A light of hope

The dalit women farmers in the cluster of DDS, Zaheerabad, use self-sufficient ways to cultivate the produce and are seldom in distress, therefore setting an example for the fraternity

Let us not forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labour of man. When tillage begins other arts will follow. The farmers therefore, are the founders of civilization” – Daniel Webster

These words have indeed become eulogies....in the truest sense with farmers embracing death over a life of indignity imposed by belied expectations, mounting debts and unfulfilled responsibilities.

Barren lands seen as the ultimate betrayal have sapped the essence out of their lives and dignity in death, with politics rather than compassion becoming the focal point of both the government and the opposition.

A malaise with a diagnosis by experts of every hue however has no line of treatment or permanent cure and it is this aspect that is worrisome.

Cosmetic cures, adoptions and compensations to the families of the victims have only worsened the situation that has now gone beyond the definition of tragedy to a “severe crisis”.

Vidarbha or Punjab; Telangana or Andhra Pradesh, farmer suicides are a blot on civilised society. So, where does the solution to this problem lie?

Why are governments that are gloating over successes in space unable to handle issues on the ground? These are basic questions that cannot be answered when one has “Blinkers on” as expert life coach Martha Beck would say.

When the blinkers are off one can see the emotional connect that the farmers have with the soil they till and the simple methods that replenish it.

One such model exist two-and-a-half hours from the capital city of Hyderabad, unnoticed by the authorities that be. Here Dalit women farmers working in over 75 villages around Zaheerabad,

through 5,000 members in the various Sanghams (voluntary village level associations of the poor) have moved from food security to food sovereignty thanks to the efforts and guidance provided by Deccan Development Society (DDS), an NGO established more than 25 years ago.

Protecting indigenous seeds, practising permaculture, eco-insurance and production of biomass to ensure the fertility of soil have helped reclaim ten thousand acres of degraded agricultural land and raise three million kilos of grain every year in the lands here, which is six times the amount they used to produce earlier.

The Community Grain Bank at Pastapur, the hub of DDS activity has an alternative public distribution system based on local production, storage and distribution to create a sense of community grain fund.

The women farmers here were guided to break away from the grip of genetically modified crops and multinational firms that have through government intervention proved to be death traps to farmers all over the country.

“There are no farmer suicides here as there is no dependence on seeds or pesticides, which land them in a debt trap. We have a sustainable model of organic farming where their needs are met after which the surplus is sold in the market.

We have a viable model and I see no reason for farmers to be in distress if they are self reliant,” declares PV Satheesh, an internationally recognised specialist on development, communication and participation and founding member of the Deccan Development Society.

The district is dependent on rainfall and has no major water sources as a result of which farmers shifted to millet cultivation that requires less water and is a healthy and nutritious alternative to rice according to him.

“We grow about 20 varieties of jowar, bajra, millets and other crops on one acre and are not distressed if one crop faces a pest attack.

We sell surplus produce after setting aside enough for the family,” says Pastapur Chinna Narsamma, her face beaming with pride. She has visited 20 countries and can talk extensively about farm practises in UK, USA and Canada.

The farm lands there have huge acres with a mono crop, where mechanisation is very prominent with hardly any people whereas our land provides livelihood to hundreds of farmers and has incredible varieties of crops she informs us. Narsamma sees no reason for farmers to end lives and proudly states that farmers never commit suicide in the Zaheerabad district.

At a conference in Canada she recalls how a Telugu translator who translated all the speeches for them disappeared during lunch break as he was not entitled to have lunch with the delegates.

When it was her turn to speak Narsamma told the astonished delegates that she was pained that a conference that had provided food to thousands of delegates could not feed one extra person.

“In our village we offer whatever we eat even if it is just chilli powder and roti to a guest, who visits us. We are only too happy to share,”

she told them after she gave an account of benefits of mixed cropping and the dangers of growing cotton in an unchecked manner.

The Sangham radio the first of its kind in the country run by these women under the community radio service has many programmes related to agricultural practises with General Narsamma and Algole Narsamma the two women at the helm of broadcasting talking to experienced farmers who provide much needed advise on traditional farming.

“We realised that the main stream media has no time for the rural and voice less... and even when they have it is largely controlled by advertisers.

For instance Doordarshan offered to give us a slot to propagate organic farming but I realised here too advertisements by seed and pesticide companies,

the very forces we are resisting would inevitably creep in defeating the purpose for which they are made” says PV Satheesh, who has also trained these women farmers to be videographers, who make their own short films, which showcase their efforts to the world.

Mayuri, a 14-year-old girl, who made her debut as a filmmaker at the tender age of eight shot her first film with visuals and interviews of her grandmother Ratnavva at work on her fields.

The film that chronicled the growth of the plants each month had the kid proudly announce the fact that the plants had become taller than her in three months. She plans to become an agricultural journalist when she grows up.

Farmers and policy makers should draw strength from the Pastapur experiment where life has sprung up in wilderness, where hope kindles in hearts and where green saplings signal the flow of life unhindered by the spectre of death and disaster.

By:Aruna Ravikumar