“Father of the Green Revolution in India”: The Man, the Myth, the Legend: MS Swaminathan

MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

November 26, 2013

I can’t think of a better way to wrap up my research than visiting the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation in the southern coastal city of Chennai.  Almost since the beginning of my time in India, I had been hoping to meet and interview Dr. MS Swaminathan himself.  He is known as the “Father of the Green Revolution in India” and worked with the original “Father of the Green Revolution” (American Norman Borlaug), as well as the late and former prime minister Indira Gandhi in the 1960s to double India’s grain production, transforming the hungry nation from food insecure to a self-sufficient net exporter of food.  I should note that the Green Revolution in and of itself is controversial for a variety of reasons including:

·         The development of high yielding varieties of hybrid wheat demanded increased inputs of chemical pesticides, fertilizers, and irrigation to maintain performance, which has environmental ramifications (e.g. degraded soil, diminishing water table, resistance in pests and weeds)

·         The health consequences such as increased rates of cancer from exorbitant chemical applications

·         The social effects of causing indebtedness among farmers who were forced to adopt HYVs and rely on expensive external inputs from the market, thus exacerbating the issue of farmer suicides

·         The nutritional consequences in that people were consuming less traditional/coarse/nutritional grains such as millet and instead began consuming more wheat and rice

·         The consequences on biodiversity and a reduction in the crop gene pool as a large number of farmers stopped saving indigenous seeds and after adopting HYVs, many these traditional seed varieties have since disappeared (and biodiversity of seed is crucial for resilience in the era of climate change)

By no means is this an exhaustive list.  However, we cannot ignore that the Green Revolution probably saved India from widespread famine.  As stated though, we must consider the entire picture when assessing its status.  Needless to say, Dr. MS Swaminathan is a bit of a foodie/ag celebrity in my mind, so I was shocked and exhilarated when his secretary was able to arrange an interview.  In fact, he doesn’t usually meet or do interviews with students, so I was elated.  Especially because I made the big trip all the way to Chennai just to see him!  According to Wikipedia, “From 1972 to 1979 he was director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. He was minister of Agriculture from 1979 to 1980. He served as director general of the International Rice Research Institute (1982–88) and became president of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in 1988.  In 1999, Time magazine placed him in the 'Time 20' list of most influential Asian people of the 20th century.”  He just celebrated his 88^th birthday but is still very much young at heart.

I had originally submitted an 8-page list of questions for the interview, which I have been compiling since Tanzania.  Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle seem to be coming together, albeit in a complicated and convoluted manner.  However, when I discovered that he could only spend 15 minutes with me, I had to quickly trim my questions and choose the most important.  So here goes:

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Interview with Dr. MS Swaminathan

MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai

To what degree should agriculture become mechanized and large scale?

Dr. MS Swaminathan: The story of mechanization in India is that it is taking place according to the need.  You see now labor is becoming short.  We have a program called Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Program (MNREG), which guarantees employment for 100 days.  So many of the workers who used to be in agriculture are taking advantage of this program because the payment is prompt, it’s a government program and so on.  As a result, farmers are finding it difficult to get adequate labor at the time of planting and harvesting, therefore, more and more tractors.  And also, with an increase in irrigated area, the intensity of cropping is going up.   With the whole of Punjab, wheat and rice rotation.  So the rice has to be harvested quickly or else wheat sowing becomes delayed and if it’s delayed, yield goes down.  So they use combined harvesting, Punjab started.  Then take a place like Kerala or Karnataka where workers were against mechanization in the past, but now that labor is not available, they don’t mind.  So all the crop is harvested by combined harvesting, so the tractor industry in India is growing.  The leading tractor company is here in Chennai and a very good training center to train farmers in mechanization.  And secondly, India’s population is predominantly young people, more than 50% of our population is below the age of 30.  And those young people, don’t want to do the farming in the old way with bullock cart and buffalo.  They want to have more mechanizing.   For example, look at Punjab, when young people took agriculture only when tractors and combines all came.  So the predominance of young people in agriculture necessitates relevant [mechanization].  The third very important reason for mechanization is the increasing role of women in agriculture.  Nearly 50% of our workforce is women.  For example, rice transplanting, a very tedious job, therefore transplanters are necessary since women have multiple burdens on their time: housekeeping, child rearing, and other economic activities.  Therefore, they need relevant mechanization.  So India’ agricultural future depends upon mechanization.  But I don’t mean very large horse power tractors, also what the Japanese call Kiboko – walking tractors and small for women, 10-15 horsepower.  Our mechanization will be according to our own socioeconomic circumstances based on the three reasons I gave you: labor shortages at critical times, increasing youth in agriculture, and increasing role of women in agriculture.  

Do you think organic farming can feed the world and if so, how do we “scale up” organic?

Dr. MS Swaminathan:  Organic farming, see it depends on the soil conditions.  The plant does not make a difference if the nutrient is organic or mineral fertilizer.  You may give nitrogen through urea or cow dung, animal waste.  The problem is that the majority of farmers are small farmers, holding 2 hectares (5 acres) or below or 2-3 acres.  They do not have many animals, so how will they replenish soil fertility?  You have to give back to the soil what you take out of it.  And if you are large farmer with a large number of farm animals, then it is easier.  You can use all the animal dung for the soil.  So organic manure, to produce 3 billion tons of food grains, which is what we need in the world, is not very easy.  This is why we’ve been advocating integrated nutrient supply.  Use whatever organic matter you have: animal refuse, plant refuse, compost, green manure crops (put one nitrogenous/leguminous fodder [and plow it in]).  For example, Prince Charles in the UK has a 7-year rotation with 5 years of clover and 2 years of wheat or barley to build up the soil fertility.  So essentially there are two major challenges in organic farming.  One is soil health management and the other is plant health management.  How are you going to control against pests and diseases?  How are you going to improve soil fertility?  So organic farming is not the panacea for everything because when nations were doing organic farming, India for example, until 40 years ago when fertilizer first came, it was all organic farming and we were mostly starving because productivity is so low.  If I want one ton of rice, it requires 20 kg of nitrogen.  If you want 5 tons of rice, it requires 100 k of nitrogen.  100 kg of nitrogen to give through organic manure is very difficult for a small farmer.  And you have to make it clear that the plant itself doesn’t make a distinction – organic or inorganic – it requires nutrients.

