PRAJATEERPU
June
26 and July 1, 2001
We,
having heard evidence and deliberated between June 26 and July 1, 2001, present
the following verdict.
OUR VISION
We
desire:
·
Food
and farming for self reliance and community control over resources.
·
To
maintain healthy soils, diverse crops, trees and livestock, and to build on our
indigenous knowledge, practical skills and local institutions.
We Oppose
·
The proposed reduction of
those making their livelihood from the land from 70%-40% in Andhra Pradesh
·
Land consolidation and
displacement of rural people
·
Contract farming
·
Labour-displacing
mechanisation
·
GM Crops - including Vitamin
A rice & Bt cotton
·
Loss of control over
medicinal plants including their export
DETAILED SCENARIO
Access & control over resources
1.
Land
We
desire:
·
To
own the land we work ourselves.
·
The
restoration of our title to land and rights over forests.
·
Schemes
for land re-distribution and reclamation.
We
oppose:
·
Land
consolidation and displacement of rural people
·
Contract
farming
2.
Water
We
desire:
·
Restoration
of our irrigation tanks
·
Irrigation
water during drought years
·
Borewells
as a collectively managed resource for small farmers.
3.
Seeds
We
desire:
·
Self-reliance
·
Right
to re-use on-farm saved seeds.
4.
Medicinal plants
We
oppose:
·
Loss
of control including export of medicinal plants
Agriculture & Food Systems
We
desire:
·
The
maintenance of the variety and diversity of our crops & animals
·
The
continued integration of livestock in
our agriculture (including goats)
·
Practices
that maintain soil strength – (inc. livestock/FYM/mixed cropping, cover crops
neem cake, groundnut husk)
·
Agricultural
systems that require low investments
·
Indigenous
agriculture – including an appropriate combination of silt, FYM, traditional
seeds, improved seeds, mixed/rotated cropping,
farm-saved seed, control over seed selection.
·
Agricultural
systems that generate secure livelihoods
We
oppose:
·
The
proposed reduction of those making their livelihood from the land from 70%-40%
in Andhra Pradesh.
Science/Technologies
We
desire:
·
Recognition
& respect for indigenous knowledge & innovations
·
Restoration
of water tanks and indigenous water management practices
·
Appropriate
irrigation
We
oppose:
·
GM
crops – including Vitamin A rice & Bt cotton
·
Waste
of money on research & development into inappropriate technologies that
could instead be diverted to help us achieve our vision.
·
Labour-displacing
mechanisation
Support & protective mechanisms
We
desire:
·
Agriculture
that does not require loans, so long as we have been ensured access to
sufficient livestock & water sources
·
Subsidies
for inputs for organic agriculture – inc. FYM/natural pesticides/traditional
varieties
·
Local
outlets for produce , and local sources of inputs
·
The
PDS – don’t take away our ration cards
·
That
the Antyodaya (PDS for poorest) should reach us.
·
Fair
returns for our work & produce
Own institutions for self-reliance and local
decision-making
We
desire:
·
That
the formation of representative organisations of farmers should be facilitated
·
Community
crop planning
·
Local
management, access & control over prices, markets & marketing
·
Re-training
in indigenous resources management
·
That
we can be linked up to farmers in different regions
We
oppose:
·
Contract
farming
Culture
We
desire:
·
Agricultural
systems compatible with own culture, (including trees/crops/livestock linked to
festivals)
We
object to:
·
The
loss of opportunity for hospitality due to our lack of self-reliance in food
and high cost of its purchase
Environmental/Human Health
We
desire:
·
High
quality safe food (free of toxic residues)
·
Nutritious
diverse food
·
A
switch to a system of farming that does not need toxic chemical pesticides
·
Diverse
native forests instead of monoculture plantations (e.g. eucalyptus)
Role of Governments
We
desire:
·
That
all employees of the state should be accountable to us – (including) including
forest officials)
·
That
the government should be responsible for
provision of
basic services such as drinking water.
monitoring prices.
compensation
in case of loss of life in agriculture
giving loans
to small, marginal and landless farmers.
banning
spurious pesticides
·
That
foreign aid (from white people) should follow this vision and benefit the
poorest.
The
Members of the Citizens' Jury:
Facilitators:
Suda
Goparaju, Programme Support Team, Rural
Livelihoods Programme, Government of Andhra Pradesh
Kavitha
Kuruganti, Programmes Division, ActionAid India
Vinod
Pavarala, Communication Programme, University of Hyderabad
Collaborators:
Dr
Michel Pimbert
The
International Institute for Environment
and Development is an independent policy research organisation based in
London, specialising on environmentally sound and sustainable development.
Dr
Vinod Pavarala, UoH
The
University of Hyderabad’s
Communication Programme is part of the renowned Sarojini Naidu School for
Performing Arts, Fine Arts & Communication, and is an international centre
of excellence for development communication.
Sri
P V Satheesh
The
Andhra Pradesh Coalition in Defence of
Diversity, is A.P.’s leading forum for the discussion of different
agricultural options for the State’s future, emphasising options that ensure
sustainable and socially just futures.
Dr
Tom Wakeford, IDS
The
Institute of Development Studies is
the leading centre for participatory research in development, based at the
University of Sussex, U.K.
Host:
DDS Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Medak
District, Andhra Pradesh.