Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
The first historically significant certified organic entity is INFA M, the
Indian Farmers' Movement. In response to the suicides and agricul-
tural hardships in the district, many of which were affecting the recently
setled Syrian Christian groups, several religious leaders and activists
of the Catholic Church came together in 2000 to form INFA M.30 INFA M
was originally a Wayanad-
based movement populated by mostly Syrian
Christian producers concerned about crop die-ofs, declining prices for
their commodities, suicides, and pesticide poisonings.
The organization
purports to “[enable] the farmers to improve their agricultural methods,
to demand reasonable prices for their products, and to fight together
against injustice, bribery and exploitation. It promotes also commu-
nal harmony and understanding among the people.”31 Led by Catholic
priests, the organization is comprised of commitees of elected oicers at
the diocesan, district, and panchayat levels. INFA M meetings are regularly
held on church grounds or after Catholic Mass on Sundays.
On behalf of farmers and the agrarian sector, INFA M regularly pro-
tests government leaders and banks, fields candidates for political offices,
organizes seminars and training sessions, sets up self-
help and support
groups for communities, and develops crisis hotlines—common activi-
ties among political groups in Kerala.32 Several Catholic priests involved
in organic farming in the state also confided to me their admiration for its
history of radical labor politics. Hence, while not officially affiliated with
a political party, INFA M's membership and organizational aims have built
on the momentum generated by previous social movements and reforms
within Kerala.33 INFA M claims to now be the largest farmers' organization
in Kerala.34
One of INFA M's priority project areas is organic farming and moving
farmers away from chemical-intensive agriculture. As its website states:
“INFA M promotes eco-friendly farming habits, bio-diversity and diffusion
of folk wisdom related to farming. . . . We also provide the farmers with
region-speciic advice regarding seeds, manure, and crops and about the
marketing of agricultural produce.”35 This has translated into INFA M en-
couraging farmers “to adopt the best farming techniques from various
parts of the world and popularize natural food and medicine.”36