Are hybrids and GMOs necessary to feed the world’s growing population or can we relying on traditional open pollinated varieties of seeds?

Dr. MS Swaminathan: GMO is only one more technology.  Ever since Gregor Mendel announced Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance in 1865, the science of genetics has been progressing.  We have methods for doubling the chromosome, for altering patterns of chromosomes.  In 1953, Watson and Crick identified the double helix structure of the DNA model and the chemical substance of heredity.  From that time onwards, the science of molecular genetics – we have two periods 1900-1953 – Mendelian genetics and 1953 onwards is molecular genetics.  A combination of the two, Mendelian and molecular genetics, is what we use in breeding.  Normal breeding: Mendelian breeding, plus some.  For example, you must have seen upstairs, the gene from mangrove for salt water tolerance.  This is part of our program on anticipatory breeding to meet the challenge of sea level rise.  Today, the Warsaw negotiations of the climate convention have not made any progress. The richer countries do not want to cut down on emissions.  Therefore there is no way, so with higher temperature, there will be sea level rise.  And both sub-Saharan Africa and South Asian will be the worst sufferers because they have the least coping capacity against these kinds of calamities.  Therefore, I think the GM technology or the transfer of genes across sexual barriers - what is important is now that the old concept of Linnaeus, of species, was based on sexual isolation.  One species will not cross with the other.  But today, we can cross all species, we can more parasexually the genes.  It is a pretty powerful technology but it can be used effectively for certain purposes when you don’t have a gene.  For example, if I don’t have a good gene for sea water tolerance, then I can take a gene from a helophyte like mangrove.  There is now what is called marker-assisted selection, so from molecular markers, we can take a precise gene you want and transfer it.  So molecular genetics has opened up completely new opportunities.  It’s a scientific evolution.  I wouldn’t put GM versus Mendelian genetics, it’s a continuation.  We should use both.  There is no need for recombinant DNA unless it is necessary.  For example, in medicine it is being used extensively because new vaccines and so on.  And we have no concern about medical biotechnology because people want vaccines against Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and so on, but with the case of food crops, there is fear.  And environmental damage. 

How do you distinguish between your vision for a new “Evergreen Revolution” with the first “Green Revolution”?

Dr. MS Swaminathan: The first Green Revolution, the term was coined by William Gaud of the United States.  Suddenly there was a quantum jump in yield, from 1 ton to 4-5 tons.  It was not a small increment.  And with the shorter variety, you can apply more fertilizer and get more yield.  So he called it.  Indira Gandhi released a stamp called the wheat revolution.  Green Revolution was criticized by environmentalists saying too much harm to the soil, too much fertilizer, too much pesticide.  And there was a famous book in the United States by Rachel Carson “The Silent Spring.”  That created a lot of awareness.  She was criticizing DDT and the discoverer of DDT was given the Nobel Prize, and within ten years, Rachel Carson produced that book.  And with science, no one can ever know, so one has to do some anticipation or action-reaction.  I want one action, but reactions may be many.  So with the Green Revolution, there are 2-3 criticisms.  One is that groundwater was going down from over exploitation of aquifers.  Secondly, soil was getting salinized. Thirdly, pests were getting resistant to the pesticides.  That is well known everywhere, whether it is human disease, tuberculosis, leprosy, they become drug resistant. And that is one of the problems with medicine, agriculture, or animal husbandry, you will find there is a problem with the resistance to drugs. 

[[Then I added that another critique is farmer indebtedness and reliance on external inputs from the market; he replied]] Farmers have to depend on inputs.  You can’t have output without inputs.  When we were having no inputs – farmers were doing natural farming – the yields were only half a ton.  When we became independent in India, we were only 300 million people.  Today we are 1.2 billion people and today there is no famine.  There is under nutrition.  It is not like the Bengal famine, which occurred when our population was 300 million.  Therefore, you have to produce more.  Land is going out of agriculture.  Every day, land is going out, new buildings in Chennai.  The same is true in Massachusetts.  Land is a shrinking resource for agriculture. 

So I coined the term “evergreen revolution” about thirty years ago.  In fact, both the Agronomy Society of the United States and the Crop Science Society had 50^th anniversary about 7-8 years ago in Salt Lake City and the theme was “From Green to Evergreen Revolution” and I was the keynote speaker.  And the book is also there.  Evergreen revolution means an increase in productivity in perpetuity without ecological harm.  You have to mainstream ecological factors in technology development and dissemination.  Today you can all it sustainable agriculture.  Green Revolution has a specific connotation: yield.  Sustainable agriculture can also be organic agriculture, but we want more yield because we have increased population and many are undernourished, therefore we need to produce more.  That can be done only by integrated pest management, integrated nutrient supply, improved post harvest technology, improved soil and water management and so on.  Now people accept this.  Even president Obama, when he addressed the parliament of India, he said we need an evergreen revolution.  Therefore, everyone recognizes that increasing yield should not be at the cost of the environment, because then we can’t have it forever.  That’s why evergreen, in perpetuity, sustainable agriculture.

Any advice for a young person like myself who is aspiring to make positive change in this area?

Dr. MS Swaminathan: My advice would be don’t go by slogans or because somebody says, “this is bad.  That is bad.”  Apply your own mind.  Ask yourself, what is the end point, what do you want to reach?  For example, we want to reach a hunger free India.  This first requires an adequate supply of food at an affordable cost, which is what our government aspires with the Food Security Act.  But the food security bill would not have been possible without the green revolution because we have so much grain because the yield of wheat and rice has been improved.  So my advice would be that young people should not just go by emotions or slogans.  You must be compassionate and have a mind of compassion and helping others, but our aim should be to ensure the first among the human requirement: adequate food and food for all, forever.   

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I think that Dr. Swaminathan is known for his balanced approach to issues, however, he is also critiqued for giving conflicting messages (e.g. on GMOs).  Regardless, it was an honour speaking with him and I appreciate his advice.  After this quasi-celebrity encounter, I was able to spend a bit of time with some of the directors and principal scientists of the other divisions at MSSRF. 

