Who will feed Uttar Pradesh?

By Devinder Sharma
08 Sep 2010

State governments are competing with each other to grab fertile lands of farmers and transfer these to industry. But with increasing population and decreasing arable land, feeding the people will become a huge challenge for states like Uttar Pradesh in the years to come.

Already marginalised and ignored by the policy makers, Indian farmers
resent land grab by government and industry

India is witnessing a thousand mutinies. Pitched battles are being fought across the country by poor farmers, who fear further marginalisation when their land is literally grabbed by the government and the industry. From Mangalore in Karnataka to Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, from Singur in West Bengal to Mansa in Punjab, the rural countryside is literally on a boil. Large chunks of prime agricultural land are being forcibly diverted for non-agricultural purposes.

While the continuing struggle against land acquisition for instance by farmers in Aligarh, which took a violent turn and became a political ploy, is being projected by media as an agitation by farmers for higher compensation, the reality is that a majority of the farmers do not want to dispense with their ancestral land. They are being forced to do so. The most critical, but until now ignored, aspect of this land grab is that it has serious implications for food security.

Let us take the case of Uttar Pradesh. The state has the largest population in the country, and is also the biggest producer of foodgrains. Western parts of Uttar Pradesh, comprising the fertile Indo-Gangetic plains, have been considered part of the green revolution belt. In addition to 4.10 crore tonnes of foodgrains, it produces 1.30 crore tonnes of sugarcane and 1.05 crore tonnes of potato.
Uttar Pradesh produces more foodgrains than Punjab but because of its huge population, it is hardly left with any surplus. What is however remarkable is that Uttar Pradesh has been at least feeding its own population.

This situation is bound to change soon if the government continues with its land conversion policies. The proposed eight Expressways and the townships planned along the route, along with land being gobbled by other industrial, real estate and investment projects are likely to eat away more than 23,000 villages. Although Mayawati government has dropped the townships along the Yamuna expressway, but the company that is investing in real estate claims that as per their pact with the State government, they have to be given land in an alternative location.

Former Union Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh has in a statement said that one-third of total cultivable land of Uttar Pradesh will be eventually acquired.

This means that out of the total area of 1.98 crore hectares under foodgrain crops in Uttar Pradesh, one-third or roughly 66 lakh hectares will be shifted from agriculture to non-agriculture activity. Much of the fertile and productive lands of Western Uttar Pradesh will therefore disappear, to be replaced by concrete jungles. In addition to wheat and rice, sugarcane and potato would be the other two major crops whose production will be negatively impacted.

As per rough estimates, 66 lakh hectares that would be taken out of farming would mean a production loss of 140 lakh tonnes of foodgrains. In other words, Uttar Pradesh will be faced with a terrible food crisis in the years to come, the seeds for which are being sown now. Add to this the anticipated shortfall in potato and sugarcane production, since the area under these two crops will also go down drastically, the road ahead for Uttar Pradesh is not only dark but laced with social unrest.

Already lagging behind most other states in socio-economic development, Uttar Pradesh will surely see surge in hunger, malnutrition and under-nourishment. We can only imagine the socio-political fallout of the misadventure that the government is attempting with such a massive takeover of fertile land.

What is not being realised is that Uttar Pradesh alone will send all the estimates of the proposed National Food Security Act go topsy-turvy. At present, as per the buffer norms, the government keeps between 200 lakh tonnes to 240 lakh tonnes for distribution across the country through the Public Distribution System (PDS). In the last few years however the average foodgrain stocks with the government have been in the range of 450 to 500 lakh tonnes.

Even with such huge grain reserves, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has expressed his inability to provide 35 kg of grain per month to every eligible family. Imagine, what will happen when Uttar Pradesh alone will put an additional demand of 140 lakh tonnes. Who will then feed Uttar Pradesh?

Policy makers say that with rapid industrialisation the average incomes will go up as a result of which people will have the money to buy food from the open market and also make for nutritious choices. But the bigger question is where will the addition quantity of food come from? Already, Punjab and Haryana, comprising the food bowl, are on fast track mode to acquire farm lands. Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab are building up ‘land banks’ for the industry and Rajasthan has allowed the industry to buy land directly from farmers setting aside the ceiling limit.

Internationally, the food situation is worsening ever since the 2008 food crisis when 37 countries were faced with food riots. Even now, food prices globally are on an upswing. As Russia extends the wheat export ban till the next year's wheat harvest sending global prices on a hike, deadly food riots were witnessed last week in Mozambique killing at last seven people. According to news reports, anger is building up in Pakistan, Egypt and Serbia over rising prices.

Knowing that the world can witness a repeat of 2008 food crisis that resulted in food riots in 37 countries, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has called for a special meeting to discuss the implications.

Extended drought and resulting wildfires have caused a 20 per cent drop in wheat harvest in Russia sending the global wheat prices on a spiral. Wheat futures obviously would take advantage, and according to Financial Times wheat prices have gone up by 70 per cent since January. India may therefore find it difficult to purchase food from the global market if it thinks it can bank upon the international markets to bail it out. This is primarily the reason why several countries, mainly China and the countries of the oil rich Middle East are buying lands in Africa, Lain America and Asia to grow food to be shipped back home for domestic consumers.

Gone are the days when a worried Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, while addressing the nation on Aug 15, 1955 from the ramparts of the Red Fort in New Delhi said: "It is very humiliating for any country to import food. So everything else can wait, but not agriculture." That was in 1955. Fifty-five years later, in 2010, UPA-II thinks that food security needs of the nation can be addressed by importing food. Land must be acquired for the industry, because the industrial sector alone will be the vehicle for higher growth. There can be nothing more dangerous than this flawed approach.

Capacity sans sustainability

By Shankar Sharma
31 Aug 2010

In view of the social, economic and environmental impacts of fossil fuels, and their limited availability, India needs a paradigm shift in its approach towards the energy sector. A detailed critique of Integrated Energy Policy is put up here for objective analysis by concerned experts and stakeholders.

Energy is a crucial sector of our economy, so much so that per capita availability of energy is considered as an indicator of economic prosperity. However, the social, economic and environmental impacts of demand/supply of energy are so huge that only a holistic and objective consideration of all the related issues will enable a sustainable and effective national policy. In this context the recommendations of Integrated Energy Policy (IEP) have been analysed in this critique.

While there are many good recommendations in IEP, the review indicates that IEP has recommended large growth in the installed/production capacity of various energy sources by 2031-32 ignoring the huge deleterious impacts of such a growth on our society. Long term impacts of such growth on environment and bio-diversity have not even been discussed. In this context alone the IEP recommendations have failed in the expectations of a welfare society.

In view of the social, economic and environmental impacts of fossil fuels, and their limited availability, country is in urgent need of a paradigm shift in the way it views the energy sector. The escalating demand for energy must be objectively considered in the correct context of greater needs of the society such as clean air, water and healthy food, and the inescapable limits of the nature in supporting such a demand. In this regard it becomes obvious that the conservation and enhancement of our environment and bio-diversity must not be compromised in order to meet the unabated demand for energy.

Within the energy sector, there is a critical need to: clearly differentiate our needs from wants/luxuries; recognize the fact that fossil fuels are fast running out; focus on improving the energy efficiency to international best practices levels; effectively deploy all the alternatives available to meet the legitimate demand; and harness the renewable energy sources to the optimum extent. Suitable tariff policies, including a feed-in-tariff for renewable energy sources, should be implemented to heavily discourage wastage of a precious national resource such as electricity, and to encourage very high efficiency in its usage and local production.

We should acknowledge that the energy security will not be feasible as long as we fail to manage the effective demand, and as long as we rely heavily on external resources. Inequitable supply of limited energy amongst various sections of our society, which is prevailing at present, must be set right as a priority. In view of the Global Warming impacts on our densely populated society the usage of fossil fuels should be minimised in the short run and eliminated in the long run.

Subsidized electricity by a State Government to any category of consumers should be only by advance payment of one year’s subsidy amount. A comprehensive policy to encourage widespread usage of pubic transport systems should be implemented; usage of private vehicles should be discouraged keeping in view the huge cost of fuel imports and the pollution impacts; old and inefficient vehicles should be eliminated on a rigid time scale.

