Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
relationships it had developed with overseas buyers. In early 2013, for in-
stance, it exported 19.2 tons of certified organic coffee to the same buyer
in Germany at a price of 75 rupees per kilogram. This was an increase of
5 rupees per kilogram from the previous year, 2012.
Usha's optimism, however, was tempered by other developments
—or,
more precisely, the lack of developments in the realm of implementation.
Despite Kerala's ban on pesticides, she reported, they were still being sold
in the state. “There's no enforcement, no action,” Usha complained. Her
comment aligned with recent testing done by K AU that found pesticide
residue on vegetables in Kerala's markets.2 Furthermore, funding for the
Biodiversity Board's pilot in Padayeti had ceased. “The new Planning
Board says [this project] is not in the board's jurisdiction,” she lamented,
suggesting that the Biodiversity Board's efforts to change power relations
in agriculture were far from over. The government instead chose to chan-
nel its limited funds in 2013 and 2014 elsewhere, such as the district of
Kasaragod, still reeling from the efects of endosulfan. Usha admited
she was worried that several families in Padayeti might abandon organic
rice-paddy farming without the continued support of the government in
finding marketing venues and supplying quality inputs such as seeds and
manure. After all, signals for such moves by some farmers had already
been present while the pilot was being implemented.
George's good news was similarly dampened by other events. Later in
2013, the price of robusta coffee rose to 120 rupees per kilogram in some
conventional markets, a difference of 45 rupees per kilogram above what
his organic farmers received. Such a large gap between conventional and
organic coffee prices could slow or reverse the trends in Kerala's organic
production. Farmers could switch back to other agricultural methods to
take advantage of higher prices in the conventional coffee market, partic-
ularly if consumer confidence in organic markets wavers.
Meanwhile, Kerala's organic farming policy is making national news.
Debates about the role of organic farming and the appropriateness of
human activity in ecologically sensitive places remain ongoing across sev-
eral South Indian states. A current case in point has been the fallout from
the Gadgil report by notable ecologist Madhav Gadgil, containing con-
servation and sustainable agriculture recommendations for South India.