According to their website, “MS Swaminathan Research Foundation is a non-profit research organization and was established in 1988. M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) has all along been developing and following a pro-nature, pro-poor, pro-women and pro-sustainable on-farm and non-farm livelihoods through appropriate ecotechnology and knowledge empowerment.

MS Swaminathan Research Foundation is carrying out research and development in six major thematic areas such as:

•         Coastal Systems Research

•         Biodiversity

•         Biotechnology

•         Ecotechnology

•         Food Security

•         Information, Education and Communication”

I was able to spend time with the biodiversity, ecotechnology, and biotechnology divisions.  In the biodiversity interview, I learned that they are focusing on a “4C model” approach to conservation, which pays concurrent attention to:

•         Conservation

•         Cultivation

•         Consumption

•         Commerce

One of the main points of this division is the recognition that tribal communities often hold traditional varieties, which necessitates in situ (on-site) conservation, as well as gene/seed/grain banks and participatory plant breeding (PPB) that directly involves the farmer.  MSSRF has facilitated 25 community-managed village seed banks, which also serve as storehouses for surplus grain in times of need (farmers have to return 2x as much grain as they borrow as a sort of interest).  Mill technology for local varieties can address the issues of hidden hunger.  They are also doing work on ex situ conservation and have 1,134 accessions in their seed bank with an emphasis on Prior Informed Consent (PIC), which ensures that farming communities will receive recognition if their varieties are used in any new developments.  In my interview, the principal biodiversity scientist explained that the progression of seeds is usually:

Wild type à land race à farmer variety à traditional à modern seed

I am still trying to understand the difference between various accessions including: varieties, land races, modern cultivars, traditional cultivars, wild types etc., so I will continue to ask about this and attempt to read up.  The scientist explained that the Indian state of Orissa is perhaps one of the birthplaces of rice worldwide, and this can be figured out by the vast number of varieties found in this one area (i.e. biodiversity hotspot).  Therefore, we need to support traditional/tribal communities that are working directly with wild-types.  In-situ conservation, however, has inherent limitations; for instance, these community-level programs can only be scaled up to a certain extent to remain economically viable and also because local seed is intrinsically place-based.  In-situ conservation is also important because it promotes knowledge development of the people alongside seed preservation (so this indigenous wisdom isn’t lost once local seeds are put into a far off gene bank).  The scientist has doubts if in-situ conservation will survive alongside the commercialized seed production industry, which has a bit of a choke hold around India (as well as other parts of the world).  He believes that marginal areas that are biodiversity hotspots should be excluded from markets to protect the genetic resource base, which requires strong policy (could be subsidizing people who maintain biodiversity through seed).  He doesn’t necessarily support GMOs and believes that hybrids also have their own problems.

According to the director of the eco-technology centre, “it’s about taking technology from the shelf to the grassroots level.  It’s knowledge transfer.”  I learned about their efforts to balance conserving natural resources and also utilizing them for livelihood development in a sustainable way.  They are working on eco-friendly microenterprises (e.g. food processing of oils, coconut, cashew) and allied sectors such as livestock.  For this, communities require knowledge, skills, finance, and markets.  MSSRF is operating using a SSSHG model – self-sustaining self-help group (precursor to a cooperative) and the bio-village scheme.  These bio-villages are human centered but also focus on environmental conservation (e.g. promoting vermicompost, raising on and off farm incomes, intensive integrated farming system (IIFS), integrated pest management, etc.).  The bio-village model is 20 years old and looks at natural resources and rural poverty concurrently (e.g. tapping into mushroom cultivation and floriculture for generating women’s incomes).  They have 50 villages with 3,000 women beneficiaries, the majority are landless laborers and small/marginal farmers.  The importance of technology transfer involves: on farm technologies (e.g. productivity, post-harvest, marketing etc.); off-farm/related technologies (e.g. dairy, vermicompost), which present a major challenge because they want to generate jobs and income here; and non-farm technologies (e.g. vocational skills).  The director noted that to promote youth retention in agriculture, we need ABC – attitudinal behavior change.  Farming is still largely traditional, but we are linking it to the information and communications technology sector (ICT), biotechnology, and climate-smart technology to name a few.  For instance, the MSSRF scheme of bio-industrial watersheds is a good example of linking watershed development with job creation.  The key is that unlike government schemes, these watershed projects are driven by community participation and interests, which generate work in storage, harvesting, recycling to the farms etc.).  They are going above and beyond traditional water management and scaling up, creating producer-owned companies, women’s groups etc.  MSSRF takes a “rights-based approach” and through sensitization and mobilization, it is possible to make farming lucrative.  In terms of technology and mechanization, the director noted how we need to examine village-level assets and for that, it might involve 3-4 villages coming together and utilizing tractors or SRI transplanters on a custom-hire basis, with funds recycling back into the ICT center, monitored by the producer company.

As part of the ICT initiative, MSSRF has rural knowledge centers, which help bridge the digital divide and provide location specific information to local communities (e.g. weather data, disaster management).  I was able to go to one of these village resource/rural knowledge centers when I was in Vidarbha and I saw how computers and available information were really an asset to the community.       

I wanted to meet with someone from the Food Security division, but time did not allow.  Fortunately, my interview with the biotechnology department was by far the most fruitful and useful.  Here are some notes from my interview with the director of the Biotechnology Division:

•         Biotechnology is the western sense usually involves molecular biology and GMOs.  Biotechnology in India also includes molecular level science, but also a large number of techniques practiced by the people.  We are interested in how to marry traditional wisdom and modern techniques, alongside many other institutions in India.

•         We are currently conducting anticipatory research for impending issues such as climate change, nutrient deficiency, salinization, sea level rise, etc.  For example, developing shielding crop varieties for salinity and drought tolerance and bioremediation in times of contamination.