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Food storage or wastage?

By Pandurang Hegde
25 Aug 2010

To tackle food storage crisis in India, government should adopt two-pronged approach of encouraging large size foodgrain silos in states with surplus production and de-centralised foodgrain procurement and storage in other regions.

In most storage sites, jute bags packed with foodgrains lie in open
(photo courtesy: NDTV)
The damage of food stocks in Food Corporation of India (FCI) warehouses has made news headlines recently. The Supreme Court (SC) had to intervene to give stern warnings to the government to put an end to destruction of the food grains. It also asked the government to distribute the stocks to the poor and malnourished. This is not the first time the apex court has given such strong warnings. In the past too SC had asked the central government to initiate actions regarding proper food storage, but still no action was taken. It is a national shame that even for routine government function, especially in case of foodgrain storage, the judiciary has to intervene to reprimand the government to perform its constitutional duty.

As usual, the Food Ministry has not taken these warnings seriously. The Food Minister declared in Rajya Sabha that, “All reports on rotting of foodgrains are not factually correct and quite exaggerated. There are only certain cases of damage and we have suspended some officials”.

Despite facing innumerable hardships, the farming community of India has produced good results as the food grains output increased to 231 million tonnes in 2008. As we claim to be a Super Power in waiting, the rampant malnutrition and prevalence of anemic children and women to the extent of 48 percent of population is a definitive indicator that we have failed to feed the hungry. Under such critical circumstances, it is a criminal to waste food grains. Ironically our food storage methods are not only inadequate but also antique and outdated. In tropical climate, there is an acute need to invent methods of food storage that can deal with the high moisture content causing fungus and reduce damage by rodents.

Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) made the Central and State Government aware of the problems of food storage way back in 1956. “If the problem persists after warning was issued more than five decades ago, it only means that Government is not serious in shoring up the storage facilities to keep up with the expanding production” said Dr Parpia, the ex Director of CFTRI. Despite the Government being warned in advance of the impending storage crisis, the intentional neglect on the part of the Food Ministry and the casual approach of the Planning Commission is a clear indicator of non-performance. They have miserably failed to provide policy support towards strengthening the food security.

At present, the food ministry hires space from private operators to store food paying higher rent. At the same time there are reports of state warehousing corporations renting out the storage facility to agricultural multinational corporations, instead of storing the foodgrains procured by FCI. These contradictory facts reveal the failure of the ad hoc policies of the food ministry in dealing with the food storage crisis.

These facts prove the insensitivity of the politicians and the bureaucrats in dealing with the essential commodities like food crops. They neither care for the farmers who produce the food nor are they interested in helping the poor to ease their hunger. The farmers produce food with their hard-earned labor and scarce financial resources, but instead of reaching the hungry stomachs it gets destroyed by the policies of the government.

Though the wastage of food grains is estimated to be Rs 60000 crores annually, in real terms the cost will be much higher. We need to add the costs of growing these crops, input costs for fertilizers, power, cost of water, and the labor costs of farmers. Adding these costs the estimate of the loss incurred by food grains wasted in the country would be around Rs 100000 crores annually. This is two times the food subsidy costs incurred in a year. If we take into account the environmental costs, of soil erosion and effects on water quality, it would be much higher.

The solution to food storage

In order to find solutions to the food storage, the minister of state for food K V Thomas toured China with some FCI officials. Impressed by the Chinese methods of food storage, the minister announced a further study team visiting China to learn about the modern warehousing construction and preservation methods of food storage.
We should definitely adopt good and practical techniques form China, but we should not ignore the time-tested methods of food storage that have been in practice in rural India.

Being an agricultural country, each region in India has evolved storage methods to preserve the food grains. In the villages we have grain gola, made from wood or local material that protects the grain from moisture and rodents. In most cases they use neem leaves or plant based pest resistant methods to repel pests and fungus. However, these silos like structures are small and they are suitable for storing village produce for a year or two. These time-tested methods are being abandoned in recent times as they are replaced with the concrete godowns, with support form central and state government under rural godowns scheme. Lack of maintenance, inadequate means to control moisture has led to failure of these rural warehouse projects.

Production of mountains of grain through intensive methods of high input agriculture calls for a different approach to store the food grain. The creation of grain silos as in the western countries is one of the options to store the food grains. Though it is capital intensive, it helps to prevent the moisture and control rodents. In contrast to this, in majority of the government godowns in India, grain is stored in open in jute gunny bags, which cannot prevent the moisture and can easily be destroyed by rodents and pests.

The best solution in a country like India is to adopt two-pronged approach of decentralized policy of procuring and storage of food grains at village level with community support and large-scale grain silos in regions like Punjab and Haryana. This will help to reduce the losses and increase the life of stored food grains.
Are our policy makers willing to adopt these practices?

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Weather aberrations may exacerbate hunger

By Devinder Sharma
20 Aug 2010

The devastation wrought by aberrant weather conditions in several parts of the world has posed a larger question about the implications climate change has for food security of a nation.

Food self-sufficiency becomes critical during a natural calamity (photo
courtesy: Washington Post)
Something terrible is happening to the weather. And it is happening right across our home. From the cold desert of Ladakh to the plains of Bihar and Jharkhand, extreme weather conditions have played havoc. In neighbouring Pakistan, unprecedented floods, including in the arid region of Sindh, have hit more than 14 million people. Latest estimates point to 4 million people rendered homeless.

For some strange reasons, rainfall received due to cloudburst in Leh on a single day was higher than the highest in Cherrapunji. Normally, Leh has been known to receive precipitation in the form of snow only. Although rains had appeared in the Ladakh cold desert for some years now, but such intense downpour defies scientific explanation. In Pakistan, what caused the floods was also a massive downpour, more than what it normally receives in a month.

If you think such weather fluctuations are only happening in India and Pakistan, you are mistaken. Severe drought and wildfires have been raging in Russia for almost a month now. A dense layer of dark cloud hangs over much of Russia. Not only in north-eastern India, parts of Africa and eastern United States are also reeling under a severe drought.

Seemingly disconnected, these extreme weather conditions are being increasingly linked to global warming. While the official machinery grapples to ascertain the extent of damage, scientists are now trying to ascertain the causal reasons. Many believe that such drastic weather aberrations are because of global warming, but the linkages are still not that clearly defined.

Whatever be the reasons, the devastation wrought by aberrant weather conditions in several parts of the world has posed a bigger question about the implications it has for food security. Already, Russia and parts of Africa have lost wheat crop in millions of acres. In view of the loss in harvest, Russia has already banned wheat export. Pakistan is also contemplating food imports to tide over the shortages emanating from the deluge.

In the past too, Australia and Canada had low wheat harvests necessitating large cuts in grain exports. Again, wheat harvest in both these countries had been impacted by distortions in the usual climate pattern thereby pushing global food prices. This only goes to show how precarious and at the same time crucial is for every country to maintain food self-sufficiency.

As has been witnessed earlier in 2007-08, when food prices shot up globally, resulting in food riots in 37 countries, even for countries which had foreign exchange reserves to fall back upon there was no surplus food available in the global markets. While this has necessitated the scramble to scout for fertile land in other countries for crop cultivation and shipping the food back, domestic economic policies are being designed to drive out farmers from agriculture. I don’t understand the logic of farmland grab in foreign countries when agriculture back home is sacrificed for the sake of industry.

Unmindful of the growing threat to food security from resulting global warming, India too is busy acquiring good fertile lands for industrial purposes, real estate and infrastructure. In Uttar Pradesh, for instance, 26,000 villages will disappear when all expressway projects are completed. Since 1980, more than 9.8 lakh hectares of tribal land in the country has been diverted for industrial projects. In addition, over 1.5 lakh hectares of land is to be acquired only for Special Economic Zones.

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Silent resistance awakens government

By Ashirbad S Raha
17 Aug 2010

With the government appointed expert panel also finding the proposed Vedanta project hazardous to Niyamgiri hills and the Dongria Kond community residing there for centuries, the tribals' struggle to save their culture, livelihoods and land has got a major boost.

