Volume 6, No. 9, September 2005

Indian agriculture is in dire straits, somewhat comparable with the devastation that came in the aftermath of the Permanent Settlement in 1793. Imperialism, mediated by the WTO, World Bank, etc., has now assumed a direct role in the commercialization of land, fertilizer, technology, pesticides, crop-pattern, seeds and what not. The situation has come to such a pass that peasant struggles in India as a whole have got to address the distinctly emerging phenomenon in the deep-rooted semi-feudal conditions. This write-up concentrates on the Seeds Bill 2004, an openly declared act to fulfil the surrenderist pledge already made to the WTO.

It is common knowledge that the Indian peasants in the whole of the geographical landscape do not work the same type of land in the same climate, culture and environment. Specificity in this respect is the hallmark of Indian agriculture. And seeds constitute an essential component of agricultural activity. Indian peasants have so long got used to producing their own seeds locally. In a country where 70 percent people depend on agriculture for survival 75 percent of the seeds used for agriculture is produced by the peasants themselves. The dangerous Seeds Bill 2004 that the UPA government wants to push through, has all the potential to make the peasants completely dependent on the seeds market and to deprive them of their age-old right to save, sell and share seeds among themselves.

In the early 60s HYV seeds were introduced apparently to stave off the acute crisis in agriculture by flinging the doors open for the MNCs, World Bank and other institutions to chalk out agricultural planning and provide inputs for agriculture. The Indian context, topography, land patterns, etc. were simply overlooked and in came hybrid seeds, terminator seeds, and all such seeds in the process. Secondly, with the seeds, chemical fertilizer invaded Indian agriculture in general, and the areas of so-called Green Revolution in particular. Chemical fertilizers conspicuously represent imperialist interests – import of foreign ingredients, production in foreign lands, import of foreign technology, foreign loans and most of all the tie-ups between the Indian compradors and the MNCs. Along with fertilizers and imported seeds what devastatingly impacted Indian agriculture was the chemical insecticides and technology. The model areas of the so-called Green Revolution – a World Bank project to contain the Red Revolution – has already started to backfire, destroying the natural ferlility of the soil, water resources and spreading cancerous diseases. Instead of destroying the feudal base the reckless way of modernization of agriculture generated the growth of a new rural rich with one leg in the semi-feudal structure and superstructure and the other in hybrid capitalism.

This phenomenon simultaneously tightened further the imperialist noose around the neck of Indian agriculture. Leaving aside various effects of this type of modernization – which figured in a number of articles in the People’s March – we can only refer to the menace of excessive use of pesticides in Punjab, that has already led to epidemics of cancer, according to the Punjab Pollution Control Board and the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research. The study conclusively proved that "crops absorb only 10 percent of the pesticides sprayed on them; the remaining 90 percent enters the soil or water or the air" and "since these chemicals are used in huge amounts, they are everywhere in Punjab." [The Telegraph, 5th May 2005]. So it is clear that the US controlled World Bank prescription of inducing the green revolution in agriculture under the aegis of the imperialists has not only strengthened the imperialist penetration it has caused immeasurable loss to Indian agriculture and the people dependent on it. This imperialist stranglehold, particularly of the US, has been greatly ensured by Indian’s signing the WTO agreement during the Congress government in the early 90s and faithfully toed by the succeeding governments of the BJP and Congress with ‘Left’s support. It is in the light of this abject surrender in continuity to the imperialist interests we have to consider the draconian Seeds Bill 2004.

India’s peasantry, have since long produced 75 percent of their seeds. The Seeds Bill 2004, pushed by the current dispensation will not only adversely affect the peasants it will deprive them of their traditional right to their seeds. The Seeds Bill, introduced on December 5 and to be tabled in the Loksabha soon shall go to exert a dangerous impact on the peasants and all the consumers who depend on agricultural produce. Apparently the Bill places the innocuous objective of "increasing the use of quality seeds" "in comparison with farmers’ saved seeds" for "the private seed industry", "regulation of sale of seeds and increasing the availability of quality seed for sowing"; "increasing private participation in seed production, distribution, certification and seed testing" etc. With such pretentious objectives it is clearly stated in the Bill that such above measures are oriented towards "liberalized import of seed and planting materials compatible with World Trade Organisation commitments." The Seeds Bill’s stress on an increased role of the private sector and transnational seed corporations in the Indian agriculture is actually a policy of robbing the traditional right of the Indian peasants to produce indigenous seeds by such rhetoric like "quality seeds" as superior to traditional, peasants’ grown seeds. The Bill, which has declared to fulfil the commitments to fall in line with the WTO diktats, is clearly anti-peasant and deliberately formulated to apply rigorous brakes on the innovative seeds adapted to environmental conditions and largely providers of staple foods of the Indian people.

The phrases as inserted in the Bill like "compatible with WTO commitment" speak volumes on India’s freedom of choice except to allow private and transnational companies to market patented seeds in India. This is clearly in line with the recently passed third amendment to the Indian Patents Act enabling the patenting of methods of agriculture and plants including seeds. It is to be noted here that during the signing of WTO regulations a smoke screen was set up declaring under Article 27.3(b) of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights to allow the WTO signatories to "exclude from patentability : plants and animals." This Article also gave and impression as if the signatory states were to enjoy the scope of preventing plants and seeds from being patented. The Seeds Bill 2004 lets off the genie in the WTO bottle of regulations and prods the government to announce the compatibility factor with the WTO strictures.