•         In terms of address nutrient deficiencies through biofortification, we are not allowed to experiment with Basmati rice per a restriction from the department of biotechnology, since the majority is exported abroad and the EU demands GM-free products.  But for non-basmati rice varieties, we are developing salt tolerance through genetic engineering (taking a gene from a mangrove).  In our contained trials, GM salt tolerant varieties are outperforming traditional and once this ban on large scale field experiments on transgenics is lifted, we can better test for long-term health and environmental impacts, which we will then put this info in the public domain.  Currently, we are collaborating with independent labs to test for biosafety under animal models, which have shown no adverse effects over more than three years of testing.

•         Most notably, MSSRF operates and conducts research using public funds, so we do not have vested interests and are accountable first to the general population.  We must research and understand these technologies very well.  The problem is that in most developing countries, only corporations have access to GM technology, but at MSSRF, we are neither pro nor anti GM-technology but realize that it must be pursued in a safe and precautionary manner from a scientific perspective, looking at benefits and risks.   We also promote capacity building within PhD and post-graduates, so they can further independently assess this technology (rather than corporate sector).  Moreover, MSSRF has generated our own genetic material.  That is, we didn’t buy a gene from Monsanto and insert it.  We are using defensive patents to safeguard our claim on these genes and afterwards, we have every right to transfer this technology to any like-minded organization and to make the product available at a cheaper price.  Remember, we are a not for profit and our focus is abiotic stress, so we aren’t dealing with BT-cotton or Monsanto.  The problem is that early on, biotechnology entered into the hands of the private sector, who in the name of profit, often exploit people.  Remember that Golden Rice was a private endeavor pursued by a Monsanto-affiliated company.  Now GMOs have become an emotional issue and many people are not working with completely independent organizations under public funds, so of course there are vested interests.

•         A huge problem is that the general public does not often understand advanced science and technology and this lack of comprehension spawns fear.  I feel that this is true with GMOs.  GMOs are a matter of sensitizing people and also not letting it become an issue of emotions or ideology.  Science needs to be ideology-free and instead, data driven.

•         People are taking a stand based on flimsy arguments – they say there is no data, it’s imprecise etc. and throwing it are in the dustbin technology prematurely.  We need to research it thoroughly instead of just “beating the drum.”  Investment in biotechnology is very high, especially in the government.  Malnutrition is such a complex issue that needs to be tackled from multiple approaches.  Not saying that biofortification through GM technology is the cure-all.  But consider that we used to think that pesticides were the panacea, but now people are realizing that integrated pest management is key.  Similarly, we need to look at integrated approaches to issues such as malnutrition, which may involve GE but also diet diversification, traditional crops etc.  In biotechnology, now we have marker assisted plant breeding (plant molecular technology) in which scientists can identify exact areas where genes are located.

•         Attempts to demystify technology, promote ecological and genomic literacy among children through school programs etc.

•         BRAI – now it’s about biosafety regulatory authority – it should be a completely autonomous and scientific body that can independently scrutinize a technology with vested interests rather than an administrative and politicized body.  For example, in the USA, the FDA says yes or no and people generally accept the response without blinking an eye.  However, India does not have this kind of body, which is necessary.  Furthermore, BT Brinjal was recently approved in Bangladesh and has the potential to quickly enter into Indian soil, so we need a regulatory body to screen this.

•         Biofuel – food versus fuel debate? 

o   MSSRF does not support transforming food stuffs into biofuel, which is why research is concentrated on crops such as jatropha, which are non-edible oil plants.  Genetic mechanisms exist to increase oil yield, so we are looking at options to promote over expression of this gene.  Moreover, jatropha prefers to grow on wasted drought affected soil (e.g. rainshadow regions, areas becoming desertified etc.), so there is no need to convert fertile soil into biofuel cropping area.  And at MSSRF, we feel that in India, feeding people is the priority.  Regarding multi-use crops such as sweet sorghum (grain, fodder, and fuel), this is a good idea in principle, but eventually private companies will get involved and push for their vested interests, which may potentially hurt the “food” component. 

•         We also need to examine everything under the issue of climate change – how to best conserve fuel, water, soil etc.  We cannot just take a fragmented approach.  Everything is changing and therefore, we must use adaptive research.

•         In terms of bringing youth back to the land, we need to make farming intellectually rewarding (through our programs like biotechnology, ecotechnology, ICT, which work for people) and infuse young minds with the idea of critical thinking and finding creative solutions to maximize production; most importantly, farming needs to become economically viable (intellectual stimulation may also involve teaching farmers about markets etc.)

•         “Technologies not technology” – we should view this as a multi-pronged approach.  The singular phrasing gives it an ideological connotation, whereas “technologies,” plural, implies a range and combination of appropriate solutions.

•         It’s all location and problem specific – cannot simply say how much traditional knowledge should be preserved as it will depend on the specific conditions: water, land, soil etc. and these must all be considered both independently and collectively at the same time.

•         MSSRF can create models (e.g. how to effectively use ICT, where to sell product etc.) and these models have been adopted by Government of India and are being implemented as national programs.

•         The case with India is even more difficult since the country is heavily divided based on language, caste, creed, etc. further exacerbated by the growing gap between the rich and the poor and the technological/digital divide.

•         A huge part of MSSRF is empowering women.  For example the “Empowering Women Farmers Program” under the Food Security division is in direct response to the farmer suicides in Vidarbha.

In essence, I feel like my time at MSSRF was useful because of the overall balanced approach to these issues.  The biotechnology director and Dr. Swaminathan summed up very well the point that everyone has to devise their own thoughts on new developments and technologies, but it should not be based upon emotions, ideology, whims, or other people’s flimsy opinions but rather data-driven, independent science.  This especially holds true for GMO technology, which demands extensive testing, biosafety measures, application of the precautionary principle, and education/sensitization among many things.  Furthermore, again there is no magic bullet solution to the agrarian crisis – as Dr. Swaminathan said, “organic is not the panacea for everything” (and neither are GMOs).  Yes, sustainable agroecological farming may hold the answer to many of our problems, but perhaps it really does entail some integrated approaches (i.e. not ruling out external inputs, chemicals, and hybrid seeds all together) – honestly, I really don’t know.  And as stated before, I’ve spent my fair share of time with conspiracy theorists and ideology-driven people on both ends of the spectrum: comparing the March Against Monsanto protest with the corporate-laden World Agricultural forum is a stark contrast.  However, I finally feel like neutral voices are coming through.  This weekend reminds me of many conversations I had with Ginny, the Post-Graduate Fellowships Coordinator at my alma mater Hamilton College.  Frequently, Ginny would remind me to take a balanced approach, remove biases from my application, and quote – “don’t beat the drum.”  Naturally, my background and involvement with Slow Food, Real Food Challenge, and other progressive movements render me somewhat biased, but slowly I am trying to let them go.     