Tribal soldiers of a silent war in a candle light protest in Delhi
(photo: Ashirbad Raha)

Being a tribal, Kunni Kadraka’s natural instinct is to greet a person with an innocent smile. But of late, the smile does not reach her lips. The innocence and cheerfulness in her mind is entangled in fear.

Her dreams and smiles are threatened to be devoured by the voracious appetite of a corporate giant but the hope to survive all odds is still breathing. A battle she started with her folks sans any financial or political support is finally being noticed.

But for Kunni, who lives at Bundel village in Orissa's Kalahandi district, the war is far from over. She is a member of Dongria Kond community that is defending their lands, livelihoods and culture against Vedanta Resources, a mining company listed in London Stock Exchange. The global mining giant has plans to mine about 70 million tonnes of bauxite for commercial exploitation from the environmentally sensitive Niyamgiri Hills.

However, the poor tribals’ consistent struggle against the destruction of their revered Niyamgiri hill by the global company has begun to bear fruit. A four-member panel appointed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests has reported that the mining giant consistently violated several laws in Niyamgiri, encroached upon government land, yielded clearances wrongly and illegally built an aluminium refinery at Lanjigarh, Orissa.

Though a GDP growth rate obsessed government may find avenues to discard the observations of its own expert panel, but some environmentalists see the latest report as a useful weapon to protect the threatened Niyamgiri hills. Some activists even hope that this stern report could finally lead to the shutting down of the company's project in Orissa.

For Kunni and the entire Dongria kond tribe, Niyamgiri has never been just a hill but their God which they have been worshipping for thousands of years. Perhaps, it is this sentiment that has given them the courage and optimism to continue their fight to save Niyamgiri. This, to them, was a war that had no midway solution.
On being asked about what Niyamgiri means to her, Kunni’s otherwise calm face lights up as she says, “For us, Niyam Raja (Niyamgiri) is our purpose for existence. From our food, water, air to our livelihood, all come from Niyamgiri. It’s our God.”
Vedanta, however, plans to mine their ‘God’... and that too illegally and with muscle power. In fact, to rope in the Konds, it has constantly propagated the idea of bringing 'prosperity' to the tribe.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a journalist who has been following the Niyamgiri struggle for some years says, “Vedanta promises good homes, jobs and ‘better lives’ to the konds for giving up their demand but the company doesn't realise that for these tribals, despite being away from the winds of growth and development, survival has never been an issue. The rivers, streams, forest produce and even medicinal plants of Niyamgiri have sustained them properly and hence there is no question of providing better lives.”

Undoubtedly, the Niyamgiri Hills are extremely rich and significant both culturally and ecologically. Being the source of Vansadhara River as well as a major tributary of Nagavali River (both rivers cater to the drinking and irrigation needs of lakhs of people in south Orissa and Andhra Pradesh), Niyamgiri boasts of miles of some of the most pristine forests in Orissa inhabited by a number of vulnerable wildlife species including tiger, leopards, sloth bear, pangolin and palm civet. It is, however, anybody's guess how bauxite mining will affect the mountain and its flora and fauna.
The last few years have been difficult for the villagers in the region. They accuse the company of intimidating them to give up their cause. Kulesika Basko of Kadraka village in the adjoining Rayagada district says, “Ever since Vedanta has come in, we cannot leave our ladies and the elderly alone in the village. They are always accompanied by some male members. Earlier the men folk would carelessly venture into the forest for collecting the produce but now there is always a fear that the company's hired men might harm our families.” And not to forget the fact the refinery at Lanjigarh that Vedanta has already put in place is alleged of gifting diseases like tuberculosis to the Konds.

And it’s because of these irreversible ecological, cultural, social and societal damages caused by the project that Vedanta is now facing stiff resistance not just by the Konds but an expanding international community that is rallying for the cause.
Supporters like Bianca Jagger, Arundhati Roy, Michael Palin, Survival International, Amnesty and Action Aid, have already been instrumental in bringing to the fore the plight and danger that linger over the Niyamgiri. And the results have been quite remarkable. Over the past three years, major Vedanta shareholders have withdrawn their investments from the company. Most recently, Dutch pensions giant PGGM withdrew investments worth $16 million. Earlier this year, the Church of England sold its shares. In 2007, the Norwegian government divested its shares in Vedanta followed by Martin Currie, a Scottish investment company in 2008, clearly raising questions about the company’s credibility.

“The fact that the international community has recognised the Niyamgiri struggle is the first sign of our victory. It’s a tough struggle but we have all the reasons to feel hopeful. If we can drive out the British rulers and earn our Independence then why can’t we save Niyamgiri,” says Bratindi Jena, Tribal Thematic Head, ActionAid India.

Earlier in March this year, a team of experts from the Indian government had slammed Vedanta for its mining plans in Niyamgiri. The investigation prompted by a series of complaints made to the Ministry for Environment and Forests clearly concluded: “This acquires importance in the context that disruption of the habitat and the way of life of this Primitive Tribal Group (PTG) cannot be remediated or compensated, and may lead to the destruction of the Dongria Kond as a PTG. This is too serious a consequence to ignore.”

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After much hype, Jatropha bubble bursts

By Devinder Sharma
03 Aug 2010

Projected as the crop of the future, Jatropha was pushed by the industry and the governments with equal force. However, much to the disappointment of the farmers and misery to the poor and hungry, the alternative fuel crop has failed to fulfil the expectations of the world.

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam had extolled its virtues as a bio-fuel crop. Planning Commission had made futuristic projections, and several agricultural universities had come out with package-of-practices for its production in wastelands. Some State governments had even set up separate bio-fuel commissions to promote the crop. It was considered to be a dream crop for farmers as well for replacing petrol.
The dream has however gone bust.

The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has in a special report categorically debunked the claims, and has warned against the hype and half-truths around jatropha, the oil seed plant touted as a major potential source of bio-fuels. “Although there have been increasing investments and policy decisions concerning the use of jatropha as an oil crop, they have been based on little evidence-based information,” the report said.

The dream was oiled on hype, and of course business interests. The Planning Commission triggered it, and like much of what it does, it actually relied on industrial projections without ascertaining whether bio-fuels could actually be produced on a scale to make any significant contribution to the country's ever growing fuel needs.

In April 2003, the Planning Commission had initiated a proposal calling for a major multi-dimensional programme seeking to replace 20 per cent of country's diesel requirement. In March 2004, the first instalment of Rs 800-crore for the National Programme on Jatropha was released to ‘support cultivation of jatropha in 200,000 hectares’. Under the programme, a total allocation of Rs 1500-crore to cover 400,000 hectares was envisaged for the next five years.

A total of 13 million hectares had to be brought under jatropha plantations by 2013.
European companies had meanwhile taken millions of acres of land out of food production in Africa, Central America and Asia to grow bio-fuels for transport. According to a report by Action Aid, the land diversion from food to fuel by EU companies alone could have been responsible for 100 million more hungry people, increased prices and landlessness. To meet the 10 per cent target envisaged by EU, the total land area directly required to grow industrial bio-fuels in developing countries could reach 17.5 m hectares, over half the size of Italy.

Interestingly, the entire hype was created on the basis of industrial claims. The industries were more interested in land grab, as is now becoming evident. In India, lakhs of acres of land has already been purchased by private companies at almost throwaway prices. Companies like D1 Oils, the London-listed bio-fuels company, which has planted about 257,000 hectares of jatropha, mainly in India, moved in early.
Newspaper reports say that farmers feel they have been cheated. This is what The Independent (Feb 15, 2010) wrote: “In India, forecasted annual yields of three to five tonnes of seeds per hectare have been scaled back to 1.8 to two tonnes. It quoted Raju Sona, a farmer in north-east India who gave up land that usually produces vegetables to grow jatropha. “No one will buy jatropha. People said if you have a plantation then surely you have a good market. But we didn't see such a market. I threw the seeds away.”

The FAO punctures the argument that growing jatropha utilizes marginal lands effectively. The level of economic returns needed to secure private sector investment “may not be attainable on degraded land” considering better gross margins which can be gained on sugarcane and oil palm plantations. It was not as if this was not known. But governments all over, including India, were simply influenced by private companies and the consultancy firms.