It is basically anti-peasant and hits him where it hurts the most. The crucial aspect of the Bill is the registration of all varieties of seeds without which no peasant shall be allowed to sell, save or share seeds. This clearly chokes the traditional rights of the peasants who grow and develop seed varieties well-suited to local soil and climatic conditions. If this Bill turns into an Act the peasants shall be deprived of the right to sell or barter seeds at the local haat every week. On the haat day the government inspectors shall force them to hand over their seeds to them. And if it is opposed, the inspectors will show him Chapter VI, clause 35 of the act which gives them the dangerous power to "take samples of any seed of any kind or variety from any person selling such seed." The peasants are not only put under such threat, the Bill when becomes law will vest such savage powers in the government inspectors on the strength of the above clause to treat the unwilling peasants by such official step to "break open any container in which any seed of any kind of variety may be contained or to break open the door of any premises where any such seed may be kept for sale." These are the brute measures to be taken to implement the WTO regula-tions through the proposed Seeds Bill 2004.

This is a Bill to meet the demands of the seed manufacturing MNCs like Monsanto. The aim is to force the peasants to buy seeds from the market. Such measures to keep the doors wide open for attacks by the MNCs and other institutions shall further generate widespread protests of the Indian peasantry.

The sychopants of the government policies shall refer to chapter IX, clause 43 of the Bill that contains such sugar-coated deceptive declaration, "Nothing in this Act shall restrict the right to sell his farm seeds and planting material". Soon after it is qualified by such a tag warning "except that he shall not sell such seed or planting material under a brand name or which does not conform to the minimum limit of generation, physical purity and genetic purity prescribed." The question is as to who will ascertaim these qualities when a peasant goes to sell his seeds. Naturally the government bureauerats will enter the scene with immense power to negate the interests of the ordinary peasants. These clauses of the proposed Act empower the central seed committee to specify minimum limits of germiantion, genetic and physical purity, etc. and to demand that such data be indicated "on the packet or container" by the producer. Who on earth can believe that Indian peasants in general do possess such technical know-how to go through such a rigorous legal process? What they at most ascertain how their own seed varieties germinate and yield good crops in a specific local condition. This proposed Act holds out a danger for them as it thrusts them into a never-ending cumbersome process of furnishing technical proof of their seeds’ genetic purity and health. Thus they are practically robbed of their right to sell or exchage their own seeds. For the MNCs making hasty inroads into Indian agriculture such problems realated to sale of their seeds do not at all arise for being armed with geneticists, well-equipped laboratories, and most of all the enormous clout in the state administration itself. The very burcaucatic process renders the gerneral peasants uncompetitive in the market. Can anybody ignore this stark fact that it is next to impossible for the common peasant masses to undergo such a rigour of spending money to go to a committee or an institution to ascertain the quality of his seed, to obtain a certificate of approval and then sell, save or share it with others by killing his precious time. Let alone this proces, the whole gamut of beauractratisation will invariably lead to corruption compelling the few, very few peasants who dare to represent themselves with their seeds to bear the brunt. The limited room for exemption given to the peasants in the Bill merely allows saving and sowing in their own plots of land. With such a whietwash the Bill actually takes away the most important tarditional seeds rights of the peasants like sharing, exchaging and selling the saved seeds. Thus the Bill in all respects ensures the entire seed demand of the country in the exclusive domain of the seed industry controlled and owned mainly by the MNCs. It is in order to put this question straight as to why the UPA government propped up by the so-called Marxists is in such a hurry to push through the Seeds Bill while the Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers’ Rights (PPVFR) Act is hanging for implementation for the past four years since its passing in the Parliament? The answer is not far to seek. The MNC-controlled seeds industry can not accept such an Act passed under mounting pressures of the peasantry. The Seeds Bill 2004 is in reality the very negation of the above PPVFR Act. So long the seeds industry supplied about 20 to 25 percent of seeds, the rest was produced by the peasants themselves. Now the seeds industry of the MNCs focus on grabbing that market for the rest of about 70-75 percent seeds market . The UPA governement now entered the scene to appease the MNCs through the Seeds Act thereby making by way for the seeds inductry to spread its tentacle to seize the entire seeds demand of the peasnaty.

