A PANEL DISCUSSION AT TATA LITLIVE 2022
“Why do farmers farm, given their economic adversities on top of the many frustrations and difficulties normal to farming? And always the answer is: "Love. They must do it for love." Farmers farm for the love of farming. They love to watch and nurture the growth of plants. They love to live in the presence of animals. They love to work outdoors. They love the weather, maybe even when it is making them miserable. They love to live where they work and to work where they live. If the scale of their farming is small enough, they like to work in the company of their children and with the help of their children. They love the measure of independence that farm life can still provide. I have an idea that a lot of farmers have gone to a lot of trouble merely to be self-employed to live at least a part of their lives without a boss.” ― Wendell Berry
The panel discussion was moderated by Italian wine expert Luca Bernardini while Gabrielle Chan of Guardian Australia and chef M Rajashekhar were guest speakers. The venue of Title Waves, a bookstore nestled in the quaint lanes of Bandra West.
The event was held as a part of Tata LitLive: The Mumbai LitFest. Founded by Mr. Anil Dharker and chaired by Amy Fernandes and Professor Reena Aggarwal, the literature festival continues to invite thousands of visitors and remains one of the most eye-catching highlights for book lovers from all around the world.
The speakers were successful in adding an intellectual edge to farming: one of the most underrepresented subjects in mainstream media.
I realized that farming is a connective act and a collective virtue. Farming is as anthropogenic as much as it is humane. Farmers are born with the privilege of producing daily essentials. To live a life where 'work' is not working, but simply understood as ‘living.’
I also learned to perceive farmers as stewards of creation and as their land’s inheritors who contribute to the welfare of society in more ways than people of the very society acknowledge, or even know. These farmers not only produce valuable goods, but they also preserve soil, they conserve water, they nurture wildlife, they breed open space and they proliferate scenery.
Gabrielle Chan's words resonated with the larger part of the audience. She said that while we as a society share an indispensable connection with farmers, there is an urgent need to restore power balance through the chain of food production and supply. In other words, farmers continue to offer maximum contribution for minimum profits.
Given the increasing influence of climate change, farming in contemporary times calls for urgent intervention. We need to bring in more people, esp. consumers into the conversation.
Quality of production also matters. Producing food is polluting with involvement of machines and fertilizers. Protecting planet earth remains a massive challenge.
M Rajshekhar rightly stressed that optimal health of our farmers is our priority. Unfortunately, reality is bleak. Because good quality grains are sold off in market for prices as low as 2 Rs per kilo and poor-quality grains stay back for personal consumption.
The conversation then pivoted to complex inter-relationship of food and sustainability. Sustainable food movement is consumed by green washing. Irony is that almost all the organic foods come in plastic bags. As responsible buyers we should continually ask ourselves, “Where is it coming from?”, “Who is producing?”
Further on, the audience learns that dynamics in family run farm and corporate farm differ. A corporate farm has to create a return. When investment funds run out, everything changes. Family farms are not well-organized but stand as a legacy that can be handed over to subsequent generations.
The carbon market is transforming the process. Environmental services are being commodified as a consequence. Policy changes can be brought about through the power of social media.
On a final note, we cannot talk about the farming crisis without talking about farm workers – an essential element of the market chain. Most of the farmer workers are migrants who face terrible exploitation.
Here is an interesting fact. Parmigiana Reggiano would not exist, as Luca Bernardini says, “if not for Punjabi farmers in Italy.”
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