On Farmers

 

This book has been on my bucket list for a long time. In the midst of the ongoing farmer-agitation on the borders of Delhi, mainly by the farmers of Punjab and Haryana, a friend kept referring to this book, urging us to read it to understand better the dilemma being faced by the farmers.

The first thing that strikes you is that for a book written nearly 50 years ago, it continues to be quite relevant today. The poorest farmers in undeveloped countries continue to be exploited, countries continue to chase policies that prioritise cultivation and export of foods consumed by rich countries, leaving their own people to grow less for their own consumption, and a dependence on the  processed foods, which, in turn are produced by MNCs.

The question raised at the outset is this: 

"Why would the North concede anything when the Third World could make no credible threats and had little to do give in exchange except a clearer conscience?"

The book might be a bit dated but it presents a range of eye-opening examples - of how soyabeansOn came to dominate farms in Brazil; of how MNCs teamed up with Rockefeller and Ford Foundation to promote Green Revolution and build a market for their own fertiliser-pesticide-seed companies; of the opaque ways of Cargill, a family-held company that dominated the food value-chains;  of companies like Massey-Ferguson funded research studies on farm mechanisation while promoting their own tractors, and the ways in which USAs Food for Peace Law (PL 480) vastly increased US commercial markets for food abroad.

Susan George is quite scathing on the Green Revolution:

What is GR doing to research? Since most agronomic research takes place in the developed countries...an inordinate amount of research is devoted (a) to high carbohydrate HYVs, (b) to the climatic zones where they can be grown, and (c) to fertiliser-sensitise plants that can be protected from disease only by chemicals.

I was also struck by the description of some individuals - especially Frantz Fanon, the black psychiatrist and Matinique who put himself to the service of the Algerian freedom struggle.  Then there are stark facts - there are 80,000 known edible plant species - but a mere 50 of them provide 90 percent of our food. 

In the context of the ongoing farm protests in India, its interesting to know that George had warned - back in the 1970s! - about the implications of Punjabi farmers (among the 'small privileged stratum of larger landowners') shifting away from a wide range of crops to focus on wheat and rice. 

Now the Punjabi chickens have come home to roost. Grandchildren of the farmers who wholeheartedly accepted the changes brought in by the Green Revolution are now blocking the streets, demanding not only a continuation of government support and subsidies, but also a buyback at 'minimum support prices' that are way above the the global prices of foodgrains! 

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REFERENCES & LINKS:

* George, Susan (1976): HOW THE OTHER HALF DIES - The Real Reasons for World Hunger

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_the_Other_Half_Dies

Ten Fe Ciega - Have Blind Faith

The past can be confusing - especially if you are learning to express yourself in Spanish.

Confusing and frustrating if you are trying to navigate through the number ways in which you express the past in Español - preterito perfecto, preterito indefinido and preterito imperfecto.

Yet the learning process has its rewards. I was trying to figure out a fill-in-the-blanks which went with the title - "¿Conoce a Horacio Quiroga? Lea su biografía y escriba los verbos entre paréntesis en pretérito indefinido." (~ Do you know HQ? Read his biography and write the correct verb forms")

I had never heard of Horacio Quiroga. So, after getting most of my answers wrong, I switched windows, to read more about this poet, author, and maverick.  

And what an amazing, crazy life! Quiroga was born in Uruguay. He once shot dead his own best friend my mistake while helping him prepare for a duel, and after spending some time in prison, he got acquitted, and left for Argentina where he spent much of his life away from cities, in remote forested areas. He managed to persuade a young lady to marry him, and join his life in the forests, brought up his two children to survive the outdoors, with a deep love for nature. Along the way he published books and poems which continue to be popular today.

English translations of this works are, unfortunately, not available at my favourite Russian online repository. So I guess I'll have to get my preterito's sorted out before I can read his works in original Spanish!

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LINKS & REFERENCES

- https://www.infobae.com/sociedad/2020/02/19/horacio-quiroga-los-amores-la-locura-y-las-tragedias-que-marcaron-su-vida/

- https://www.wikiwand.com/es/Horacio_Quiroga

- https://horacioquiroga.org/galeria-de-imagenes/

Quotes

 "Ten fe ciega no en tu capacidad para el triunfo, sino en el ardor con que lo deseas." --- Have blind faith not in your capacity for success, but in the ardor with which you desire it.

"Culpar a los otros...es patrimonio specifico de las corazones inferiores." --- Blaming others... is the specific heritage of the small hearted.

Frankl's Search for Meaning

A random quote on social media leads you to a book, and then some thoughts in the book hit you deep inside. This happens to me quite often - the latest example comes from the book, "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl.

The Frankl quote in this case came from a TEDxGenoa video - "Everything can be taken from man but one thing. The last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.". 

Much of the book is focused on the author's experiences in Nazi Concentration Camps while describing his psychotherapeutic method (Logotherapy, where logo = meaning ), of identifying a purpose in life to feel positive about, which then helps you survive the most difficult trails of life.

Towards the end of the book, while describing the various ways in which prisoners tried to keep up their hope through the months and years of being subjected to starvation, beatings, and torture amidst those who who were being taken away to the gas-chambers, he tells of a comrade who - 

"...on his arrival in the camp had tried to make a pact with Heaven that his suffering and death should save the human being he loved from a painful end. For this man, suffering and death were meaningful; his life was a sacrifice of the deepest significance"

This set me thinking about my father and my grandparents, who suffered prolonged confinements at hospitals before dying. It brought back memories of confusion, helplessness and despair; of constantly wondering why people who lead such gentle lives in the service of others, had to suffer so much in the end.

This book has many helpful pointers - 

"What was really needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life...it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us...Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct."

Where have I read this before..?  - The Gita? Teachings of the Buddha?

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Links and References:

* TEDx - Own Your Behaviours (Louise Evans) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BZuWrdC-9Q&list=PLJZfFMDhIj8x6c-zuDsF6Y6y2bx0geOal&index=60&t=0s

* Frankl, Viktor (1946): Man's Search for Meaning -  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4069.Man_s_Search_for_Meaning