To know about the potential of jatropha plants as bio-fuel, I had travelled sometimes back to the Directorate of Oilseeds Research in Hyderabad, a premier research centre of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research. Talking to scientists, what I learnt was simply shocking. For many years, they did research on the potential of jatropha, but had abandoned the research project few years ago. The conclusion: it was not a plant suitable for India.

And yet, the Planning Commission launched a kind of a national mission on jatropha. Since the dream has failed, as is evident, shouldn't the Planning Commission be held accountable? After all, it is the tax-payers money that is being squandered, and someone should be held accountable. And what about large tracts of land that the State Governments had transferred to the private companies at a throwaway price? Isn't that another scandal? Shouldn’t that land be taken back?

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Teen pregnancies and contraceptive needs

By Rina Mukherji
29 Jul 2010

Reducing unintended pregnancies among adolescents will not only reduce maternal and newborn deaths, but will also improve the educational and employment opportunities for young women.

Preventing unintended pregnancies among adolescent women can greatly reduce maternal and newborn deaths and disability adjusted life years (dalys), which currently accounts for 16 per cent of all dalys lost among adolescent and young women aged 15-29 years in developing countries, according to analytical fact sheets prepared by the Guttmacher Institute and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). The analysis is based on data from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and was presented at the recently-concluded Women Deliver Conference in Washington.

An estimated 2.7 million adolescents become pregnant unintentionally every year. Adolescent mothers account for 12 per cent of all births in South Central and Southeast Asia, 16 per cent of all births in sub-Saharan Africa, and 18 per cent of all births in Latin America and the Caribbean. Almost all unintended adolescent pregnancies in South Central and Southeast Asia occur among married women, compared with an estimated 54 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa and 51 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 15 percent of unmarried adolescents are sexually active and want to prevent pregnancy, as do 11 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean. In fact, half of all sexually active adolescent women in these two regions who want to prevent pregnancy are unmarried.

There are an estimated 260 million girls and 280 million boys aged 15-19 in developing countries, according to the Population Division of the United Nations.
Although about 818 million women of reproductive age want to avoid pregnancy, 140 million women are not using any form of contraception, while another 75 million use less effective traditional methods.

In all regions, birthrates have declined over the past 30 years, but still vary widely by region. The biggest decrease has been in South Central Asia, where births dropped from an estimated 90 per 1000 women to 73 per 1000 in 2005.
Each year the use of modern contraceptives prevents 3.1 million unintended pregnancies all over the world, including 1.1 million in South Central and Southeast Asia.

Fulfilling all needs for modern family planning would prevent 7.4 million adolescent unintended pregnancies each year. The total cost of meeting the contraceptive needs of sexually active adolescents would be highest - that is $271 million - in low-income countries, which have the greatest need of creating and expanding their health service infrastructures, and lowest in upper-middle and high-income countries, that is, $ 104 million.

Reducing unintended pregnancies will not only greatly reduce maternal and newborn deaths, but will also improve the educational and employment opportunities for young women, and in turn, contribute to the improvement in the status of women, greater family savings, reduction in poverty and increased economic growth. It will also enable young women in developing countries to get longer schooling, gain productive experience in the labour market before marriage and childbearing, and develop the readiness for parenthood.

IPPF and the Guttmacher Institute recommend that contraceptive services be responsive to the special needs of adolescent women, and be provided in a manner that sexually active adolescents are not stigmatized. For this, family life education for the young in school and reaching out to those who are not attending school is suggested.
In every developing country, early marriage and early childbearing are common among women plagued by poverty and with little education. Whether single or married, adolescent mothers are found to have very little monetary resources of their own. Inadequate knowledge of contraception, high risk of sexual violence, and little independence in deciding on the timing or spacing of births make them especially vulnerable. Consequently, adolescents account for 14 percent, or an estimated 2.5 million unsafe abortions that occur in the developing world.

It is estimated that fully meeting the demand for contraception can avert 53 million unintended pregnancies each year, resulting in 22 million fewer unplanned births, 25 million fewer induced abortions, and 7 million fewer miscarriages.

A mandir that composes songs of change

By Ashirbad Raha
29 Jul 2010

Kala Mandir, a leading non profit in handicraft initiatives has been spearheading a silent journey to revive dying art forms in Eastern India and thereby help poor tribals to improve their economic and social conditions.

Grassmat weavers at Janumdih Village (photo courtesy: Kala Mandir)
"Very often, we would go to sleep just by gulping down a glass of water. Two meals a day was luxury that we could not afford. But now I am a happy man who can think beyond his meals and earn enough to sustain my family," says Dinbandhu, a daily wage earner turned grass mat weaver in Janumdih, a small remote village in Potka Block of East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand.

Having left behind his nights of empty stomachs, Dinbandhu now is a proud owner of a mobile phone. It's certainly quite a distance in the language of transformation.
In the same village, there is another story of empowerment waiting to be told.

Year 2005, and Sarla would dig earth, work as a construction labour and continue to worry about her next meal. Year 2010, she starts her day with hope. She smiles more often and confidence shines in her face. She now rides her bicycle and travels through different villages forming self help groups (SHGs) and training women for alternative income generation through local natural resources.
Quite a long way for a tribal woman who would have otherwise spent her entire life fighting poverty and impoverishment.

Sarla and Dinbandhu are just two names from a growing tribe of individuals from remote pockets of East Singhbhum, Seraikela Kharsawan and West Singhbhum districts in Jharkhand who are finding a road to livelihood and so are the traditional artists in these villages who are reaching a window to appreciation and recognition.

Showing them the path, is Kala Mandir, a leading non profit in handicraft initiatives that has been spearheading a silent journey to revive dying art forms. From taking the artists to different handicraft fairs across the country to providing a market linkage to their products and helping their art forms to take shapes as desired by the market through capacity building and training, Kala Mandir has been instrumental in constantly supporting, nurturing and disseminating various art forms for more than a decade now.

But that is just the tip of an iceberg of change. The story lies in how Kala Mandir has managed to weave its aim of infusing life into vanishing art forms with other components of livelihood in a non-profit business model which has now become synonymous to growth and success. Named as Biponi, (a rural mart owned by a federation of SHGs facilitated by Kala Mandir in Jamshedpur) is the platform for these traditional art and craft handicrafts to reach out to the outer world.

Village women of a SHG formed by Kalamandir (photo courtesy: Kala Mandir)
"When we started working for promotion of rural art and craft, we could immediately realize that for them to survive, it was extremely essential to identify market linkages and find a space in the market for such products. And therefore, when the idea called Biponi was conceptualised, it was very clear that the centre would be an interface for the artists to reach out to the outer world," says Amitava Ghosh, Secretary, Kala Mandir.

The aesthetically designed mart is home to bamboo products, grass mats, paper masks, Dokra art products among many others, all of which come from the training centres being run by Kala Mandir in 29 odd villages spread over three districts of Jharkhand. The uniqueness of the model in which Biponi operates lies in the fact that the artists themselves are present to handle the costumers and therefore get a first hand feedback on the needs and requirement of the emerging market trends. Apart from that there is a payment module by virtue of which the artists gets his due within a week and therefore is prevented from any sort of debt trap. Both the features in a way add to ownership feeling to the artists which is a very important element of any rural venture.

And therefore it's not surprising when talking about the success of Biponi as a non profit business model, Mr Ghosh shares, "From an annual turnover of Rs 1, 61,000 in 2006, we have now reached the figure of close to a crore and the demand for these handicrafts is spiralling up further."
A growth of more than 85% in four years is something that perhaps words can hardly define. It can only be felt in the happiness that echoes in Dinbandhu's voice when he says, "We have so much work with us that we hardly get time to sleep."

read more@http://www.d-sector.org/article-det.asp?id=1326

Green power is the need of the hour

By Samir Nazareth
23 Jul 2010

India's policymakers have long been known for their short-sightedness. Now, instead of tapping the huge renewable energy resources, government is blueprinting fuel-based projects to meet power needs, overlooking their harmful consequences and the vast alternative energy resources the nation sits on.