There are some other dangers if the Bill turns into an Act. The Bill states explicitly that "No seed of any kind or variety shall, for the purpose of sowing or planting by any person, be sold unless such seed is registered". This spells doom for the peasants as most of the seed varieties cultivated in India are never registered. This forced registration clause puts the peasantry in a bizarre situation either to grudgingly accept the cumbersome process (which is also possible in a few cases only) or to abandon the entire right to home-grown seeds. Because, if a peasant uses his own saved and unregistered seed, he will be liable to imprisonment. Naturally the large-scale domination of Indian agriculture by the imperialist agencies, MNCs, etc. will be guaranteed by the Seeds Bill 2004 by way of economic stranglehold, physical application of force and the constitutionally accepted rules and regulations of the country. There is one provision in the Bill that ridiculously announces that if the registered seeds produced by the seeds companies fail to produce sufficient crops, the peasant can ask for compensation under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA). Is it not a fantastic imagination to expect the peasants of the rural India traversing a long distance to sue such companies under the CPT? The Seeds Bill 2004 simply cheats the peasants in the name of receiving compensation in individual cases from the mostly MNC owned seeds companies. One can not forget the instance of the reckless and arrogant role of Union Carbide in the notorious case of gas leak deaths and the crippling of hundreds in Madhya Pradesh even after mountaing pressure from within the country and outside for compensation after so many years. Then how many of the peasants shall move the court to go through such a troublesome process and receive compensation and in how many years? The crude irony of the Seeds Bill lies in its compensatory provision: the peasant failing to fall in line with the proposed Act can be fined a maximum of Rs. 50,000; while in an extreme case of fault, if any, the huge seed companies have to cough out a laughably paltry amount!

Right now there are more than 400 odd seed trading companies in India. But about a dozen may be identified as major players and the powerful companies are mostly owned by the MNCs. When the MNCs receive the boost from the impending enactment of the Seeds Act, the small seeds companies too will vanish. Mergers have already started. And it is to be kept in mind that already the powerful MNC seed companty Monsanto holds 26 percent stake in Mahyco, India’s biggest seed company. This process will go on fast in the immediate future. One can remember how Coke and Pepsi swallowed many bevarage manufacturers like Thumps Up, Gold Spot, etc. This swallowing process will be seen in the seeds industry as well with the foreceful presence of mega players like Monsanto, etc. when the Seeds Bill is enacted.

In the later 1990s the Mc Kinsey mangagement company of America was embraced by the so-called Marxists in India. The World Bank under the notorious McNamara’s presidency in 1968-81 imposed a western model of development retaining the semi-feudal set-up and perpetual dependency of the Indian compradors on imperialist capital. In January 1999 McKinsey presented its first "Manifesto for a Business Revolution" – a prescription to bring doom to Bengal’s agriculture by way of agri-business, contract farming, etc. was presented. In the Mckinsey Report for West Bengal prescriptions were made for flavoured rice, fine rice, pincaple, mango, tomato, potato, etc. Besides that there are pieces of advice for the "Marxsits" to abandon rice production in vast tracts of land to produce flowers, spices, green vegetables, oil seeds, etc. The Report explicitly announced the produce from the Bengal land would be exported and foreign companies would import fruit juice, jam, etc. The McKinsey report which is already being implemented by the "Left" Front as its agricultural policy and propagated by the CPI(M)’s Kisan Sabha, Panchayat leaders, etc. is a noose around the neck of Bengal agriculture. For seeds the Mckinsey medicine is hybrid seeds in lieu of HYV seeds which have already shown signs of decresing returns. Such hybrid seeds, the McKinsey Report clearly states, shall be supplied by the MNCs and some seeds companies operating in India. Not only that, the Report made it clear that fertilisers and insecticides too shall be supplied by those companies. The gains are for the MNCs in both ways: the produce from our land will be sold through them in the western market and seeds, fertilisers from their companies will be pumped into the Bengal soil. Thus like the distorted industriliasation under the aegis of imperialism, commercialisation of agriculture under the dominaiton and control of the MNCs and their agenets – frequently a combination of compradorial and feudal interests – shall go on with the unstited support of the Congress, BJP, CPI(M) and such political swindlers. It is in oreder to refer to the case fo Andhra Pradesh under the dispensation of Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP. Naidu was the biggest champion of the McKinsey prescription for Andhra Pradesh.

The infamous Vision 2000 document for that state was prepared by McKinsey shelling out Rs. 9.8 crore annual consltancy fee for the much touted reoadmap for a ‘Swarna’ (goldern) Andhra Pradesh. It talked loud on generating employment by reducing agricutural share of employement to 40 percent from 70 percent. [Outlook, 11 October 2004]. But what came about through faithfully following the McKinscy advice was large scale starvation deaths and sucides. Like in Andhra Pradesh the so-called Marxists are practising the McKinsey prescription – a blueprint for starvation, destruction of agriculture and shrinkage of the rice fields to Bengal.

The India peasantry has not seen such a scale of direct assault by the WTO, World Bank, MNCs, etc. with the political, legal and armed support of the Indian state. The semi-feudal economy will be in place through modification and retention. The Advanis, Manmohans, Yechuries, etc. have built up a grand alliance, despite political bickerings over petty power politics to slam the door of the Indian economy open and invite imperialist forces to spread their network of bleeding the Indian peasants further and further. Imperialsit penetration on a vast scale in agriculture has now been a tangible reality even for the backward peasanty. This provides a scope for the anti-imperialist, anti-feudal forces to launch concentrated attacks on the enemies of the Indian peasantry. The anti-imperialsit, anti-feudal movement can succeed only when the newly emerging developments are grapsed, targets for attacks are determined and the real life battles are spread to all corners of the land.

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