Seed is the foundation and a vital input in agricultural crop production. Absence of good quality seed and availability on time, the potential of farm growth cannot be realized. Over centuries, farmers, especially women identify, select, breed, cultivate, save and exchange seeds as of their community rituals – it’s of socio-cultural integrity and priority beyond economical functions.
Introduction of the formal seed industry began after the formation of National Seeds Corporation Limited in 1963. In late 1960s, Green Revolution Technology (GRT) was introduced in the agricultural sectors. Cultivation of high-yielding varieties (HYVs) came along with many external inputs. It has been estimated that during active period of GR, between 1970-71 to 1993-94, the percentage increase in output was 89% in food grains and 92% in all commodities while the increase in major inputs such as irrigation, chemical fertilizers, pesticides were 69, 616, 242 percent respectively; the use of electricity went up by 742% and institutional credit by a staggering 1128%[1].
In India, GRT was concentrated in Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh which had conducive conditions like irrigation facilities and infrastructure to support GR. Gradually, it spread over Eastern states. The high external input based GRT strategy, continued through Orissa State Agriculture Policy 2008, formulated increase in Seed Replacement Rate (SRR) with quality seed multiplication through Agricultural farms of the Department, Odisha State Seeds Corporation and Registered Seed Growers[2].The State achieved 14% SRR in paddy till 2008-09 and planned to achieve 25% by the end of the Eleventh Five Year Plan[3].
‘Seed replacement’ is being promoted as solution to hunger; however, the Economic Survey of Government of Odisha reveals increase in fertilizer consumption by 39%, pesticides by 66% and ground water for irrigation by 102% during the same period[4]. It simply reflects – changing the ‘seed’, asks more external inputs making agriculture expensive. The major damage was resulted in erosion of many traditional landraces. For example, the Koraput region, recognized as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems[5] (GIAHS) is famous for its rich agricultural biodiversity – the genetic diversity of Asian cultivated rice and has been considered as the centre of origin of aus ecotype of rice[6]. During 1955-60, the CRRI, Cuttack collected about 1800 landraces of rice in Jeypore tract which has come down to only 350 landraces as recorded by M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) during 1995-96[7].
Linked to loss of eco-compatible seed diversity, there’re varieties of seed-input related problems confront the farmers today–quality of seed, on-time availability to crop failure due to not able to meet the higher expenses on other inputs. Still, the Govt. has planned to enhance the SRR for paddy to 35%, black gram and greengram to 20% each, groundnut to 33%and mustard to 33% by 2018-19 fiscal[8] planned under State Agriculture Policy 2013.
Changing the ‘seed’ changes the whole sum cropping practices and makes the skilled, self-driven farmers to highly dependent upon external agencies. Yields of HYVs are stagnating, despite increases in expensive external inputs like fertilizers, pesticides and investments on water as well. Farmers, today, are leading to increased cultivation costs without parallel increases in incomes – further -puts farmers in a never-ending debt trap, which ends with saga of suicide.
NSSO, in 2005, in ‘Situation Assessment Survey – Indebtedness of Farmer Households’, reports that 48% of farmer households in Odisha are indebted, of which nearly 70% have less than a hectare of land. The per capita debt is raised to INR 9316 in the state[9], but the actual figure estimates would be higher. A farmer generally mortgage or sell their land to repay the loan and in turn, leads to either migration (indicating the increase of current fallow by 158% and the net shown area reduced by 11% in last fifteen years, between 1992-93 to 2007-08[10]) or suicide.
A trend of debt bound farmer suicide cases has gradually emerged in Odisha. As per SCRB, between 2000-08, more than 250 farmers took extreme steps every year in the State except 2000. From 2002 to 2004, number of such suicides crossed 300 in a year. Agriculture Minister informs the assembly session on 15th Feb’11 that newspapers had covered as many as 64 alleged suicides by farmers during 2009-10 and till 10th Feb’11. The state also counts, altogether 2639 farmers had allegedly committed suicides from the year 2000. The State government, however, has not admitted a single such death of farmer to be due to crop loss or debt burden although it has admitted in the State Assembly a few days ago that 175 farmers had committed suicide in the State during 2015-16[11],[12].
Some of the reasons for farmer suicide are – all of them were small farmers, entirely dependent on monsoon for irrigation, sudden inflation had limited their access to expensive fertilizers and pesticides and all of them had borrowed from moneylenders between INR 10,000 to 25,000 at exorbitant rates, some as high as 25 per cent[13].But, the roots-to-crisis lies at strategic replacement of traditional cultivars that are harmonised with local eco-systems, but not the HYVs.
In recent years, conservation of indigenous seeds has been put ahead – the path is more rugged. Mainly on three fronts – the knowledge is associated with communities, but there’s no farmer consultations; second, the public-sector research mainly focused on developing HYBs and GM crops which farmers cannot multiply on their own; and thirdly, the new IPR laws in Seed Policies have already put restrictions on the informal seed systems on the faceof seed quality. The state also constitutes a ten-member committee to regulate registration of traditional cultivars[14] under PPV & FRA 2001. This implies that the ownership over the existing indigenous cultivars is at stake.
The history of agriculture is pre-historic. Agricultural patterns reflect – not limited to food production, but lead in socio-cultural beliefs harmonised with nature that reach to all sections. There’s need of reforming community seed banks, which select locally suitable open source seed, use, multiply and share with communities, on need.The state would facilitate an end-to-end framework inter-linking the sectors, systems and the farming citizens from grassroots as part of Farm-Farmer-Freedom process through Seed-to-Sovereign.
Pratap Chandra
pratap2016@gmail.com
[1] Saving Indian Agriculture and Agriculturists from Impending Total Subjugation by the Corporates by Prof. R. N. Basu; Ex-Khaira Professor of Agriculture & Ex-Vice-Chancellor, University of Calcutta
[2]http://agriodisha.nic.in/http_public/status%20of%20agriculture%20in%20orissa.aspx
[3] Status of Agriculture 2008, Government of Orissa
[4] Economic Survey 2009-10, Govt. of Orissa
[5]http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/giahs/PDF/Koraput_Traditional_Agricultural_System_to_be_designated_as_GIAHS_site.pdf
[6] Rice cultivars (Oryza sativa L.) belonging to five ecotypes (aus, aman, boro, bulu and tjereh) are examined with respect to KClO3 resistance, phenol reaction and apiculus hair length. These characters have been used as available criteria to classify rice into two types’ indica and japonica, for the last thirty years.
[7] Sarangi, Devasis (2012). What does GIAHS status to Koraput mean to Odisha; Orissa Diary, 3rd January 2012. http://www.orissadiary.com/ShowOriyaColumn.asp?id=31194
[8]http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Govt-Sets-Tall-Target-for-Seed-Replacement/2015/12/22/article3190050.ece
[9] As answered by the Finance Minister on 6th December 2010 in Assembly questionnaire session
[10] Economic Survey 2007-08, Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Bhubaneswar, Govt. of Orissa
[11]State finds no evidence of ‘farm failure’ behind farmers’ suicides: Satyasundar Barik; http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/16/stories/2011021661310300.htm
[12]http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/four-more-farmers-commit-suicide-in-odisha/article8391223.ece
[13]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmers%27_suicide_in_Western_Odisha
[14]State gears up to patent traditional plant varieties; http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/01/stories/2011020160240200.htm