Renewable energy is probably India's best bet to address the country's escalating power crises and the fact that various regions are delightfully abundant in such energy resources makes it the most sensible and viable path too. Unfortunately, despite sitting on a gold mine, India is suffering from acute power shortage in most of its regions, thanks to the customary lack of will and plenty of inefficiency.
There is a lot of potential in India to generate energy from renewable sources. The GWC's report Indian Wind Energy Outlook 2009 estimates that there is potential of around 90,000 MW for power generation from renewable energy sources. This includes 48,561 MW from wind, 14,294 MW from small hydro power and 26,367 MW from biomass. Added to this is the potential of generating 20 MW/sq km from solar energy. There is also a lot of scope to improve the efficiency of electricity usage. In fact according to a 2006 UNEP release, India's potential energy efficiency market is approximately $3.1 billion which in turn would save 54 terawatt hours annually.

The government, however, seems quite unaware of these facts and also of the irreparable environmental damage done by fossil fuels. Case in point is Vidarbha region of Maharashtra where 43 new coal-fired thermal power plants have been proposed and the government is promising uninterrupted power supply in the region. The absurdity of this plan stems from the fact that Vidarbha endures daily power outages despite being power surplus and its thermal power plants contribute almost 60% of State's power company Mahagenco's total energy generation.
However, a report on the renewable energy potential in Vidarbha by Dr Sanjay Khadakkar points out various renewable hybrid systems put up by the government in various institutions of Vidarbha.

One such 10 KW wind-solar hybrid is set up in the Mahalakshmi Jagdamba Sanstha. The irony is that though this institution is situated between two thermal power stations, it faces 5-6 hours of power cuts. Institution's manager Mr Rajniti Gupta says that hybrid is the answer to their power cuts. Though enough electricity can be generated to power the entire campus, a problem with the batteries has reduced its efficacy, but storing enough electricity to see them through the power outages. The system was set up in 20 days at a cost of Rs 28,80,000.

Another example is the Bhodisatva Nagarajun Anusandhan Kendra in Mansar, 37 kilometres from Nagpur. The 5 KW wind-solar hybrid is used during the frequent power outages and even powers electric tools used for carving stone statues.
The report states that solar-wind hybrid systems of 62.8 KW have either been installed or are being installed and proposals for another 6 projects of 10 KW each have been sent to the government.

Dr Sanjay Khadakkar states that because of load shedding, 'alternative sources of energy are a must to fulfil the need of energy'.

To read more follow the link: http://www.d-sector.org/article-det.asp?id=1321

Empty rhetoric for empty stomachs

By Devinder Sharma
18 Jul 2010

The establishment needs to think beyond entitlements to completely remove hunger and malnutrition from India. Unfortunately, the proposed National Food Security Act fails to inspire much confidence.

How long the poor and the hungry will have to wait for their miseries to end?
(photo: Gaurav Sharma)

There can be nothing more disappointing. After 63 years of Independence, the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) has also expressed its helplessness in feeding the country's hungry.

The hungry must live in hunger. That's the clear verdict.
For a country which has the largest population of hungry in the world, and given that half of all children in India are under-nourished according to the National Family Health Survey III (2005-06), I was expecting Sonia Gandhi to spell out a time-bound programme to make hunger history, and at the same time overhaul the corruption-ridden public distribution system (PDS). But from what we read in the newspapers, the NAC recommendations will not make any significant difference to the life of millions of hungry and malnourished.

From what I gather, Sonia Gandhi did probably make the effort. But it is her NAC team which failed to match her enthusiasm. If the NAC members had meaningful ideas and suggestions, there is no reason why the NAC couldn't make the right recommendations. Come to think of it, the NAC recommendations will only bring cheers to the grain traders.
Promising to provide 35 kg of foodgrains at Rs 3/kg to below the poverty line population, and ensuring 25 kg of grains to the APL households in 2000-poorest blocks in the country, is actually a clever move to move away from universalisation of food entitlements. I have never been in favour of a universal food entitlement approach. The middle class is capable of feeding itself. If they can buy swanky cars and consumer durables at the drop of a hat, they can also meet their food requirements.
Unlike India, which exports foodgrains and other agricultural commodities by keeping its own people hungry, China has emerged as a major importer of food and agricultural products primarily to feed its teeming millions.

The challenge is to feed the hungry. According to ICMR norms, each able-body person needs a minimum of 14 kg a month. Given that an average family comprise five members, each household would need 60-70 kg of grains. By providing 35 kg only, we are ensuring that the hungry remain perpetually hungry. They continue to sleep with an empty stomach. In any case, this quantity was being made available to them earlier too. The purpose of bringing in a National Food Security Act (NFSA) is not to simply legitimise what was being delivered through the bogus PDS all these years.

The argument against increasing the food allocations is that the annual procurement on an average is around 50 million tonnes and by promising more than 35 kg per household, the government will fail to provide the entitlement. Well, in my understanding this is merely an apology. Although food production in India remains stagnant over the years, and even then much of the procured foodgrains rot for want of proper storage, the fact remains that given an attractive price, Indian farmers are capable of doubling production.

Let us look at China. Its population is approximately 200 million more than that of India. Against India's foodgrain production of 230 million tonnes, China produces 500 million tonnes of foodgrains. Even with more than double food production, it imports huge quantities every year to meet the domestic needs. Unlike India, which exports foodgrains and other agricultural commodities by keeping its own people hungry, China has emerged as a major importer of food and agricultural products primarily to feed its teeming millions.
In India, the average per capita availability of foodgrains is less than 500 gm a day. On the other hand, China provides six times more at 3 kg per day. No wonder, while India is trying to ride the high-growth trajectory with empty stomachs and emaciated bodies, China is building a healthy nation knowing well that a well-fed population is not only a political necessity but makes strong social and economic sense.
Also, agriculture and food security is the first line of defence against insurgency. Resurrecting agriculture therefore should have been the first step to ensure long-term food security.

I had therefore expected Sonia Gandhi to have over-ruled the mandarins from the Planning Commission, as well as from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, to lay out a blueprint for feeding the country for all times to come by incorporating measures like extending sustainable farming practices which do not acerbate the environmental crisis, and also making agriculture economically viable; by redesigning trade and development policies that do not open the floodgates to highly subsidised agricultural commodities, and also shifting the focus from corporate agriculture back to making small farms profitable and environmentally sustainable.

There is no justification for India to fare below Sub-Saharan Africa in hunger and poverty rankings. Most of the African nations are torn by strife and have unstable governments. If those African countries had stable governments like India, I am afraid India would have been relegated to the bottom of the pile.
Local production and local procurement is the key to any successful food security initiative. The proposed NFSA therefore should be overarching enough to incorporate suitable policies and plans that not only cuts into the domain of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, but also extends to Ministry of Environment & Forests as well as the Ministry of Science & Technology. It will require an overall economic policy shift to ensure that agricultural land is not acquired for the industry, and technologies like GM crops are not thrust upon the farming communities.
Knowing that enhancing production remains outside the ambit of the NFSA, merely making a mention of it will not help. If the objective is to make some political appointments by creation a new position of Food Commissioner (with the rank of a Supreme Court judge) at the national level, and a series of State Commissioners (with the rank of a High Court judge), then the basic objective of feeding the hungry is lost.
Although the NFSA has created a new category of "socially vulnerable" it is not sure as to how will that be implemented. On the contrary, it leaves a lot of room for misappropriation and corruption. The better option should have been to extend the 'below the poverty line' to 55 per cent of the population so as to also include those who are on the margins.

In fact, this would be in tune with the latest multi-dimensional poverty estimates developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Accordingly, eight States - Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal - have more desperately poor people than 26 poorest African nations. As per the last count, India ranked 66th in the Global Hunger Index prepared for 88 countries.

There is no justification for India to fare below Sub-Saharan Africa in hunger and poverty rankings. Most of the African nations are torn by strife and have unstable governments. If those African countries had stable governments like India, I am afraid India would have been relegated to the bottom of the pile. I don't know how long we Indians can remain indifferent to growing hunger and malnutrition. Sadly, the NAC, after raising a lot of expectation in the beginning about the intent and scope of NFSA, has again failed to hit the nail on its head.

