New book on Dr. MS Swaminathan

[onlinefarmer]

Here is an interesting review of a new book on Dr. MS Swaminathan. The review is by Colin Gonsalves in the recent issue of Tehelka


TOWARDS A HUNGER FREE WORLD
Anwar Dil
Intercultural Forum
Rs8oo

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HAVING NEVER read anything of or by MS Swaminathan, I opened this book with interest. I soon realised that the indulgent cover page, showing a suited Swaminathan amidst a field, set the tone for the whole book. The effusive descriptions forced me to skip the superlatives to see what he had to say about eradicating hunger. I searched for an analysis of how the Public Distribution System (pds) — one of the largest in the world — was sabotaged over time by targeting price increases and government sponsored corruption. I found none. I scrutinised page after page of monotonous, outdated speeches and articles to see if this 'great' thinker had dealt with the debate over the poverty line. While officials claim poverty has reduced, the latest nss data indicates that 70 percent of the population consumes 2,400 kilo calories per person per day or less, a poverty line set in 1979. I found no analysis — apart from a dull reproduction of the usual data on malnutrition — of the fact that on an average a family consumed 200 kg less per year in 2002 as compared to 40 years ago. That's when I realised that this book had little to do with moving "towards a hunger free world". What then is the book about?
It presents Swaminathan's narrow view of agriculture which glorifies technology and avoids issues like the consolidation of land, contract farming, rural indebtedness, the decline in agricultural investments and large-scale displacement from land.
Swaminathan is a plant geneticist and speaks glowingly of the mncs of Europe and the US "who have made major investments in technologies to produce new plant varieties for large scale commercial agriculture". He is an ardent supporter of the Agreement on Agriculture while ngos want agriculture out of the wto. He stands for gm foods at a time when the civilised world is moving towards organic farming.
Even when token progressive statements are made, they are wide off the mark. In a recent lecture Swaminathan identified 32 million households in the category of ultra-poor. (He deliberately uses the term "ultra-poor" which is a World Bank / imf construct where the idea is to avoid providing subsidised grain to the poor by focussing only on the ultra poor.) Based on this low figure, he concludes that an "open-ended employment-cum-food security project may need at a maximum about 10 million tons of food grains per year". By contrast, according to goi, the figure is closer to 80
Swaminathan glorifies technology and downplays poverty statistics million, which if calculated according to the same formula as Swaminathan used (number of families x grain required per month) India needs more than 34 million tons of grain a year. It's sad to see how far from reality one of India's most distinguished agro-scientists has strayed.
These days, everyone from Noble laureates, to World Bank Presidents speaks with feigned emotion of malnutrition. The language is politically loaded and it takes experience to see through the camouflage. 'Free market' means "let the mnc's export food to India unhindered", "corruption in pds" means 'close down the pds' and reference to the "ultra-poor" means "let's only give subsidised grain to those on the brink of death". And for the rest, either you buy (at market rates) or you die.

Book reviewed by: Colin Gonsalves


Courtesy: http://www.tehelka.com
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[k1jatrophaoils]

I hate this name atleast in a forum seriously discussing to help farmers and their farm produce.
1.First of all our country is just better than few Afro Asian Nations thats all and its very much true when you equate USD:INR.
2.There are farm workers and labourers who still migrate to different states enmassie as slaves even when there was heavy rain/Monsoon.
Courtesy:You can see Micro flyovers,Cable Tvs,Cellular service,Racing-PUB parlours,Sensex-satta Bazars and nowadays scientifically!
Trench works,road work,and civil work in many parts of the country still use man power to great extent.
3.Drinking water itself a questionairein the Country when we are so proud to have MNCs bottling aerated water to MSSand plundering minerals to mineral water with ISO.
4.75-80% of the people atleast take food outside their house one time a day.
5.The so called Revolutionalists in Agriculture fail to give any believable facts and figures that could convince a rural youth who intend to go for farming profitabley the one in Canada and US?????
6.Mass urbanisations and multiple imports time and again is the only area where Swaminathans could satisfy GOI and the successive Ministers of Food and Agriculture.
7.I cite the state of affairs of Rayalaseema,and Telengana in AP.
many Vidharba and few marathwada regions of Maharashtra.
Almost the entire districts of TN.
Most of the Dists in Orissa,and WB.
Ofcourse,half the state of Karnataka and few districts of Kerala are not out of any self sufficiency for a one time food.Draughts and famines are very much there in the modern internet era.
All bloody statastics are good for debates within A/C suits and not to rate a real status of a rural man in the above areas.
Let some scientists undertake a Padayatra through out the above areas and then start writing about their skills.
Make money! But not at the expense of a poor man.
Most of us charge the politicians alone and there exists a nexus of scientists with someone too.
President to MPs no one is really bothered about a common man who can not eat sim cards! They shamelessly write articles without a ground!
Common man need water,air,and basic health sanitation and its almost everything chargeable/payable and we talk of Revolutionalists.
My dear S(h)ame,Sweet, Swaminathan suitable for many more Noble awards atleast once in five years.
Bhadrinath.

[seetharam annadana]

Excellent Review. A must reading by Indian Press and NGO's.

Regards