Punjab: Green Revolution & Breadbasket of India

October 23, 2013 - Reflecting on Punjab

I find myself on a 28 hour train ride from New Delhi to Pune after a grueling 10 days of interviews and research in the northern western state of Punjab.  Punjab has been called the breadbasket of India, as it is only 1.5% of the geographical area of the country but produces about ½ - 2/3 of the staple food grains, rice and wheat, which go into food store to be distributed through the PDS (public distribution system of subsidized grains) and in times of food shortages.  According to one source, 84% of Punjab’s land is under cultivation (compared to only 42% in the rest of India) and only 4% consists of forest (mostly Eucalyptus plantations).  And although the small farmers of Punjab are providing food for the rest of India, close to 76% of these highly subsidized grains meant for poor families through PDS is diverted to the market (with 13% reaching above-poverty line families).  Punjab (along with the neighboring state of Haryana) is also known as the birthplace of the Green Revolution in India.  The Green Revolution refers to the period during the 1960s and 1970s when chemical pesticides and fertilizers were introduced (mainly by multinational corporations and the US), as well as new hybrid high yielding varieties (HYV) of seeds, improved irrigation, and agricultural machinery.    However, it is widely understood that while the Green Revolution led to a significant boost in production (transforming India from a net food importer to a food secure exporter), it has also wreaked havoc in the form of decreased soil fertility, soil erosion, increased contamination, water shortages, loss of biodiversity, and rampant health problems such as increased rates of cancer.  In addition, stagnating crop prices, rising production/input costs, and declining fertility render the average debt of Punjabi farmers at Rs 41,576 (~$700) compared to national average of Rs 12,585 ($200).  In fact, over the rough time period of 2001-2005, the price of inputs has gone up 72% for diesel, 27% for insecticides, and 12% for fertilizers; whereas the price of food grains has only increased 1.6%.  Increasing debt has led to farmers have to foreclose on their property and in extreme cases, incidents of farmer suicides.

Needless to say, I felt a deep impulse to go to Punjab to meet the farmers who are the face behind India’s food security and also the beneficiaries and victims of the Green Revolution.  Although it was only a short time (10 days from October 13-22, 2013), I felt  like my knowledge and experience were profoundly enriched.  I learned about the complexities of the relationship between the government and farmers.  For instance, the government is the primary buyer of grains from farmers (via commission agents and middle men?), as they provide minimum price support (MSP), which is a procurement price that acts as a sort of insurance policy for farmers – that is, even as the price of wheat and rice fluctuate on the market, farmers are always guaranteed at least X amount MSP from the government.  This gives little incentive for farmers to grow anything else, as there is no assured market.  Many farmers I spoke to seem like they might want to diversify their crops, but this is virtually impossible, generating some discontent and certainly harming local nutrition.

Despite the somewhat tragic nature of agriculture here and the paradox of prosperity and poverty, I’ve decided that I really like Punjab.  The state is mostly Sikh religion, which has been a little strange to get used to because many of the men wear turbans and have long beards.  The food here is divine (also most of the Indian Food in the U.S. is Punjabi) – I’ve been eating yogurt with almost every meal, delicious Punjabi sweets, buttered chapatti, cauliflower/potatoes/other vegetables cooked with Indian spices in a yummy turmeric colored gravy; my host family eats pickled garlic by the clove, which is tangy and sweet; we drink fresh milk and yogurt lassis – these are just a few reasons why I am in food heaven all the time.  And I am officially obsessed with Indian clothes and need to stop buying them – there are a cool type of pants that are originally from Punjab called “Patiala” pants (like Aladdin style balloon pants) and my host family bought me a pair today.  The family I am staying with mostly I founded through the WWOOF network (Worldwide opportunities on organic farms – for volunteering) – there is the father, Kawaljeet, who is the principal and founder of this private school SEABA (Society for Education and Awareness in Backward Areas) his wife who is an administrator at the school, and they have two kids (18 year old daughter in college and 14 year old son – both are national aerobics champions – who’d have thought?).  The father is very interested in organic agriculture and promoting it among his students, so he’s been able to help me connect with local farmers.  He understands my deep need to see everything: both organic and chemical; small and large farmers etc.  He also worked with a Dutch Filmmaker named Tom Deiters who produced a film called “Toxic Tears” about the farmer suicides in southern Punjab.  Tom and another German woman named Sara (who was doing a photography project with the residents of Chotian Village) spent significant amounts of time around Lehragaga in Sangrur District, which I believe helped me join the community here with little difficulty.

I believe that Kawaljeet deserves his own mini-biography.  He is an incredibly honest and hardworking man.  He told me how his father was essentially a child of the Green Revolution and due to its ill effects, his family lost the majority of their land.  Kawaljeet saw how modern chemical farming ravaged his family and he sold the reminder of the land and invested the money to found SEABA school.  He clearly cares for his students and is passionate about spreading knowledge of organic farming among Punjab’s youth.  I hadn’t realized it at the time, but Punjab really is an agricultural success story turned tragedy.  Punjab, which used to be known as the granary or breadbasket of India is now known as the cancer state.  They have a daily “cancer” train that runs to Rajasthan to ferry patients to treatment facilities.  Now more than ever, I understand how work like that of Kawaljeet is important.  Older farming generations in Punjab may be hopeless, as one person said to me, “they have always known abundance and could never imagine anything less,” rendering organic farming impossible statewide, yet in the youth lies hope for change.

Students at SEABA who research soil, water, and biopesticides for agriculture

Youth festival at a nearby college - women celebrating after winning their division in folk dancing

Punjabi/Sikh policemen enjoying the show

With the women of my homestay family, purchasing cloth to be made into garments by a local tailor

Famous Punjabi Jutti shoes, which my homestay insisted that I get, but alas, no room!

