use of diesel or electricity) should have a better spread. Improved bio-gas plants and stoves also need to spread more widely.

4. Equality, Justice and Land Reforms

So far the land-reforms effort has emphasised mainly three aspects—land consolidation, tenancy reform and land distribution among the rural poor. In our opinion, land reforms should concentrate mainly on the third aspect, that is, the distribution of land among the rural poor.

The land consolidation effort has been marred by large-scale corruption. This corruption has also led to injustice in the form of transfer of good-quality land of the poor to rich and influential households. In addition, essential agro-ecological needs relating to traditional water sources and pastures could not be understood, appreciated or cared for by officials out to make a fast buck. Therefore as things stand today it is better to stop the land consolidation work till some truly beneficial alternatives can emerge and a better understanding of this work can be formed.

In the case of tenancy reforms, there can be a huge difference in what the law states and what actually exists. At places the law may have banned tenancy but all sorts of land leasing arrangements exist on a significant scale as per the practical requirements of villages and the working of the existing power-structure. There are other complications arising from the phenomenon of reverse tenancy, or the tendency of the bigger landowners to lease-in the land of smaller, marginal farmers (who may go out to work as migrants), particularly as bigger farmers have increasing access to labour-displacing machinery. So the best option at present is to avoid too much interference in tenancy and land-leasing and instead concentrate on land distribution among the rural poor—the landless and those who have very marginal land holdings.

Land distribution among the poor should get very high priority, and optimum use of all the existing laws (including ceiling laws) and favourable administration orders should be made. In addition, new laws and administrative guidelines may be needed. However, middle-level farmers should be assured that their land will not be touched. The recent laws and orders which have an adverse impact on the rights of the poor (for example, taking back asami patta) should be immediately withdrawn. The SEZ Act should be withdrawn. The fertile farmland should be protected from diversion to other use. Corporate takeover of farmland—direct or indirect—should be firmly resisted. Displacement should be reduced as much as possible. Agriculture should be mainly based on small farmers. Landless farm workers, including Dalit-adivasi farm workers in particular, should be helped to become small farmers making available at least two acres land to each landless family. Marginal farmers having just about one acre of land can also be given some additional land.

Those who have already received land but could not cultivate it should be helped to occupy and cultivate this land. All new allottees should get help for minor irrigation, soil and water conservation.

5. Water and Soil Conservation

Water and soil conservation work is very useful and important but at present it is marred by large-scale corruption. There is a huge scope for improving this work and its benefits. Watershed projects should be integrated with egalitarian objectives, land reforms and need to help the poor on a priority basis. Cropping-patterns should be compatible with water availability. Construction of new projects and expensive structures should be avoided for some years and concentration should be on better use of existing irrigation sources. Water needs of agriculture and animal husbandry should get priority over water needs of industry. Farmers should be protected from the ill-effects of air and water pollution, emission of harmful gases etc.

6. Low-cost Farming

At all levels efforts should be made to reduce the costs of farmers and thereby reduce the chances of indebtedness. Loans at significantly reduced interest rates should reach farmers wherever these are actually needed, and relief from loan or interest should be provided at the right time in case of adverse weather. Loans should be on simple interest basis and not compound interest basis. Self-help groups for self-reliance in meeting small credit needs should be encouraged and helped. Keeping in view the inadequacy of the previous loan-waiver, a second loan-waiver should be considered.

7. Price and Incentives

Farmers should get a much higher price for their crops which should be based on treating farming as a highly skilled work. Farmers’ needs should be evaluated keeping in view the realistic size of a farm family. Organic produce should get further encouragement and financial incentives. Direct links of farmers and consumers should be encouraged. Even while paying higher returns to consumers, the price of healthy, organic food can be kept within reasonable limits by reducing expensive inputs and reducing the share of exploitative middlemen. Dues of farmers should be paid promptly.

8. Food-first

In terms of crop-choices, the first priority should be for a diversity of local staple foods including cereals, millets, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, spices. The second priority can be given to crop for other local economic activities such as fodder for dairying, cotton for hand-spinning and handloom work.

9. Tree-farming

When the Forest Department wants to plant trees on its degraded or vacant land, this should be done with the help of landless or nearly landless poor rural households, with special emphasis on tribals. Till the trees have not grown sufficiently, these families must be paid for their work for planting trees and care for them under the various poverty alleviation and afforestation schemes. Once trees have grown adequately these families will have full hereditary right over minor forest produce. These rights will not be disturbed till these families fulfil the responsibility for protecting trees. They can get additional remuneration for protecting wild life. Indigenous species of trees which have good minor forest produce and good soil and water conservation properties should be planted. Efforts should be to approach conditions of natural forests as much as possible.

10. Farm Animals

A system of farming which integrates agriculture and animal husbandry should be adopted, with encouragement for care and concern for welfare of farm-animals. Protection of cows and bullocks should be encouraged in a big way in a secular sense—so that everyone can be a part of this effort. Promotion of animal husbandry and welfare of farm animals should get high priority.

11. Women Farmers

The greatest possible encouragement should be given to women farmers. Their initiatives and independent identity should be recognised and encouraged. All land titles should be together in the name of husband and wife. However, there should not be any insistence on division of land among all sons and daughters. Even sons should as far as possible work jointly instead of dividing land in every generation. But in case of single women, they should get their rightful share of land whenever they need it. When a marriage takes place, the bride’s name should be entered into the land records along with the husband’s name.

12. Genetic Engineering

Due to the high risks, hazards and uncertainities associated with genetically engineered crops, there should be a complete ban on the introduction of any genetically engineered crops.

13. Cottage Industry

Cottage and small-scale industrial activity should be encouraged in villages and small towns. The spirit of swadeshi and maximum possible self-reliance of village communities emphasised by Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom movement must be revived to meet the contemporary needs. Growth of desi (indigenous varieties of) cotton can become the base of revival of hand-spinning and hand-weaving (khadi cloth). Cottage industry like khadi/handloom should get increasing strength from the emphasis on reducing GHG emissions and environment-friendly textiles. A wide range of cottage industries related to agriculture, animal husbandry and minor forest produce, as well as other cottage-scale labour-intensive industries can be started. The kind of small-scale industrial activity that doesn’t displace or threaten farmers but instead provides additional livelihoods to them should be encouraged.

14. Farm Research

Farm scientists should be completely free from corporate influence and guided by the interests of ordinary farmers, sustainability and environment protection. There should be a willingness to learn from the traditional wisdom in agriculture, animal husbandry, irrigation, water conservation and related issues.

[This paper was written for the Gorakhpur Environment Action Group.]

The author is currently a Fellow at the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi.