OVER ACCUMULATION…….CRISIS…..MONOPOLY CAPITAL In Capital, Marx argues that capitalism dispels all fixity and security in the situation of the laborer…it constantly threatens...to snatch from his hands his means of subsistence, and...make him superfluous. We have seen... how this [class] antagonism vents its rage...in the incessant human sacrifices from among the working class, in the most reckless squandering of labor power and in the devastation caused by a social anarchy which turns every economic progress into a social calamity Restructuration of global agribusiness, which have allowed the near-monopoly capital to consolidate its grip and accommodated further demand for accumulation. Gradual withdrawal of subsidies on fertilizer, pesticides and electricity under the liberalization policy of the Central government, the farm-input cost has increased considerably, along with an increase in the cost of labour. The seed technology itself has undergone change, some of which suits the demand of capital accumulation. When good quality seeds are planted by a farmer, she or he gets good quality seeds at the end of the life-cycle of the plant. These can be sowed in the next agricultural season. But the seed companies would like to break this self-reliance and compel the farmers to buy seeds from the market at the beginning of every agricultural season. Initially plant hybridisation offered the solution, by developing seeds that germinate into hybrid plants offering better yield in the first generation but low yields thereafter. Contract Farming for Agricultural Development • Companies work with small farmers only when the area is dominated by small farmers or they are dictated/encouraged by the state or the nature of the crop, • There is ‘agribusiness normalisation’ in contract price over time, • There is little bargaining power of the farmer due to ‘monopsony’ of the firm, • Farmers compete with each other to get contracts, • Companies refuse to buy or reject with quality standards manipulation, • The extension is poor and there is no compensation for crop failure, • Small farmers are excluded, • There is inter-locking of markets, • Higher costs are passed on to the farmers, • There are bribes/cheating by company officials and ‘tying of contracts’, • Labour conditions are poor and exploitative in terms of wage rates, gender discrimination,use of child labour, and causal employment, • Contracts encourage ‘reverse tenancy’, • Contracting has serious equity and efficiency implications, • Contracting also leads to food insecurity, social and economic differentiation, and ecological degradation like over-pumping of groundwater, salination and chemicalisation of soil and water. Sources: Contract Farming and the McKinsey’s Plan for Transforming Agriculture into Agribusiness in West Bengal , Swagato Sarkar Contract Farming for Agricultural Development Review of Theory and Practice with Special Reference to India Sukhpal Singh
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 06:13:06 +0000
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