Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ecologically viable—for example, through certification with a more af-
fordable, India-based certifier, and through the production of less poison-
ous farm inputs by farmers themselves on their land. Kerala's particular
political and cultural history facilitated these developments and experi-
ments. Its educated and organized populace, for instance, was in a posi-
tion to take advantage of certification, perhaps unlike other communities
in the global South.63
Organic farming in Kerala is empowering farmers. The state's Organic
Farming Programme is now promoting and increasing small farmers' en-
gagement in decentralized governance. The organic farming policy is the
latest, most far-
reaching instance of an ongoing shift in state agricultural
governance to beter engage farmers and local communities in an agri-
cultural system that once prioritized yields and chemicals. Similarly, or-
ganic certification is providing opportunities for farmers to work with
distant buyers in globalized commodity chains and to negotiate the terms
of trade (such as purchasing prices) through direct marketing relation-
ships. Certified organic farming is also boosting the political presence of
farmers regionally by facilitating the formation of local farmers groups
(for example, the ICS Organic Wayanad). These groups now collaborate
on and determine which production processes will best benefit them.
In light of these political and economic benefits, it is not surprising that
the momentum for organic agriculture in Kerala is growing. The year
after the government finalized the organic farming policy, India's na-
tional courts ordered a ban on the manufacture, sale, and use of endosul-
fan in the country.64 Kerala's Agriculture Department went further a few
months later: in 2011 it issued an immediate order banning all red- (“ex-
tremely toxic”) and yellow- (“highly toxic”) labeled chemical pesticides in
the state—totaling fourteen chemicals.65 This ban was upheld even after
the LDF lost power in the state parliamentary elections and a coalition
led by the more moderate Congress party took over the Assembly in May
2011, a testament to broad support for organic farming across party lines.
The successive political coalitions have channeled more funds to the Or-
ganic Farming Programme, so that its annual budget is now close to $2
million, to continue growing organic farming in the state.66
Other Indian states are following in Kerala's footsteps. Twelve are
