Bernie Sanders

With 60 years’ hands-on farming experience, Bhaskar Save was able to describe how the green revolution in India destroyed traditional farming, which, among other things, was much more drought resistant, and how water-guzzling cash crops led to water shortages and groundwater depletion. Vandana Shiva has also outlined the devastating impact of the green revolution on both food security and water resources along with the degradation of soil, including its diminished capacity for storing water.

As with Save, Singh says the steps taken by the government over a period of decades have nullified the work of his ancestors because the crops previously grown did not require much water. With the green revolution, though, underground water began to be extracted heavily to sustain the thirst of the seeds, whereas local seeds were tested and adapted to fight drought.

At the centre of it all, says Singh, was « the ruling class’s apathy towards farmers manifested in their lack of representation in policy formation.

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This is because their business models and practices grow out of and drive a political and economic system run by oligarchical interests.

https://www.mondialisation.ca/the-plight-of-indian-farmers-from-militarism-and-monsantos-gmo-to-gandhi-and-bhaskar-save/5523816