Challenges increase as WSF turns ten

By d-sector Team
05 Apr 2010

Social activists all over the world are celebrating completion of ten years of the World Social Forum (WSF) that was launched in June 2000, at the Alternative Social Summit in Geneva, and had its first meeting from 25 January to 30 January 2001 in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

To continue with its tradition of de-centralisation of the movement, in its tenth year the WSF will have series of events spread over 12 months, with activities being held throughout the world.

The idea for the WSF germinated out of the desire to organise a meeting of anti-globalization social movements, parallel to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, an annual meeting point for the beneficiaries of the capitalist model of economic growth and development. The WSF was conceived as providing alternatives to the guidelines of the WEF.

Since 2001, UNESCO has been a regular participant in the WSF and views it as a "prime opportunity for dialogue and a laboratory of ideas for the renewal of public policies" through "critical reflection on the future of societies we want to create and for elaborating proposals in search of solidarity, justice, peace and human rights".

In terms of popularity and participation, the WSF has been going from strength to strength since 2001. However, in the last ten years, the world and its many concerns have changed and the WSF has far greater challenges before it, but lesser political and media impact.

To read complete article follow the link.
http://www.d-sector.org/article-det.asp?id=1148

Thousands of farmers detained in Ahmedabad

By d-sector Team
27 Feb 2010

Farmers and social activists opposing the Nirma group's planned cement plant and limestone quarry in Mahuva in Gujarat detained in Ahmedabad before they could organise a rally from Sabarmati to Gandhinagar.

Over five thousand farmers from the Mahuva area in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat were detained and prohibited from taking out a peaceful rally protesting the Gujarat government’s approval for a cement plant and limestone quarry in their area.

The Mahuva farmers had managed to reach the Sabarmati Ashram despite Gujarat government’s measures to stop them from reaching Ahmedabad to organise a rally from Sabarmati Ashram to Gandhinagar to protest against the proposed plant by the influential Nirma group. Police had blocked all the entry points to the city but several hundred farmers managed to escape police checkpoints by walking long distances in the night.

However, the planned rally couldn't be organised due to preventive arrests and deployment of large number of police personnel to stop it at any cost. Most of the leaders and activists supporting the farmers protest were taken into police custody before they could start the rally.

Chunibhai Vaidya, 92 year old Gandhian who founded Gujarat Loksamiti, Kanubhai Kalsaria, MLA of Mahuva, Sanatbhai Mehta, ex Finance Minister of Gujarat, Ilaben Pathak of AWAG and a senior editor Prakash N Shah were the prominent persons among those detained by the police. Social and political leaders of Gujarat have criticised the high-handedness of the State government terming it ‘suppression of collective democratic rights’.

The farmers were enroute to the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, from where they intended to start a peaceful march to Gandhinagar to submit their petition, signed in blood by 11,111 affected individuals, when the buses and other vehicles they were travelling in were stopped by the police. The farmers were taken into police custody and brought to police grounds in Shahibagh area of Ahmedabad and detained there.

Several hundred protestors who reached the Sabarmati Ashram directly were also whisked away in police vans and blocked from taking out the march.

These farmers from Mahuva area in Bhavnagar district are protesting the decision by the Government of Gujarat to sanction a cement plant by Nirma Ltd, which includes 288 hectare of land for the factory and another 3000 hectare for a limestone quarry.

The affected villagers say that Mahuva area has among the most fertile lands in Gujarat, where farmers grow three crops, and export dehydrated onions and numerous other fruits. Moreover, the numerous onion dehydrating plants (turnover Rs. 300 crore) & cotton gins (turnover Rs. 3,500 crore) provide employment to an additional 10,000 people in the factories. They allege that the proposed cement plant will employ only 418 people for an investment of 2500 crore (Rs. 2.5 billion), but will end up devastating around 50,000 land owners, farmers & farm labourers, besides polluting the air and destroying the pristine coastal & inland ecology. It was only in the last few years that the Government had invested tens of millions of public money to construct structures for water conservation & prevention of salinity ingress in this area.

The farmers of the area contend that they have been facing the combined wrath of the government and company goons for protesting the government action. The government appointed a committee under SK Shelat (ex-Chief Secretary) to look into people’s grievances last year, and the company was required to stop work pending the presentation of the report of the Shelat Committee. The affected farmers allege that this Committee, without either visiting the area or listening to the affected people, has given the 'go-ahead' to the company for this project, which is likely to destroy the lives of around 50 000 people.　

The agitating farmers and activists assert that the Sabarmati arrests was not the first incident to repress the non-violent and peaceful expression of dissent by the affected villagers. Couple of months back, on 13 December 2009, the local MLA Dr Kanubhai Kalsaria, veteran Gandhian Chunibhai Vaidya, and several other leaders were prevented from holding a public meeting in Vangar village. Farmers also allege that two local leaders Wamanbhai and Pravinbhai Kathiria were apparently beaten up by hired goons, and other villagers were manhandled by the police.

Recently on 20 February, the police lathi-charged a peaceful rally of villagers, and ten activists were imprisoned on false charges, charge activists. Dr. Kanubhai Kalsaria, the MLA from Mahuva area, his wife and companions were reportedly again attacked on the way to Doliya village on 21 February, and their motorcycles were badly damaged. However, undeterred people from the Mahuva area decided to organise a massive march from Sabarmati Ashram to Gandhinagar (State capital) to present their petition to the Chief Minister, which they were not allowed to do. Social activists have condemned the latest round of police suppression of the affected villagers’ movement and expressed concern over the declining space available for voicing dissent in Gujarat today.

Instead of discouraging the affected farmers, the government action has encouraged them to spread the movement all over the state. It has been decided that the coming March 6 will be observed as Mahuva Day across the state. To make it effective, several organisations and activists have decided to organise various programs to create public awareness about the state government's move to grab lands of poor farmers across the state.

The Mahuva MLA Kalsariya, who has been leading the movement said, "We were just trying to march to Gandhinagar peacefully without creating any nuisance but it seems that the state government doesn't want to have a dialog with us. As thousands of protesters have gathered here despite of state government's efforts, we will continue our agitations in peaceful and non-violent but aggressive manner."

Implement biofuels program swiftly: Tiwari

By d-sector Team
15 Feb 2010

IOC, Dr Ashok Khosla, President, IUCN and Mr Arvind Reddy, Conference Convenor.
Growing energy consumption and its impact on climate have made it imperative to look for the renewable energy alternatives like biofuels. However, sustainability and economic viability remain core concerns. The 7th International Biofuels Conference at New Delhi aimed to provide some answers.

Former member of Planning Commission of India, Dr D. N. Tiwari has expressed disappointment over the piecemeal approach of government on biofuels. He said that by now India should have met a significant portion of its energy requirements through biofuels but the slow implementation by the government has hindered nation's march towards energy self-sufficiency. He was speaking at the 7th International Biofuels Conference organised at New Delhi by Winrock International India, a non-profit working in the areas of renewable energy and natural resource management.

Dr Tiwari, who as Planning Commission member compiled all relevant information and prepared a detailed report on biofuels during NDA government, said that since 2003 when the Union Cabinet accepted his report, absence of comprehensive action has adversely impacted the popularity of biofuels and led to disappointment among many stakeholders.

He, however, expressed satisfaction over recent announcement of National Biofuels Policy by the government. But Dr Tiwari, who is currently Vice Chairman of Chhattisgarh State Planning Commission, remarked that this policy should have been announced much earlier. "I had prepared the document for National Biofuel Mission in 2003 and the latest policy is entirely based on that document. If government had to copy the policy from that 2003 document, then why did it take six long years," he asked. "The program is there, but money is still not there."

"The announcement of the National Biofuels Policy would not have been possible but for the efforts of Winrock International India," he disclosed. Addressing the conference participants comprising of govt officials, scientists, industry representatives, academicians, students and social workers, Dr Tiwari gave full credit to the New Delhi based NGO for keeping the pressure on policymakers by organising International Biofuels Conferences every year and providing a platform to all stakeholders to freely discuss all relevant issues on bioenergy.

