The Hindu Business Line : Farm sector can grow only on diversity

Economy of scale is being tried in farm production in spite of its dangerous consequences. This can damage the ecosystem and lead to an agrarian crisis.

The philosophy of market economy, which triggers industrial growth, cannot do the same magic for agriculture. Sustainable agricultural growth depends on its delicate relationship with the environment, culture and local ethos. Agriculture can never be treated as an industry. Trying economy of scale in farm production will only lead to an agrarian crisis.

Mono-cropping

Towards the last quarter of the 18th century, the British began forcing Indian farmers to grow crops exclusively for export. The horror of mono- cropping started then. Farmers were taxed heavily for growing export crops and villages lost their sustainability. Many traditional crops and edible herbs disappeared due to mono-cropping.

Economy of scale was also practised on the handicraft industry. The British increased their share in global trade by marketing Indian handicrafts and handloom products without improving the living conditions and skill of the artisans. The handicraft industry died a natural death. Similarly, mono-cropping destroyed the rich agro bio-diversity of the region. Just in the 19th century, more than 20 million villagers died of starvation and double the number left their homes for livelihood in the small towns and cities.

Worse, the British domination of people's consciousness convinced Indians that they were inferior. This led us to look to the developed nations for different growth models, many of which were often unsuitable for Indian conditions.

Dangerous consequences

Economy of scale is still being tried to grow farm products in spite of its dangerous consequences. This means excessive use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides all of which, ultimately, damage the eco system. Herbs and plants, which grow naturally alongside the main crop, are consumed by humans, cattle and form green manure for the farms. Those herbs and roots sustain life in harsh seasons. Reports on farmer suicides point to the erosion of farm bio-diversity; mono cropping is one the main causes.

Global investors persuade developing nations to go for mono-cropping. To mitigate perennial hunger, developing nations aggressively follow mono-cropping and convert farmland into desert. Today, desertification has become a phenomenon affecting more than 900 million people across the world.

THE price war

Besides, the mono-crops grown in poor countries hardly survive the price war unleashed by the subsidy-rich farmers of the US and the European Union.

The economy of scale in farming helps the subsidy-rich farmers in the developed nations and the rich farmers in the developing nations, who reap all the profits, causing considerable damage to agriculture bio-diversity. India cannot stop the US and the EU from giving subsidy to their farmers in different forms. But India has the choice to grow a wide range of fruits, vegetables and traditional foods and market them globally. The majority of Indian farm products are yet to reach global grocery bazars. The European market for organic farm products is estimated at $12 billion and growing at 20 per cent annually, which India can tap.

If India wants to be a true leader of the developing nations, it must first set its house in order. Authentic documentation of agriculture bio-diversity of every village with the villagers' participation should be completed first. In the past decades, more than 90 per cent of crop varieties, edible herbs and 50 per cent of domestic animal breeds have disappeared.

India has to document the variety of animals, plants and micro-organisms, which are important for food security. The nation has a long way to go to understand the intricate fabric of agriculture economy and its delicate eco balance.

(The author is a Pune-based freelance writer.)