Agroecological Farming is the way to secure India’s future: A Workshop Invitation
It is widely held that corporatised and centrally driven ‘Green Revolution’, ‘GMO Revolution’ and farming with hybrids and chemicals has destabilised farming and pastoral communities and caused widespread and adverse public health and environmental impacts. There is growing global concern that genetic and chemical contamination of agrobiodiversity is causing collapse of bees and other insect populations crucial to sustain food production. Alongside, climate change is worsening water distress in farms and driving massive farming populations to urban areas in search of stable livelihoods. The 2019 Union Budget uncritically proposes ‘Zero Budget Farming’ as a solution to this crises, a move backed by some UN agencies, national and international financial institutions and foundations, and global agribusiness corporations. Meanwhile, ‘Gene editing’ is also being promoted as ‘natural farming’.
This workshop will interrogate implications of such transitions in Indian farming and will argue that an ecologically wise, healthy and socially just way forward is in Agroecology.
The workshop will involve key interventions from:
Dr. Vandana Shiva (Navdanya Trust):Green revolution and GMOs have failed and India’s future is secure in Agroecological farming;
Aruna Rodrigues (Petitioner in Supreme Court PIL against introduction of GMOs in India):On why India must not allow GMOs and Gene Editing;
Bablu Ganguly (Timbaktu Collective, Andhra Pradesh and IFOAM- Organics International): On how we can build an Organic Farming revolution;
Vishala Padmanabhan (Buffalo Back Collective and Participative Guarantee System – Organic Council): On how we can secure healthy food for all;
Leo Saldanha (Environment Support Group): Is ‘Climate Resilient Zero Budget Natural Farming’ financialising and commodifying Indian farming?;
Dr. Manjunath H. (School of Natural Farming, Tumkur): Proposing a draft Natural Farming Policy for Karnataka
Join us on the 6th of August, 2019 from 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm at SCM, Bengaluru (https://goo.gl/maps/4f2oo8PyfbdEp3Fq8).
Register at: https://forms.gle/vMKvYvGXvcifdM1E6 OR call us at 080-26713561 OR email us at [email protected]