Emphasizing that first opportunity and benefit of biofuel should be given to the farmers who grow biofuel crops, Dr Tiwari said that they need technological support and subsidies to grow required feedstock. "But, the government is not keen to extend any financial incentive to the growers," he said. Taing credit for the biofuel R&D facilities developed at Allahabad and Chhattisgarh, he said more such institutions were needed to help the researchers, producers and users.

Also seen Mrs Pushpa Sundar, Chairperson, WII and Dr Kinshuk Mitra, Director, WII
The two-day conference was inaugurated by Dr Ashok Khosla, President, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), who stressed that in the quest of short term optimizing of the energy demands, the focus should not be on just one alternative as it would mean sub optimizing bigger systems.

The conference was addressed by prominent experts from the fields of Energy Conservation, Biofuels and Rural Development. Anand Kumar, Director, R&D, Indian Oil Corporation Limited shared IOC's plan to sow 3,00,000 Jatropha plants to ensure supply of sufficient feedstock for biofuel production, to be used as transport fuel. Dr H L Sharma, Director, Biofuels, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, assured the delegates about India's seriousness towards promotion of biofuels. He said that governments, Industries and NGOs would have to work together to extend use of biofuels in various areas.

Though the National Biofuels Policy identifies several sectors of intervention and lays out directives in an attempt to expand the bio-ethanol and biodiesel sectors, the automobile sector doesn't seem to be very enthusiastic about the whole concept. Expressing his disappointment, Dilip Chenoy, DG, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said that the Policy lacked a clear roadmap. He added that the target of 20% blending by 2017 cannot be realistically achieved without the involvement of the transport sector including genset & automobile manufacturers. "Earlier also government made it mandatory to blend 10 percent ethanol in petrol but lack of supply forced it to make it optional," he remarked.

Mr Chenoy clarified that automobile sector would not be able to make ambitious changes in the engines of the vehicles as done in countries like Brazil since the per capita income of Indians was much lower than citizens of such countries, making it difficult for Indians to purchase expensive vehicles. He wondered why the government was subsidising the use of fossil fuels but not extending support to biofuel sector.

The conference had some thoughtful discussions on impact of biofuel crop production on Food security and Sustainability. Dr Neil Bird, an international expert on biofuels, highlighted India's higher efficiency in delivery of food crops than European Union and the rest of the world. He said that India would not be able to meet its biofuel requirement without increasing crop yield or expanding land under cultivation. Dr Bird said that enough food was produced in the world but poor distribution and consumption by livestock were responsible for hunger and malnutrition in the world.


Juned Khan Komal of Society for Promotion of Wasteland Development, Udaipur highlighted that India's North and North-West region alone increased its share in foodgrains production, whereas all other regions now have much lower share in foodgrains. Vibha Dhawan of TERI supported technology interventions like Micro Algae cultivation and GM food for increased energy and food production. Ramesh Sharma of Ekta Parishad, Chhattisgarh expressed concerns over absence of Agriculture Policy and Tribal Policy in the State. He alleged that in the rush to increase Jatropha plantation area, govt has classified arid and semi-arid land as barren land and allowed encroachment on common property land. He suggested geonomics model for development of bio-energy and promotion of by-product economy to extend help to biofuel crops growers.

In the session on Sustainability Issues, Jeffrey McNeely, Senior Advisor, IUCN mentioned about key complexities of biofuel production like diverse components, scales and socio-economic and environmental factors. He offered several suggestions for sustainable energy usage like use of waste and residues, stationary use of bio-energy etc. He commented that sustainability can't be predicted in advance, and it can be judged in retrospect only. Mentioning the standards set by Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB), he said that commodity prices and displacement are among the few indirect impacts of biofuel sector expansion. Ganesh Pangare of IUCN expressed deep concerns over removing large dense forests for biofuel production. Highlighting water requirement of biofuel crops and its impact on food and water security, health of eco-systems and local water usage, he asked the stakeholders to choose between biofuel requirement of a Ferrari and water needs of a poor.

Graham Von Maltitz from Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa focused on managing the risks caused by invasive species that might harm the biodiversity. He appealed to biofuel producers to be very cautious in selecting the feedstock because the long term damage by invasive pests and plants could exceed the benefits from biofuels. Nadine McCormik of IUCN presented a detailed account of Indirect Land Use Change related to biofuel production and emphasized on the need for choosing the right crop at the right place in consultation with the local communities. Sunandan Tiwari of Winrock International gave a presentation on Social Impact Assessment of Bioenergy Projects and stressed on the need for matching social viability with economic viability of biofuel production.

In the concluding session on 'Converting Biofuel Policy into an Action Plan', Dr. M S Haque, General Manager, NABARD, raised concern about low availability of feedstock to meet the targets set by the Policy. He was of the view that Jatropha has not given expected results and more such species should be explored and encouraged for biofuel production. Dr D. K. Tuli of IOC suggested that the Policy should have an inbuilt mechanism and a clear roadmap to achieve the big targets set. He said auto industry can not shy away from its responsibility to meet the 2017 target for 20% blending. Dr Y. B. Ramakrishna of Biofuel Task Force of Karnataka shared the success story of his state. He said that in Karnataka they opted for multiple species for feedstock as per geo-climatic conditions to ensure year long supply of seeds. He demanded that the research and development on biofuel crops should be out of IPR regime since it involved communities at much larger scale.

Dr Ramakrishna also demanded a single body for biofuel development to stop interference of too many ministries. He emphasized on the need for decentralisation of value addition chains and establishment of district wise institutes and committees to train NGOs and farmers. He said, "to achieve success on biofuel production, we need government focus and community participation". Dr Veena Joshi, Advisor, Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation, laid emphasis on ensuring rural energy security along with poverty alleviation. She also appealed to the policy makers to ensure that the first right over the produce and benefits for the rural poor before exporting any surplus biofuels to neighbouring areas or states.

Dr Kinsuk Mitra, President, Winrock International India thanked the speakers and participants for their contribution in sharing and enriching the knowledge on biofuels covering wider biological, technological, social and policy aspects. He concluded by expressing his faith in collective action which he felt would drive the biofuels movement forward at a rapid pace.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited and International Union for Conservation of Nature partnered with Winrock International India in organising the conference. The conference was also supported by Ministry of New & Renewable Energy Resources & Ministry of Science & Technology.

About WII:

Winrock International India (WII) is a registered not-for-profit organization, working out of its headquarters in New Delhi, and through its project offices located in Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Bhadohi (Uttar Pradesh), Kawardha (Chhattisgarh) and Thrissur (Kerala).

WII addresses various environmental concerns focusing on the four principal program areas of Energy and Environment, Natural Resources Management, Climate Change and Outreach. The organization works on sustainable multi-disciplinary programs that are built by consolidating innovative concepts, sound research, new technologies, and indigenous knowledge to achieve long-term success and accomplish WII's mission to "develop and implement solutions that balance the need for food, income and environmental quality" and therefore help the people of India empower themselves to ensure their sustenance and survival of the natural environment they live in.

Encourage sustainable farming, not GM: KVM

By d-sector Team
09 Feb 2010


Protests against Bt brinjal have been reported from all over India

While the world awaits India's crucial decision on Bt brinjal, farmers, activists, and researchers exhort the government to use the historical opportunity to chart out a sustainable path in Indian food & farming systems.


As India awaits the decision of the Minister of State for Environment & Forests on the issue of Bt brinjal, farmers' initiative Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM) has urged him to seize the opportunity to tackle the problem of unsustainable and hazardous agri-technologies head-on and chart out a sustainable development path in Indian food and farming systems by rejecting Bt brinjal's entry into India.

Appreciating the efforts of the concerned minister Jairam Ramesh to consult the stakeholders before taking any decision on Bt brinjal, KVM thanked Mr Ramesh for adopting a democratic process on this crucial matter. "For the first time, a platform was provided for experts and others in the country to come out into the open to share their analyses and views on the subject", KVM Director Umendra Dutt said.

