Moving a little north for this African posting, it was pleasing to see this article in the New York Times last week. One of the most dangerous ideas in international development is the notion that food aid is designed to help the poor. In fact (and I go into this at some length in the book), it was invented to find a home for a domestic crop surplus, as part of the war on communism. Under this rubric, it didn't much matter that food aid, dumped into a country where the poorest people are farmers, and struggling to survive an already parlous situation, had the effect of wiping out any possibility of earning money for the 'beneficiaries'. Instead, they were reduced to penury, hooked on the largesse of food aid. Mission accomplished. ... read more »

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Posted on 22 August, 2007 - 15:50

The despair and suicide of indebted farmers are tragic and recurring themes. In India, their epicenter lies in Vidarbha, in Maharashtra, where farmers grow genetically modified cotton. The tragedy, for the families and communities left behind, has been caught by photographer Johann Rousselot, at Oeil Public. He shows the body of Praveen Vijay Bhakamwar, whose accumulated debts of Rs 40,000 - less than US$ 900 - pushed him to suicide. Bhakamwar leaves behind three daughters and a son. ... read more »

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Posted on 15 January, 2007 - 20:14

Farms don't just grow food - they grow communities. You don't have to go far to be part of these communities, either. In South Durban, urban farmers have long been supporting the local economy, and the surrounding neighbourhoods. And they're under threat.

Teddy Govender (43, pictured above) has a ten hectare farm in Reunion, in the shadow of the BP and Shell refinery, South of the airport. On it, he grows marigolds, turnips, leeks, mint, thyme and brinjal. When the produce leaves Teddy's farm, it goes to local markets in Wentworth, the Bangladesh market in Chatsworth, to Clairwood and Verulam. ... read more »

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Posted on 11 January, 2007 - 23:16

Lee Kyung Hae was a peasant leader from South Korea who took his life at the 2003 World Trade Organization meeting in Cancun, Mexico. In the hours before he died, he handed out a leaflet, challenging the WTO. Here, in a new translation by Christine Dann and Kim Hak Mook, is the text of that leaflet. You can also download a .pdf file.

___________

I was born on a farm in Korea. After graduating from agricultural high school and university I became a farmer, and with my own hands I developed a dairy farm on harsh, mountainous land. I also had a small area of rice paddy land on the lowlands, which my father transferred to me. With my fellow farmers, I built a farmers' association and I tried to contribute to my village, my community and my country, while carrying on my lovely occupation of farming. ... read more »

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Posted on 21 December, 2006 - 17:03

It's absurd and romantic to think that farmers have virtue as a birthright. This may seem an odd thing to say given that Stuffed and Starved is often a hymn to rural struggles. But it's important to remember that not all farmers are the same, and that very little soil is bloodless. Consider recent events in South Africa.

In October this year, an NGO called "Women in Agriculture and Rural Development" (Ward), set up by the South African government, announced in this article that that

"Three-hundred-and-fifty years ago the land was taken by white people. Now that we have a chance we must use it," said one land activist. "We want the land back." ... read more »

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Posted on 13 December, 2006 - 02:56

The Times of India carries a story of what it calls “perhaps the first case of farmer suicide in Gujarat,", in which "a debt-ridden farmer in Shera village of Bharuch district died on Monday by consuming pesticide.”

People are taking action. Says The New Nation:

"What began as a sombre exercise to express anguish at the continuing demise of the farming community-triggered by the anti-farmer policies of government-by lighting a candle at the Jantar Mantar on Nov 16, has now spread throughout the country. Candlelight vigils are being organised across the country in solidarity with the fast-unto-death undertaken by the veteran freedom-fighter Mohan Dharia in Pune, and also to draw the attention of the people and policymakers towards the terrible agrarian crisis that afflicts the countryside, says a message received from New Delhi." ... read more »

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Posted on 30 November, 2006 - 02:12

The exodus of people, particularly youth and women, from rural to urban areas has left male farmers in South Korea loveless. Entrepreneurs have stepped in to fill the gap.

Posters on the lampposts in Yangbuk declare: "Get a new life - marry a Vietnamese lady! You can pay later!"

A thoughtful article in today's Financial Times points to the hardships of women who come to Korea this way. The article ends with this quote:

While Ms Tran seems to accept her new life, Mr Jang, who flits between temporary agricultural or building jobs, is not so happy. "It's quite a burden to send money to Vietnam because I don't earn much," he says. ... read more »

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Ch.3. NAFTA, Immigration, Urban Farming | farmers | gender | immigration | society | South Korea | Vietnam

Posted on 28 November, 2006 - 20:47

The Hindu carries a report today in which Maharashtra's Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, comes to the same conclusion as Stuffed and Starved: Farmers' suicides happen all over the world.

But that's where the similarity ends. For Deshmukh

"The goal is to fully rehabilitate the farmer," Deshmukh said adding the state government was striving hard to ensure that farmers get the market price for their land and employment to a family member.

Suicide is a crime in India and, even if dead, the farmer is a criminal. 'Rehabilitation' for the dead farmer means that the (usually-male) farmer's family gets paid, and then sent to the city. Or to one of a humber of 'special economic zones' - of which the state of Maharashtra has the highest number in the country. From the field to the maquiladora, from the devil to the deep blue sea. There's little chance that the Minister could concieve of rural change owned and driven by rural people, and with income redistribution concomitant with that. But then this kind of myopia is also, sadly, global. ... read more »

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Posted on 28 November, 2006 - 03:25