During my time here, I interviewed seven farmers (five who are practicing chemical farming, one who has always been natural, and one who is experimenting with organic), two school directors, a village Punchyat (local government) head, a prominent politician, a senior economist and PhD student at the Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, and the farm manger and a trustee of Pingalwara organic farm/NGO in Amrtisar.  I was able to gather information about many topics, though the language barrier proved challenging at times.  With the help of my host, I did have students translating Punjabi for me, but it was still an arduous back and forth process and a lot was lost in translation with many misunderstandings.  I was able to further develop my research questions as I conducted interviews and read literature on different topics including the first and second Green Revolutions, models of agricultural development and solutions for the agrarian crisis in Punjab, and food security and government policy.

I was able to speak with two young girls who lost their fathers to debt-related farmer suicide.  Meet Sandeep, a striking 17-year-old girl whose father committed suicide a decade ago.  She says that she desperately wants to “go foreign” (the Punjabi way of saying move out of India to another country), to be in a place where girls have full freedom and where she can do anything she wants.  Her ultimate dream is to become a pilot, enchanted by the idea of flying around the world freely.  But her father’s suicide and her family’s loss of income is making it really difficult for her to school.  And meet Jaspreet, a twenty year old girl on full scholarship who wants to eventually advocate for women’s rights.  She lost both her uncle and father to suicide and helps researchers and activists gain access to the farmers in her village of Chotian.

My most memorable visit was incidentally my first interview in Punjab.  I spent time with a young farmer (30 years old) named Malwinder and his family.  He is growing on 7.5 acres with about 1.5-2 as chemical free/organic.  He is very progressive but has not yet been able to convert his entire farm to organic.  It’s a difficult transition, I am realizing more and more.  He told me stories of how his neighbors think he’s crazy for growing vegetables (when they just grow rice and wheat with government support).  They laugh at him when he rides his bicycle 11 km to the nearby town to sell at the market.  Even his own mother asks, “why are you doing this rubbish?” (referring to chemical free organic farming).  He doesn’t blame her though and realizes that she is merely a child of the Green Revolution.  I had a really long interview with him, I helped weed his garden, he showed me a combine harvester because it’s rice harvesting season (and I was even able to sit on it! It’s the biggest piece of agricultural machinery I’ve ever seen.  I know we have them in the U.S., but I haven’t actually seen them…).  In addition, he brought me to the local government school where met and talked with the principal and gave a brief presentation to about 100 students ages 7-16 about my research.  Inadvertently, I am working on my public speaking skills, because this is the second speech/presentation I’ve given to students in two days!  My first day in Punjab, the school director I am staying with insisted that I give a presentation to his students.  So in front of 300 high schoolers, grades 10-12, I spoke in English (no need to translate) about my travels, research goals, and interests.  They were really eager to ask questions afterwards and I was happy that I was able to convey my work and hopefully inspire them to set goals and follow their dreams.  Some of the questions they asked were really tough, which caught me off guard, but was also encouraging (e.g. one young girl asked: “how do we grow organic on 50 acres?” which is so relevant, since I am interested in exploring issues of scale; another girl (the daughter of a chemical farmer) said, “why would we grow organic when we can’t get the same yield?”). 

Sun rises over Punjabi fields

Local buffalo and dung cakes drying

My first time seeing a combined harvester

Absurd sight - a huge cargo load of fodder on the back of a truck

Weeding with the boys

Field of cotton

Bedding and fodder

Beautiful grandmother of one of my farming homestays

Village homestay

Ad for genetically modified BT Cotton

Inside my first Gurudwara (Sikh temple)

Where farmers bring their grain to trade to the government and commission agents/middle men

Riding the school bus with Sikh students :)

Another homestay

Punjab, where beds are made from local materials include DAP/artificial fertilizer sacks (depressing)

Jeeva Singh - a village celebrity for his organic farming

More cotton

This man loved getting his photo taken

Nomming on sugar cane with my translator Jaspreet!

Jeeva's family

Spraying chemicals on the fields

Interview with a retired teacher/farmer

Carrying dung cakes - these women have ridiculous strong necks/heads

Agriculture in Punjab feels paradoxical: prosperous and tragic.  Some farmers are producing huge yields (with the help of subsidies and chemicals), while others are stuck in a debt trap and resort to suicide.  The majority of Punjabi farmers feel that they MUST use chemical pesticides and fertilizers in order to generate enough production for a mediocre income.  They are working so hard and are not supported by the government and sometimes even their own family or community.  It is a struggle here and for the most part, organic is merely a dream.  They know about the ill-health effects of chemicals but are willing to take the risk for profit.  And I am deeply confused about the gender dynamic here.  My first three interviews portrayed women as lazy creatures confined to the domestic sphere, while only uncles and fathers worked in the field.  Jaspreet, who seems to do everything around the house including fetching the water from her cousin’s place where they have a purifier to sweeping the compound, said that women definitely participate in farm labor.  My readings have also reflected that women make up the majority of the agricultural workforce in India, performing menial and low-skill labor such as weeding, harvesting etc. and are not formally recognized.  Another important lesson is that there seems to be little knowledge of the connection between farming and climate change and almost no knowledge of what GMOs are, even though most farmers are planting BT Cotton, which to me is sinful.  I have also come to understand the inherent paradox to mechanization: on the one hand, it displaces labor and forces farmers off their land; on the other hand, it relieves farmers from arduous physical labor and thus has the potential to incentivize youth to come back to the land.  Thus agricultural technology has the potential to assist farmers if it is implemented appropriately, which is where the term “appropriate technology” comes in (simple, affordable, easy to use and maintain, small-scale and locally produced).  Again, the importance of farmers’ cooperatives has great potential to uplift marginal farmers.  Because most of them have less than 5 acres, they could pool their land and credit to qualify for loans, share inputs such as tractors and also labor, and go into marketing schemes together. 

