Can Gandhian philosophy help us attain sustainability in agriculture? |
- By Ankit Mahapatra1, Ishan Bajetha2, Adupa Shanmuka3 and, Apoorva Veldandi4The nation recently commemorated the 75th death anniversary of the Mahatma. Though Gandhiji left this corporal world 75 years ago, his ideas are still guiding us on the right path in various aspects of life; agriculture being one of them. Through this article, we make an attempt to bring forth how Gandhian philosophy is much relevant for realizing the goals of sustainable agriculture. Gandhian Philosophy adumbrates socio-economic, political, spiritual, moral, individual and collective ideas brought to inception by Gandhiji and his followers like Jay Prakash Narayan, Acharya Vinoba Bhave etc. It emphasizes pragmatic idealism; not just idealism. Truth, Non- violence, Sarvodaya, Swadeshi, Swaraj and Satyagraha are the key prospects of this philosophy and these prospects are really crucial for Indian agriculture. The Indian national movement was instigated on the account of farmers plight stirred due to discrimination on various grounds which made Mahatma Gandhi closely associated with the farming community through the Champaran Satyagraha (1917) & Kheda Satyagraha (1918). Contemplating the fact that the real India resides in villages where agriculture primarily backs rural economy, it is a dire imperative of time to address the issues of farmers and approach agriculture with sustainable methods. Scientists and policy makers are endeavoring extensively towards aforementioned cause which invariably can be achieved by pivoting upon Gandhian philosophy. Let us delve a deeper into insights of sustainability in accordance to what Gandhian philosophy offered us well ahead of its time. When anything can sustain the needs of present generation without compromising the resources of posterity, can be called as sustainable. Sustainable Agriculture is an integrated system of plant and animal production having a site-specific application with a potential to underpin the ever-escalating human needs (food and fibre) in long term without defiling the environmental quality and natural resource base over which the agrarian economy thrives. The five principles of sustainable agriculture as per the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) are:
The above-mentioned points by FAO regarding accountable governance align with the Gandhiji’s vision of Swaraj, where a nation is composed of several village republics. As a basic unit of society, a village should be self-sufficient republic with political and economic decentralisation. Such grass root level system will render power at hands of people to take political and economic decisions, culminating to judicious use of resources and uplifting the living standards of rural populous. With steady sustainable income and better lifestyle, the conundrum of migration from rural lands could be mitigated to some extent. Another aspect of Gandhian philosophy believes in living in harmony with the nature. As quoted by Gandhiji, “Nature has enough for our need but not for our greed.” The economic system should revolve around preservation rather than destruction of nature (Tiwari, 2019). Known for his simple living and high thinking, he always stressed upon simple living with minimalistic utilization of resources, which was quite reflected in his lifestyle and actions. The principles of sustainable agriculture also reflect the same idea. Undoubtedly, the green revolution made India self-sufficient in terms of food production by introducing new technologies, but it also led to indiscriminate use of some agro-technologies that have delivered ill effects on human health and environment. Hence to curb this problem, the Government of India has been promoting organic farming under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana since 2015-16. The Union Finance Minister also laid emphasis on Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) in the 2020 budget. ZBNF is a natural farming system that harness bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides. In the current union budget 2023-24, the government has allocated Rs 459 crore to create natural farming into a widespread phenomenon. 10,000 Bio Input Research Centers are to be stationed to aid 1 crore farmers in Natural Farming during a time span of three years. Other farming models like Rishi farming, Homa farming, Vedic farming etc. also coincide with principle of living in harmony with the nature. Speaking of the harmony, it leads us into a very important Gandhian moral virtue called Sarvodaya, meaning the welfare of all. It is based on liberty and equality to serve the purpose of no discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, language, etc. Agriculture should be planned as such so as to meet requirements of all. The Sarvodaya movement aims to create an atmosphere to bring together all those with a common motive of welfare of all individuals. This very idea is reciprocated in government’s philosophy of current budget (sabka sath sabka vikas), which encompasses various developmental plans and policies for different sections of society. The very crux of sustainable agriculture is welfare of all- the farmers, the consumers, the soil health, the water health and the whole agro ecosystem. And when the welfare of farmers and consumers is at the expense, an indispensable concept of Sarvodaya which goes by the name of trusteeship, holds a very significant place in the process of societal upliftment. The collective efforts of all people create a pool of wealth that deems every individual to be a trustee and the surplus should be dedicated towards societal reforms. This develops a sense of non-violence and benevolence among people which will bolster socio-economic relations based upon production systems centered on the preservation of nature, that can be used to achieve sustainable agriculture goals. Further it will decrease exploitation and inequality. Furthermore, Gandhiji had a pioneer vision to deter exploitation and inequality through economic