Globalisation has caused anxiety among farmers in marketing their farm products facing the competition posed by the developed countries dumping their agricultural products in the markets world wide. Yes, it is difficult to face them. Since their products will be cheaper compared to our agricultural products as they are grown in large scale, using machinery and agro-chemicals and GM and hybrid seeds. Hence, it is high time we practice systems that could bring down the cost of production. Luckily the developing countries are endowed with rich bio-diversity both in plant and animal kingdom. If we adapt some inexpensive practices in the cultivation of indigenous varieties of crops and animals, the cost of production could be drastically brought down without sacrificing the soil health. Adding to this the dependency could be brought down for seeds, plant nutrition and plant protection. The other most important factor in cost effective production is minimising the external labour by involving family labour. The main reason for cheaper production both in industrial and agriculture products in China is their hard work. Fortunately many developed countries are fond of purchasing most of medicinal plants and minor millets for their medicinal and rich nutritional values at a good price. Hence this is high time the developing countries and particularly India should exploit this situation in identifying and popularising such crops that developed countries could not produce.
Farmers have to get into diversified activities which are inter-related and interdependent like tree cropping, animal husbandry and food production for better recycling of farm by products and human resources efficiently and economically without much dependency for external high cost inputs. Since the indigenous crops and animals are tolerant to droughts and diseases the occurrences of losses are minimised and get comparatively better income. Similarly the native animal products like milk and meat are becoming popular throughout the world fetching far better prices. Again if the people are educated about disadvantages of GM and chemically processed foods the consumption of such western dumped food will be drastically reduced in our countries. Adding to these practices we have to work harder and sensibly to reduce the cost of production and improve the quality of both agricultural and industrial products. If China can sell their processed products at a very cheap cost, it is because of their hard labour to minimise the cost of production. Hence hard work is indispensable and is the need of the hour if we have to survive and compete with globalisation and its negative effects on the developing countries and India, in particular.
Hence the government, NGOs and the farmers have to be co-ordinated and understand the problems posed by globalisation and take a collective and comprehensive decision to combat the challenges. It is most important to conserve natural resources like land, water, vegetation and animal species very carefully and efficiently so as to produce food and other consumables at a cheaper cost than products from other countries. Even if we are delayed by one or two years in practicing such low cost external inputs production systems, we will be trapped forever in a serious economic crisis. Everyone of us has to cultivate the habit of saving and minimise wasteful spending whether it is food or other consumables. We have to struggle for survival than indulging in blaming our own government for getting into WTO which is unavoidable with powerful nations forcing this system on the poor countries. If we just learn to live a simple life and avoid luxuries, there are very few negative impacts either personally or nationally through globalisation.
L Narayana Reddy, Srinivasapura, Hanabe P.O.,Doddaballapura Taluka, Bangalore Rural District,Karnataka 561 203 Ph: 914-51360/08119-51360 (STD)
