Corporate initiated, contract farming experts, sometimes remind me of the bandmasters of the wedding / barat
bands in the small mofussil towns of Bihar, and sometimes, of the divine experts, who can sniff and tell the
farmer, where to start drilling, for the best likelihood of drawing water at the most convenient depth in the
rocky plateau ground.
Needless to say, the farmer is paying on a daily basis, for the expensive drilling equipment, and for the
retinue of drilling labour, engineers, managers and water diviners that turns up, and knows very well - it is
still undoubtedly his own fate, which will determine his success in drawing water at 50 metres or at 300 metres.
The farmer dares not question the professional competence, of this large retinue of water diviners, or ask for a
simple written agreement, of, at what depth, water will be struck. Pay us, watch us, do your bit, and pay us
more, will be the likely answer, even as the farmer, tries to hide, his ignorance, of the nuances of modern
farming, his cultural illiteracy and lack of modern scientific knowledge in the presence of the confident master
weavers of invisible cloth.
The retired, army Brigadiers and Colonels, who make up the Human Resources and farming division bosses, of the
corporate charge into Indian contract farming, are no doubt, candid, realistic and earthy people. They do
preface, their farm prescriptions, for Indian farmers, with the disclosure, that the Tata Rallis, ITC or
Reliance companies, that they represent and get a fat salary from, are really not attempting any convoluted
attempt at altruism or have completely charitable motives. Jokingly they ask the doubtful farmers to put on a
brave face and proudly join in - "Jai jawan, Jai kisan" in unison with the earthy retired brigadier or colonel,
and get to work in earnest. No room for doubting Thomases on Indian contract farming platter.
They know in modern India, the jawan is heading towards UN Security Council and global peace keeping operations,
while the kisan is headed towards the blind alley of an undeclared exit policy, while the government cheers on
the new marriages being made on the farm lands.
They do twirl their moustaches and with a private smile say, at best, they hope, that contract farming between
the corporate and Indian farmer, will not be as exploitative, as that between, Indian government and the Indian
farmer who is at the mercy of all and sundry.
Corporate shareholders, they say, will be just slightly better friends of the farmers, than the Indian
politicians and government. We are in it for mutual benefit, and shall walk away if the whole thing does not
make business sense. The farmer will of course get his land back.
Privately, these retired army brass - captains, colonels and brigadiers, who venture into contract farming
after early retirement, also mention, that they have consulted extensively, with batteries of legal experts,
while drawing up the exact wording of the contract farming contracts that the farmers are "requested" to put
their thumb to. The lawyers get their share of the farmers misery too.
It is the public relations whizz kids, media writers with journalistic aspiration, and fresh management grads,
and media experts sitting in Mumbai, who draft the press releases, who start painting the scenario of emperor's
new clothes for the naked emperor, in real earnest.
They seem to go overboard in their enthusiasm in "selecting" the 400 or so odd, "extremely lucky" diligent
farmers, with whom the company will sign an experimental contract.
And like that bandmaster, in the Bihar mofussil town, they tell each farmer, the same story that the band
master tells all his shagirds, whom he has taken under his fold. "Munna, tera music mein bahut talent hai, tu to
50-100 shadi me band baja kar seedhe Mumbai nikal jaana, wahan par meri jaan pahchan ke kuch film music director
hain". The poor Munna, delightedly but a bit warily, agrees to joining the band master in the fond hope, that
one day, he will become the next Himesh Reshamayyia that Mumbai film industry, has all along been waiting for.
He begins to imagine himself as leading big teams of musical band orchestra and giving final touches to popular
lilting tunes for the Indian masses ... mere desh ki dharti sona ugle, ugle heere moti, mere desh ki dharti....
He brings out the dozen odd songs as well, that he wrote on the side, and hopes they too, will make it to the
top of T-Series charts. ...Raja ki aayegi baraat, rangeelee hogi raat, magan main naachoongi....
One really wonders, why the corporate farming bandmasters and contract farming experts, even bother, to select
400 or so, illiterate, debt laden, traditional farmers, when these contract farming experts, can just acquire
dirt cheap farm land from distressed farmers, and train 400 of their own youth, with tractor driving licenses,
and set them up to farm and till for them.
There is no shortage of unemployed and smart manpower in India, looking for jobs in Tata, ITC and Reliance. And
of course, the seeds, the fertilizers, the pesticides, the water drilling technologies, the herbicides, the
biotechnology access to wonderful organic and GM seeds, financial loans, latest technological inputs, storage
and fumigating technologies, global marketing muscle, advertising reach - all these inputs can come from inhouse
itself.
Afterall, these are the production inputs, that made them rich in the first place. And who knows better, as to
how to take farm produce, from farm to fork, with fewest middlemen ?
Why is the farmer asked to tuck up his dhoti, become the essential middleman, and put his dirty thumb to the
spick and span, contract farming contract and legal documents ?
No shortage of swindlers, stiching wonderful clothes, of a wonderful but invisible to the eye, material, for
the naked emperoror of Indian farm fields - the farmer.
Indian farming is in a mess. Indian farmers are in a greater mess. Indian farmers are running around like the
Emperor without clothes, wishing for the clever master weavers to stitch for them, clothes of that fantastic
material, that looks so fashionable as to be in fact invisible, but at the same time, is terribly expensive.
Sustainable farming in India, is a thing of the past.
Indian government, agriculture and commerce ministries, corporate interests, IMF, World Bank, global trade blocs
and local home grown Indian agricultural scientists, have taken over the right to dictate to the Indian farmer,
what he should be doing to get out of the royal mess he finds himself in.
One of the brilliant ideas that are being thrown around is that of contract farming. Yes farming by contract,
such a simple and benevolent idea thrown in by consultants of global repute.
The problem is that the Indian farmer is still too illiterate to understand clearly that contract farming is
the next " hen that will lay golden eggs " for him. So this blog is meant to make him, the Indian farmer,
understand that, contract farming, is really, just what the doctor ordered, for the ailing and terminally ill,
650 million Indian farmers.