Even though my stay was just a little more than a week, I feel like I’ve learned so much and that I am being challenged in all directions.  For better or worse, organic farming is not as simple as it seems.  Malwinder and Jeeva do not have the support of family, community or government.  They are like salmon swimming upstream to spawn – against all odds, trying their best.  Even just weeding for a couple of hours with Malwinder, I can see how it might be tempting for farmers (especially those that have many acres) to simply spray pesticides and herbicides on their fields instead of the backbreaking, monotonous labor that is weeding.  We sat in his garden weeding while his wife, mother, father, and cousins lazily milled about the family compound (something he totally disapproves of).  It must be so frustrating to have people around you that don’t care to help and think that your beliefs and practices are foolish.  Even I was getting annoyed as I realized how much better it is do this kind of labor in a group (especially comparing my experiences farming in Ladakh and Navdanya where there was such an emphasis on cooperation, shared labor, and mutual support).  I think that it is so easy to romanticize organic but it’s just not that easy – labor is expensive, making organic fertilizer and biopesticides is labor and time intensive, the government does not support it, and there are no assured markets.  So I am coming to many realizations here and also trying to push aside my inherent biases and preconceived notions. 

I’m also being challenged personally with learning about realities here such as arranged marriage, dowry (the bride’s parents have to pay the groom’s family thousands of dollars as a “gift” of sorts, basically remunerating them for the new “burden” they are taking on e.g. the daughter), the caste system etc.  I met a young girl, also 22, who is such a funny and sweet person, always cracking jokes, though they were a bit morbid (like “my mother is a bad person” and then would make funny faces and imitating her mother beating her).  She has a boyfriend, which is a total secret, but she is being forced into an arrange marriage next month.  She does not want to get married and is scared, which she admitted, but also maintains a cheerful disposition and makes light of the really intense issue.  Her family is being made to give 2 LAC (200,000 Rs or $3,333 USD) plus 1 LAC 15,000 Rs (~$2,000 USD) worth of furniture to the groom’s family.  The women I’ve spoke to here seem to vehemently disagree with the dowry system, as well as some of the more progressive men who don’t mind if they have daughters.  The girl told me that you are showered with gifts (“a prize”) when you give birth to a boy, but receive just shame when you birth a girl.  Essentially, I can’t imagine living in a society where girls are not wanted and are treated as a burden and the irony of the situation is that this mentality is most likely the reason I was put into an orphanage and adopted. 

And I’ve become somewhat of a celebrity around Lehragaga.  My photo has appeared in the local newspaper twice: once giving a presentation to SEABA school and another with this prominent politician who is planning on running for Chief Minister of Punjab.  

They had me sit next to him on stage while he gave a speech to the community and then they granted me admission into the special press conference where I could personally ask him questions.  This royal treatment is bizarre and doesn’t feel right.  It makes me feel guilty, especially because so many people here are poor.  I want to thank them for their hospitality and generosity but they refuse to take money and keep saying “it’s our pleasure, you are our guest.”  It’s really overwhelming.  And the questions – oh my goodness!  People want to know everything… Is there poverty in America?  What will the result of the government shutdown be on the American education system? How can you grow organic on big farms, 50 acres?  Why would farmers choose to grow organically if the yield and profit is much lower than chemical?  How can Indian students get scholarships to go to American universities?  Does America have the caste or dowry system?  What is agriculture like in the United States?  What country is better: America or India?  Is America a democracy or dictatorship?  Is America in China?  (I think there is confusion because I look Chinese but said I’m American)  What do you think of colonialism? 

And at one farmer’s house, the grandmother raised some thought provoking issues (translated by her granddaughter).  She asked if my family has any pets and when I said cats, she asked how people in America can value animals but just shoo away our blood relations (grandparents) into homes for old people instead of taking care of them as they traditionally do in India with the joint family system.  Especially because grandparents have put so much time and effort into raising their children, devoting their lives to them.  This is very true and made me sad, also making me want to build an in-law apartment for my own parents once I have my own home. 

Being in India has also made me begin to question the authenticity of my experience in Tanzania with respect to money.  In almost every interaction there, money was involved, whether it was Rogath driving me and me paying him petrol.  In retrospect, paying Helen $15 a day to house and feed me was absurdly expensive.  But being my first country, I didn’t really question it.  However in India, people give you so much and are sometimes in worse off states than those people I met in Africa.  Indians are constantly feeding you chai and the most delicious homecooked meals.  And they rarely will accept money or gifts.  Instead, they treat you like royalty, don’t let you help in the kitchen (always saying “take rest”), and even give you gifts (Sandeep gave me two pairs of earrings even though I insisted that I couldn’t take them).  The hospitality, warmth, and generosity here is overwhelming, amongst poverty.  I want to adequately express my gratitude, but saying “Danyavat” (thank you in Hindi) does not seem like enough.

The homestays I did in Sangrur District (with Kawaljeet’s family at SEABA, Jaspreet’s family in Chotian for two nights, one night at Malwinders, a night at Kamalpreet’s) really helped me get into Punjabi culture.  I was humbled sleeping “outside” in a simple cotton made from rope and metal.  The flies here are unbearable, mostly because the livestock (buffalos and cows) share the same living quarters as the people.  This place has two rooms, a veranda likes structure, with a few cots and a double bed, a small kitchen, a washroom/latrine, and the area where the animals stay.  In India, I am under the impression that beds are the communal space – people take their meals on the bed instead of a kitchen table.  At Kamal’s place, I shared a bed with her and her grandmother – the three of us squished into a double with Kamal kicking and putting her arms around me in the night.  The homes here are simple and really dirty by Western standards – people traipsing cow dung in and out, geckos running around the walls, little frogs hopping everywhere, mice, and who knows what else.  But each day, the entire house is swept clean, the “floors” (bricks outside) are washed, and we even sweep the road outside the gate.  I guess it’s all they can do to maintain some level of cleanliness in an environment that will never really be clean.  And at Jaspreet’s home, I have been able to assist with more things than anywhere else.  I think it is because it is just Jaspreet, her mother, and two brothers.  They don’t pay a servant to cook or clean, but do it themselves.  This has allowed me to practice making chapatti, pratah (like chapatti only made with maize flour and consists of bits of onion and cauliflower mixed into the dough, then ghee (oil from milk) is added to the skillet for a light fry), and the dessert Saviyan made with milk, noodles, sugar, almonds and raisins.  I helped sweep the compound and went with her to fetch water at the neighbors place.  It feels good to feel like I am helping, even if it is only a little bit – otherwise, I feel like I am seriously free riding off the families I stay with.