and financial stability of villages by generation of local employment opportunities. He had a firm belief that Village industries can transform the economy of India. In 1934, he established the All-India Village Industries Association at Wardha and worked on village reorganization, devoting his time towards the revival of village crafts and agro industries where he trained many workers in bee-keeping, neera preparation from palm trees, dairy, oil pressing etc. (Pradhan, R.C., n.d.). Such methods are still promising today to render the employment and prevent migration of rural youth. The government’s initiative of doubling the farmers’ income by 2022 was quite similar to Gandhiji’s vision of sustainable rural economy. The Dalwai Committee, in the volume ix of its report on Doubling Farmers’ Income also pondered upon the importance of secondary agriculture activities like Apiculture, Sericulture, Mushroom farming, Food processing Industries, Agro-tourism etc. to diversify and stabilize the rural economy. The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Federation (TRIFED), Ministry of Tribal Affairs in cooperation with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries has also launched the TRIFOOD project in Jagdalpur (Chattisgarh) and Raigad (Maharashtra) in order to enhance the farm income of tribal farmers through value addition of Minor Forest produces like amla, jamun, mahua, custard apple etc. by setting up tertiary processing centers. Such processing units can be established by the cooperation of locals on different levels as advocated by the Gandhian philosophy, encouragement of cooperation in economic sphere. With ever increasing mouths to feed, the proportion of land holding has truncated to weigh heavily upon us. In India around 86% of the farmers are recognized as small and marginal on basis of operational landholding. For such small farmers to achieve a sustainable income and better lifestyle, cooperation can prove to be a key principle. AMUL, started by the milk man of India, Verghese Kurien stands tall as a successful example of cooperative model. The Self-Help Groups have also been very effective in consolidating the rural population, especially women producing value-added products. Earlier, though there was much thrust on cooperatives, there were some challenges to make these organisations successful. To address the shortcomings in the cooperative model, now there is more emphasis on Farmer Producer Companies which accommodate the principles of both cooperatives and private limited companies. The Union Government has launched a central sector scheme named “Formation and Promotion of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs)’ with an ambition to establish 10000 Farmer Producer Organisations by 2027. These FPOs are expected to help farmers directly by providing forward and backward linkages to generate good returns. During the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous FPOs like Sahyadri farms, Maha FPC and FPOs under purview of Kaushalya Foundation have shown how such organisation can have a great impact on the farming community (Nikam and Kale, 2020). A handsome amount of budget amounting Rs 955 crore has been laid down this fiscal year to facilitate genesis of new FPOs and thrust the ongoing momentum. Gandhiji also gave prominence towards production of energy from locally available renewable sources. The non-renewable sources like coal and oil are on the way towards debilitation in quantity and also ensuing global warming. So, the current energy demands are imperative to shift on an alternative path of bio fuels cobbled together from farm waste. The National Policy on Biofuels-2018 has an indicative target of 20 percent blending of ethanol in petrol and 5 percent blending of bio-diesel in diesel by 2030. The Policy encourages setting up of supply chain mechanism of biodiesel production from non-edible oilseeds, worn out cooking oil and short gestation crops. In the running budget, the government has planned to set up 500 waste to wealth plants with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore under GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme to magnify circular economy with a mandate to introduce 5 per cent compressed biogas by all different organizations that markets natural and bio gas. Declining water table, droughts, deforestation etc. are responsible to put us in a gridlock while trying achieving goals of sustainable agriculture. During a prayer assembly at Delhi in 1947, Gandhiji requested his followers to practice water harvesting to satisfy the irrigation demands apparently forging a strong impetus to avoid famine and food crisis. During the national movement agitation in Kathiawar region, he observed the plight of farmers due to water crisis and suggested afforestation as an efficient measure to curb the problem (Daptardar, V, n.d.). The M.S. Swaminathan committee also recommended the aforementioned idea by Gandhiji in its 2006 report. Green Party, an organisation procreated in Germany by Patra Kelly, inspired by the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi on sustainable development aims to execute policies on nature conservation (Daptardar, V, n.d.). We have to conjure up our mind that “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” We got to leave something behind for posterity, leave them a better world than ours. This is within our limits if only we can align with the sustainable agriculture practices and harmonize with the environment that feeds us, nurtures us and sustains us. In return we have to take care of our ecosystems, keeping soil and water healthy by creating awareness among people. The research and development have to keep up the pace by pitching in new technologies of sustainable agriculture by collaborative efforts. The Gandhian ideas can act as a beacon of hope to the world striving for dream of having a sustainable future. Bibliography:
1. Ankit Mahapatra is a Ph.D. Research Scholar, Dairy Extension Division, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal |