When the farmers' jury gave its verdict

A jury of farmers in Karnataka recently held a unique hearing and gave its verdict on what the country needed to do to improve farming.

Who is an agricultural expert? The practising farmer or the numerous graduates who pass from agriculture universities?

For this country, the latter is considered the expert, while the former -- who can feel the winds and predict the rains, touch the soil and scan the health of the seedlings in its womb -- is nothing more than a labourer.

Not only is he considered unfit to be a teacher and a scholar of the subject and partner in research and policy-making, but is reduced to a life of extreme poverty, having to pull rickshaws or do construction work in the cities every two months, to raise money to invest in the fields.

This, again, leads to the question of a country's seed sovereignty, a matter over which no policy maker is losing sleep.

This month, 30 farmers -- women and men -- gathered as a jury in Karnataka and quizzed a number of agricultural scientists on the theme of 'Democratisation of Agricultural Research. The farmers' jury, or Raita Teerpu, then gave their verdict.

The entire process was coordinated by four organisations -- Deccan Development Society, Hyderabad; the Institute for Cultural Research and Action Hittala Gida, Bangalore; the Centre for Agricultural Media, Dharwad; and Appiko, Sirsi.

The verdict was addressed to the government, policy makers, universities and agricultural scientists, and said there was a great need for pro-farmer agricultural research in the context of the inability of farmers to return to traditional farming, as well as inability to pursue expensive modern farming practices.

It said the government must recognise farmer innovations, respect such innovators and suitably compensate them just the way they compensate scientists in formal institutions. It further ruled against research in hybrid crops, which demanded repeated purchase of expensive and chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

"Instead, we demand research on local land races that are adaptable to their ecosystems, are drought resistant, provide quality food and fodder and can be produced by farmers themselves. Agricultural universities and other public-sector research institutions must make farming men and women partners in their research and offer an equal share of the profits resulting out of this research to them. When private corporations conduct farm trials, the effects of these trials on farmers' health, the changes in soil and the impact on the surrounding environment must be monitored by citizen groups that include farmers," the jury said.

It added: "This information should be made known every year to the farming community through the media and Gram Sabhas. If there are negative impacts, the corporations must be held responsible."

It asked for immediate abolition of weather-based crop insurance schemes and to make every farm a unit for the assessment of losses and the resultant compensation. Another vital demand was to set up cottage industries for processing of agricultural produce and value-addition at the panchayat level.

It further asked for setting up of seed banks of local seed varieties at the level of every Gram Panchayat. It demanded a special agricultural Budget by both Centre and state governments in view of the fact that farmers constituted 70 per cent of the population. On land, it said acquisition of farm lands for industry should be stopped.

So, where does that lead the farmers and this country's destiny? Will the policy makers pay heed to this voice of the Raita Teerpu? Possibly, every state should have a hearing to take this further.

And if the determination of the farmers is something to reckon with, this may well happen.