ಕೃಷಿಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಜಾಗತೀಕರಣ (Krishi Samskruti Mattu Jagateekarana)
by ಸಿ.ಎಚ್. ಹನುಮಂತರಾಯ (C.H. Hanumantharaya)
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This essay by C.H. Hanumantharaya critiques the devastating impact of globalization on India's traditional agricultural culture (Krishi Samskruti). Farming, he argues, is a sacred, communal way of life, not a mere business. Before globalization, farmers were self-reliant, saving native seeds, using organic manure and sharing resources. In the 1990s, multinational corporations introduced genetically modified 'terminator' seeds that cannot be saved, forcing costly annual purchases plus chemical inputs that ruined the soil and water, and trapping small farmers in a debt trap that led to a wave of suicides. He warns against biopiracy and calls for organic farming, community seed banks and preservation of indigenous agriculture.
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Hanumantharaya argues that agriculture in India is not merely an industry but a sacred, communal way of life (Krishi Samskruti). Before globalization (Jagateekarana), farming meant self-reliance: farmers saved their own native seeds (deshi taligalu), used organic manure, practised crop biodiversity and shared resources in a spirit of community.
The corporate takeover
This model was dismantled in the 1990s when global trade policies let multinationals enter the market. They introduced genetically modified 'terminator' seeds (like BT Cotton) that cannot be saved for the next harvest, breaking the farmer's autonomy and forcing costly annual purchases. These seeds demand intensive chemical fertilisers, pesticides and water, which degraded the soil, depleted groundwater and killed beneficial insects.
Debt, biopiracy and the way forward
To afford these inputs, small farmers took high-interest loans; when monsoons failed or global prices crashed, they fell into an inescapable debt trap (saalada suli), driving a tragic wave of farmer suicides. The author also warns of corporate biopiracy, attempts to patent Neem, Turmeric and Basmati rice. He calls for an immediate return to organic farming (saavayava krishi), community seed banks and the preservation of indigenous agricultural culture to protect India's food security and sovereignty.