After a failed attempt to meet with a prominent policy analyst and agricultural scientist, Devinder Sharma, in the Punjabi city of Chandigarh, I took a five hour bus ride to Amritsar.  There, I met up with one of Kawaljeet’s friends.  This man was quite the character.  A 28-year-old journalist from a farming family, he has a small belly, wears glasses, has tousled hair when he doesn’t gel it back, and essentially, he resembles the nervous nutty professor type.  He was a bad driver and smoked many cigarettes, even though he claimed that he’s not a chain smoker, he only smokes when he drinks alcohol.  This was not true, but at one moment, he literally was drinking a beer behind the wheel, which was unnerving to say the least.  He brought me to the Golden Temple, to Pingalwara organic farm where he translated my interviews, and then arranged for my trip to Wagah Border to see the daily border closing ceremony with Pakistan.  Everything was late that day – I woke up too late, we took too much time at the Golden Temple, we had to wait at Pingalwara for one of the trustees to do an interview, and I still hadn’t made it to the border.  My autorickshaw driver went fast (only as fast as autos can go) and I made it there at 5:15 (the ceremony supposedly runs from 5-5:15).  He told me I wasn’t allowed to bring bags to the border, so I had to leave everything with him: my computer, wallet and passport etc.  I desperately wanted to see the ceremony, so I put blind faith in him and literally ran.  I made it for the last 10 minutes but unfortunately, my view was largely obstructed by the throngs of Indians chanting “Hindustan.”  I was able to get some photos and video clips from the event by sticking out my arm, which will be my only way to really see the ceremony.  

Covering one's head is a must out of respect

Communal dining hall where people are fed for free. I spent one night staying at the foreigner hostel in the temple and I managed to get at least three meals out of them..ha

Waiting in line to see the Golden Temple shrine

Magical microbial culture that is "Jeev Amrit" (activates existing nutrients in the soil, negating the need for external fertilizer inputs)

Burning of crop residues after harvest, a really environmentally destructive process that releases noxious gases into the atmosphere and wastes valuable green material that could be used as mulch for nutrient recycling

In a field of turmeric

Zero Budget Natural Farming Centre outside Amritsar

People chanting "Hindustan"

What a show of Nationalism!

Seeing into Pakistan

Golden Temple at night is the most beautiful

The next day, I took a train to Ludhiana to meet up with Kawaljeet and speak with some scholars at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).  The two fellows my American friend Sara put me in touch with did not ever respond to my emails, so I ended up just meeting with one senior economist and two PhD students.  The interviews were interesting but not as fruitful as I would have liked.  However, the professor’s dissertation work culminated in a document about smallholder farmers leaving agriculture in Punjab, which should be interesting to read.  The professor was a character as well.  I could tell he was a bit scatterbrained, aloof, and also tended to mumble softly in mediocre English, which made it very difficult to understand.  He also seemed like a bit of a Marxist socialist who disapproved of the government, but couldn’t state this too openly because PAU is a government institution.

After my stay in Punjab, I feel more prepared to attend the World Agricultural Forum Conference in Hyderabad, which will focus on small holder farmers and also have the presence of scholars, government officials, and agri-tech firms.  En route to Pune (a 28 hour overnight train), I experienced my first potentially threatening situation in India.  Sure, there were a few moments in Ladakh where older men who befriended me may have gotten the wrong idea, but never felt truly in danger and they seemed harmless.  However, I woke up this morning on the train and there was this man in the compartment just lurking about.  It seemed like he may have been watching me and waiting for me to wake up.  He just stared while I put my contacts in and tried to get my bearings after a disorienting slumber.  We eventually started talking and he seemed perfectly harmless, except he kept brushing up against my leg or arm with his hand.  This was the first red flag.  Then he started showing me photos of his wife and kids, his dogs, his SUVs and motorcycles, his fancy family vacations etc.  He asked about my travel plans in India when I showed him the Lonely Planet book and then said if I ever pass through his city, to call him and welcomed me to stay at his house (I think this must be an Indian thing).  However, then the other man in my compartment got up and left.  I asked where he went and this creep said he “asked him to leave to give us privacy.”  Uhm, excuse me?  Then he asked if he could have a kiss.  I said no and he kept insisting.  He touched my leg several times, squeezing my thigh.  I told him that I have a boyfriend and he has a wife and this is very inappropriate and makes me very uncomfortable, but he kept insisting that it was harmless – “a kiss, it’s nothing” – and for me to “feel comfortable.”  He said, “it’s no problem” and that he is so unhappy and has been “waiting for me.”  I kept saying no, then he said something about how “aren’t relationships open in USA?”  When I refused, he tried for a kiss on the cheek instead, to which I also said no.  He even commented on the tiny bit of bra strap that was sticking out of my cardigan asking about “The strip under my shirt,” talk about invasive.  Eventually he gave up, but he was very persistent and made me feel really uncomfortable.  Foolishly, we exchanged mobile numbers, as I checked my phone and he asked to have my phone number.  I didn’t know what to say, so I gave it to him.  Then he kept insisting we become facebook friends.  I never want to see or speak to this man again and I want to report it to the railway police, but this would probably unfold into a bureaucratic nightmare.  Fortunately, nothing happened but it could have ended very badly.  I feel strongly that if people don’t speak up about these issues, they will just continue to happen in the future.  Men (and women) should know that this is not socially acceptable and will not be tolerated.  So my friend in Delhi called the man, impersonating the Delhi police and said that a woman had filed a complaint about him on the train, asked for his address etc. and said that he was going to pursue the matter with the Railway Police.  This guy was quick to apologize and beg that nothing be done; he called me to apologize and said he meant no harm (haha yeah right), and I curtly thanked him for the call and hung up.  I am so grateful for the assistance of people like my friend who look out for me even though it is certainly not their job.