"Though there were some shortcomings in the consultations process adopted, it is indeed a unique initiative of the Minister to listen personally to various views from all quarters. The process allowed many people outside the formal consultations process to engage with the issue in productive ways. We hope these kinds of consultations will be streamlined better in future and made into a systemic process in regulation as required under the Cartagena Protocol", added Kavitha Kuruganti of KVM.

"The Minister is well in his rights and authority to invoke the precautionary principle as required under the Cartagena Protocol and the process of consultations has shown that never before was this approach more relevant than in the case of Bt brinjal, where the scientific community was severely divided on the matter with a majority of scientists who participated in the consultations cautioning the Minister against Bt brinjal", Ms Kuruganti said.

KVM reminded the Environment Minister of the cornerstones set down by the Task Force on Agri-Biotechnology in 2004 as "the safety of the environment, the well-being of farming families, the ecological and economic sustainability of farming systems, the health and nutrition security of consumers, safeguarding of home and external trade and the bio-security of India".

"It was heartening to hear from Mr Ramesh that the Bt brinjal issue was not just a technical matter but had socio-political implications. This was critical because the regulators (GEAC) failed to ensure independent, scientific, transparent and rigorous bio-safety evaluation of Bt brinjal before allowing its commercial cultivation", said KVM leaders.

In the consultations held in seven prominent centres of India, numerous farmers and scientists claimed that Bt brinjal was not needed in India since there were other ecological, safer and affordable ways of pest management. Some FSB (Fruit & Shoot Borer) resistant cultivars who participated in various consultations shared their pest management techniques and challenged the GM crop developers to come and see the effectiveness in the crop-yields. Farm activists also pointed out that the data being shown to rationalize the entry of Bt brinjal in relation to crop damage and pesticide usage was exaggerated and scientifically incorrect. Farmers also highlighted the brinjal glut in the market and the resultant low prices as the main problem repeatedly faced by brinjal growers.

Umendra Dutt said that several farmers want to move towards pesticide free farming and KVM would like the government to move in that direction without introducing more harmful technologies. He said it was high time the government took the problem of chemical pesticides in our farming head-on and ensured that sustainable and successful eco-practices for pest management reach the last farmer without turning to more hazardous and unpredictable technologies like Genetic Engineering. He appealed to Mr Ramesh to use this opportunity to acknowledge the problem of pesticides and to join hands with the Agriculture Ministry to tackle this issue squarely.


Raising the issue of regulatory process, Kavitha Kuruganti said that the issues around lack of credibility in the regulators' intentions and capabilities for objective, scientific and transparent evaluation were brought up time and again in the public consultations and there was an urgent need for a complete recasting of the regulatory system. "The interference of American agencies in Indian regulation should also be addressed squarely", she emphasized.

Mr Dutt said that scientists and others in these consultations repeatedly highlighted the insufficiency of data to back safety claims about Bt brinjal. He alleged that there were problems with the safety tests undertaken so far and the many gaps in evaluation and decision-making were also brought up.

He said KVM wanted the die-hard proponents of GM crops including some media houses to realize that the innumerable concerns on Bt brinjal and its safety assessment were being voiced by scores of scientists across the country and it was unfair to brand Bt brinjal opponents as "anti-science" and "anti-technology". "Several State governments and universities have come out against Bt brinjal's introduction in the past couple of months", he added.

"Farmers and researchers from Bt Cotton cultivation areas raised issues like animal health impacts, soil impacts, erratic crop performance, seed pricing and unviable economics, pest and disease changes in cotton, human health impacts, increased burden on organic farming etc during the consultation process", claimed Ms Kuruganti.

She added that in addition to farmers and scientists, people representing Indian Systems of Medicine also dreaded the potential impacts of Bt brinjal on their treatment systems and medicines.

Similarly, activists mentioned about lack of liability regime and how the entry of GM seeds like Bt brinjal would increase seed monopolies in favour of large corporations like Monsanto", said KVM leader.

It has been reported that several representatives of consumers expressed concerns that their right to eat safe food and to know what they are eating would be violated by introduction of GM food crops. "Since labelling on vegetables is impossible in a vast and poor country like India, giving choices to consumers would not be practically feasible", said Mr Dutt.

Umendra Dutt urged the Environment Minister to invoke the precautionary principle, a legally valid approach and reject Bt brinjal's entry into India on the simple ground that this controversial technology with its inconclusive proof of safety was not needed for pest management given the various alternatives available with the agriculture research establishment and practicing farmers all over the country.

Summary of public consultations held on the issue of Bt brinjal

Details of discussions

Kolkata (West Bengal is the largest producer of brinjal in India and also has the largest diversity.)

13 Jan 2010

Out of 56 people who spoke, 41 were against Bt brinjal, including senior scientists, brinjal farmers and others. The State Agricultural Technologists Service Association consisting of hundreds of agriculture officials declared their opposition to Bt brinjal. Members of the state agriculture commission also recommended a ban on GM seeds.

Bhubaneswar (Orissa is the second largest brinjal producer in the country)

16 Jan 2010

Total 65 persons got opportunity to speak, but only 5 of them spoke in favour of allowing Bt brinjal cultivation. Scientists from the State agriculture university, Orissa University of Agriculture Technology demanded a cautious approach on Bt brinjal.

Ahmedabad (Gujarat has maximum cultivation of Bt Cotton in India)

19 Jan 2010

Out of 28 farmers who spoke, 18 opposed Bt brinjal; 10 out of 15 scientists present argued against and 3 had balanced views on Bt brinjal. All speakers from civil society said No to Bt brinjal.

Nagpur (Vidarbha region of Maharashtra has seen crisis in cotton cultivation)

27 Jan 2010

Here, out of 21 farmers who spoke, 7 seven were in favour of Bt brinjal anticipating higher yields; out of 19 scientists who spoke, 10 were against and 9 in favour of Bt brinjal. Out of 18 others, only 2 favoured Bt brinjal.

Chandigarh (Punjab and Haryana are heartland of intensive agriculture)

29 Jan 2010

Out of 20 farmers, 12 spoke against Bt brinjal’s introduction. Many said how pesticides were also marketed as ‘safe’ and highlighted the present environmental health crisis unfolding in Punjab and the terrible cost being paid by farming families. Out of 10 scientists who spoke, 6 were against Bt brinjal. Few civil society members who got the chance to speak opposed the entry of Bt brinjal.

Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh has seen many successful sustainable farming initiatives)

31 Jan 2010

12 farmers spoke in favour of Bt brinjal and 12 against. Amongst the scientists, 13 spoke against and 5 in support of Bt brinjal. 5 civil society groups present said No to Bt brinjal. The emphasis here was on large scale ecological alternatives being available for pest management in various crops.

Bangalore (Hub of biotech companies)

6 Feb 2010

14 farmers spoke against Bt brinjal, while 16 in its favour. 21 out of the 30 experts (scientists, doctors etc.) spoke against Bt brinjal’s permission and called for conclusive, long term and independent tests to prove its safety. 5 civil society representatives who got a chance to speak were against Bt brinjal’s approval in India. Former PM Deve Gowda also expressed his concerns against Bt brinjal while the Organic Farming Mission Chair pointed out to the recent de-notification of Brinjal from the Biological Diversity Act’s purview in the name of “traded commodity” which is highly questionable. A former Managing Director of Monsanto India spoke against Bt brinjal and advised the Minister not to approve it.

Meanwhile, few selected scientists approached by the Minister are reported to be in favour of conditional release of Bt brinjal in India. However, Dr P M Bhargava and Dr M S Swaminathan, the two Supreme Court observers in the apex regulatory body (GEAC-Genetic Engineering Approval Committee) have opposed the permission to Bt brinjal citing various grounds.

At State level, at least 10 state governments have decided to oppose Bt brinjal's approval - these include Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttarakhand. In addition, some Ministers and officials of Rajasthan, Punjab and Mizoram are also reportedly against Bt brinjal on health and environment concerns.

The three states which grow more than 60% of brinjal in India - West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar - have notably said no to Bt brinjal's approval. Their arguments range from lack of conclusive proof of its safety, to fears of monopolistic control over Indian farming belonging to small and marginal farmers of the country. The public consultations in these majority brinjal producing states reflected this official position of rejection of Bt brinjal.