The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Sowing misery

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Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008
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Sowing misery

The article “Fertilising profit, sowing misery” (June 16) is an excellent analysis of how, over the years, we have let agriculture take a back seat in our planning. That the governments miss simple points like providing fertilizer subsidies to the farmers directly speaks volumes about official apathy. Do we need World Bank experts to tell us that growth in agriculture will help to combat poverty more effectively?

In all the melee of rejoicing over the growth of corporate India, we have conveniently and irresponsibly ignored the suffering of our farmers.

S. Sudhir Kumar,

Hyderabad

* * *

The article should drive every conscientious Indian to brood over the flaring situation. India, long known as an agrarian economy, has relegated agriculture to the background. Capitalism has made inroads into our agricultural sector beyond measure. It is disheartening to note the chain of activities in the sector slipping into the hands of corporations.

While the U.S. shamelessly points to India and China as responsible for the world food crisis, few sections of the media educate the masses on how multinational companies exploit our economy. If the present trend is not regulated, our subsistent economy will soon lose out to chaotic private control.

B.T. Suresh,

Bangalore

* * *

The shortage of fertilizers and seeds, coming at a time when good rains have been forecast, adds to the woes of the agrarian sector. Over the years, the corporate hold on the agricultural commodity sector has aggravated cultivation costs, and successive governments have turned a blind eye to it. Reports of global conglomerates making windfall profits by galloping investments in farming may prod Indian big business to jump into the bandwagon. And the caveats for their entry will be smoothly cleared by a state that is committed to neo-liberalism.

B. Jayanna Krupakar,

Surathkal

* * *

The huge increase in the price of sulphur from $20 to $700 a tonne in about three years and the non-availability of rock phosphate have made buyers suspect manipulation and profiteering. Unlike the oil industry, the voice of the Indian fertilizer manufacturer is never heard. Oil-marketing companies pointed out that unless they were compensated for the increased price of crude, they would run out of cash to buy crude after September 2008. But similar statements by the fertilizer industry have gone unheeded for a decade now and the result is curtailment and even stoppage of production as the fertilizer pricing formula does not compensate the companies even their cost of production. The eligible subsidy and occasional promises of ad hoc help take ages to trickle down to the companies.

Aldous Huxley warned of the consequences of the manipulation of economic power by fewer and fewer people. Amartya Sen pointed out that the Bengal famine became severe not because of the non-availability of foodgrains but because of the people’s lack of purchasing power. These scenarios seem to be developing on a larger scale in India today. Even people with power seem to be powerless in stopping this.

Mathew Gainneos,

Thiruvananthapuram

* * *

It is a myth that “Fertilizer subsidies in India have for long gone to manufacturers, not farmers.” To keep fertilizers affordable, either you keep their prices low by paying the manufacturers a certain amount upfront or allow the fertilizer companies to fix a price as dictated by the market and give individual farmers a subsidy at the point of sale. The latter form is highly liable to misuse.

Under Indian conditions, it is sensible to subsidise the manufacturer than the end-user of the fertilizer directly.

G. Narayanasamy,

New Delhi

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