As the leaders of the world gear
up for the 9th Minesterial of the World Trade Organization (WTO) at
Bali, small farmers and peasants across the world await the outcome with heavy
hearts. They are convinced that the horror unleashed by the WTO since its
inception in 1995 was going to multiply manifold. The extreme apathy of the
developed world towards the hunger and suffering of the developing and least
developed countries (LDCs) has never been more evident. For the insatiable profit
of a few giant multinational corporations (MNCs), the Global North is about to sacrifice
the livelihood of every poor family in the South.
The governments of developing
countries are being arm-twisted into agreeing to one-sided policies and agreements,
fooled by the carrot of development being dangled yet again by the First world.
It is now an indisputable fact that poverty and income inequality have only
increased since neoliberalistic policies made their way into the Third World. Mainstream
media being controlled by politicians and big corporations are determined to
keep the public in the dark about the devious WTO policies which have killed
more than 3 lakh farmers till date. Hence it is up to civil society and
farmers’ groups to prevent the 9th Ministerial from sounding the
death knell to small farmers and the economically weaker sections of society.
The South Indian Coordination
Committee of Farmers’ Movements (SICCFM) is spearheading the fight against the
WTO’s biased policies, in South India. They arranged a Round Table of all the
farmers’ unions in South India and invited representatives from two important
organizations, Focus on the Global South, a think-tank in New Delhi working to
secure just and equitable policies for the South, and GRAIN, an international
farmers’ movement fighting against the atrocities committed by large
agribusinesses on small farmers and peasants.
 |
| Kannaiyan, secretary of the SICCFM briefing the gathering |
Afsar Jafri, Senior Research
Associate with Focus on the Global South threw light on a few crucial issues. The
WTO’s importance had waned in the first decade of this century because there
were nil benefits for developing countries. Since the economic crisis of 2008
which plunged the rich world into depression, their companies are looking
towards emerging economies to maintain their exponential rates of growth. There
is a new push for free trade agreements which will allow MNCs from a few rich
economies to sell their government subsidized products cheaply in the
international market. Developing countries and LDCs cannot afford to provide
even a fraction of this subsidy to their farmers, leading to higher pricing and
hence no buyers of their produce, pushing them into debt. Yet developed
countries claim their subsidies are not trade-distorting, and instead want
developing countries to reduce their already minimal subsidies and import
tariffs, to facilitate dumping.
 |
| Afsar Jafri explaining the grave consequences of the 9th Minesterial of the WTO |
Why should Indians be especially
interested in the 9th Minesterial at Bali? Certain countries in the WTO,
especially USA is threatening to sue India if we implement the National Food
Security Act (NFSA). Under existing WTO rules which are inherently in favour of
developed countries, India is allowed a de minimus subsidy of 10% of the total
value of its food production. With the NFSA, India will cross this limit. In
order to allow implementation of the NFSA, the WTO wants India to accede to two
conditions: the first is Trade Facilitation i.e. modernization of all our ports
to allow for the easy and hassle-free entry of foreign goods. This will cost a
substantial sum for which India needs technical and monetary support; the developed
countries refuse to give any. The second condition is the Peace Clause. Under
this deceptively named clause, India will not be allowed to sue any country if
their company violates Indian laws. This clearly negates India’s sovereignty
and we must vehemently oppose both these conditions.
The other option the WTO gives
India to cut its agricultural subsidy is the reduction in the Minimum Support
Price (MSP) given to our farmers. A few countries with vested corporate
interests claim it will allow our farmers to sell their produce more cheaply in
the international market. In reality, the MSP is in fact minimal and many
times, does not even cover the cost of production. It is the minimum guarantee
that a farmer can get for investing his life into his crop, withstanding the
vagaries of the market and nature. Most importantly, this amount remains a miniscule
fraction of the bounty showered by developed countries on their farmers who
make up less than 5% of their population. If India agrees to this, it will have
to construct a mass grave to accommodate the lakhs of farmers’ bodies which
will make their way there. The WTO and its agribusiness giants will then
pretend these farmers never existed on the face of this Earth. Indeed, for
farmers in developing countries, WTO could stand for World Terror Organization.
 |
| Farmers and student activists listen intently |
If the threats associated with
implementing our NFSA are bad enough, the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) being
discussed on a number of products will ensure the small farmer has nowhere to
go but the mass grave. Kartini Samon, a senior activist from GRAIN enlightened
the audience at the Round Table about the new FTA between the European Union
and India which will allow free entry of European dairy products into India. It
is well known that the EU generously subsidizes its dairy industry. With the
new FTA, they will flood India with cheap milk and dairy products, cheaper than
what our local milk cooperatives are offering.
The EU’s big dairy companies will
acquire land, set up their own farms to source their milk. This will affect
more than 70 million families in India who practice dairy farming for their
livelihoods. The 93,000 local cooperatives which collect milk from small dairy
farmers and sell it to towns and cities will become bankrupt with no hope of a
bail-out. The milk that we get from our local farmers is not only fresh but
also environment friendly due to the very low transport related carbon
emissions. With climate change induced cyclones and typhoons wrecking havoc in
many parts of the world, these giant MNCs will only exacerbate the crisis.
Since the economic reforms in the
early 90s, hundreds of thousands of farmers have committed suicide because of the government’s
exclusive preference for industrialization. The upcoming WTO Minesterial
conference at Bali could kill many many more. Urban India needs to realize we
cannot exist without our farmers who provide our most basic necessity – food. Patriotism
goes beyond supporting India in a cricket match. If we do not come out of our
cubicles to support our farmers, we will in effect become Resident Non-Indians.
Since your voice carries more power than the farmer’s, please raise it against
this impending genocide. You will not see these issues highlighted in
mainstream media. Care searching on the internet and you will gather that
genocide is what it is.
Join the protest by SICCFM in Mangalore on 3rd
Dec 2013 to protect your farmers and the food they grow for you.
-Pannaga Prasad
Media relations
SICCFM
