constructing agrarian alternatives

219 Pages·2011·1.54 MB·English

CONSTRUCTING AGRARIAN ALTERNATIVES
Cover Picture: Pankaj Sekhsaria

© Copyright Julia Quartz, Maastricht 2011
Universitaire Pers Maastricht
ISBN 978 94 6159 001 5

The Production of this thesis is sponsored by:
The Graduate School of Science Technology and Modern Culture (WTMC)
The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Maastricht University
CONSTRUCTING AGRARIAN ALTERNATIVES

HOW A CREATIVE DISSENT PROJECT ENGAGES WITH
THE VULNERABLE LIVELIHOOD CONDITIONS OF
MARGINAL FARMERS IN SOUTH INDIA
PROEFSCHRIFT

ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit Maastricht,
op gezag van de Rector Magnificus, Prof. mr. G.P.M.F. Mols
volgens het besluit van het College van Decanen,
in het openbaar te verdedigen
op donderdag 21 april 2011 om 12.00 uur

door

JULIA QUARTZ

geboren op 26. oktober 1976 te Friedberg/Hessen (Duitsland)

UP
M
UNIVERSITAIRE
PERSMAASTRICHT
PROMOTOR
Prof. dr. ir. W.E. Bijker
COPROMOTOR
Dr. A. Hommels
BEOORDELINGSCOMMISSIE
Prof. dr. S. Wyatt (vorzitter)
Dr. D. Glover (Wageningen Universiteit)
Prof. dr. ir. H. van Lente
Prof. dr. V. Mazzucato
Prof. dr. S. Visvanathan (Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and
Communication Technology, Gandhinagar)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements 7

Introduction 9
1 Constructing sustainable livelihood alternatives: The method of creative dissent
in India 25
2. Assembling NPM: Generative potency of inventive creative dissent 55
3. The national governance context for creative dissent(ers) 77
4. Moving NPM into the policy arena: The politics of activist creative dissent 97
5. Upscaling NPM: Enacting extension policies through pragmatic creative dissent 133
Conclusion: Constructing Agrarian Alternatives 163

Appendix A: List of Interviewees 181
Appendix B: Abbreviations & explanation of terms 185
Samenvatting 189
Summary 197
References 205

Curriculum Vitae 219

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This dissertation is the outcome of a five-year journey that carried me into different
countries, a variety of intellectual debates and altogether new stages of life. Many people
helped me navigating through this period, and I am deeply grateful to all of you. First, I
would like to mention my supervisors Wiebe Bijker and Anique Hommels. Wiebe, you
have helped me to find my intellectual pathway without steering me and, at times, you
fatherly supported my endeavor to creatively re-invent my doubts. Anique, with your
tremendous talent for combining essayistic beauty with the pragmatic demands of daily
academic life you taught me many a lesson. Thank you for your relentless willingness to
share and reflect. I am also thankful for the support of my colleagues in the Faculty of
Arts and Social Sciences in Maastricht and across ‘WTMC country’. To my PhD
friends I am indebted for steering with me through both the intellectual and emotional
ups and downs of writing a dissertation. In equal measure, my sincere gratitude goes to
Jessica Mesman, who since long has contributed to my growth as a researcher.
Annapurna, Ragna and Niki, thanks for being critical colleagues, trusted friends and
witty pre-defense caretakers.
Doing fieldwork in India is inspiring, multifaceted and challenging. My work was
generously supported by the Centre for Research on Innovation and Science Policy, and
I would like to thank Rasheed Sulaiman, Andy Hall, P.Y. and Murali for making it
possible for me to develop my project in Hyderabad. I was fortunate to meet many
researchers, activists, farmers, politicians and engaged individuals across India who
agreed to be interviewed for this case study. I am also grateful for the conversations with
the staff at the Centre for World Solidarity and the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture,
and my special thanks go to Sastri Garu, Kavitha Kuruganti and G.V. Ramanjaneyulu.
Moreover, I would like to thank Shambu Prasad, who persistently supported my idea of
writing a history of the NPM project, and Shiv Visvanathan, who helped me to
articulate the politics embodied by NPM.
Of course there is another life beyond the world of PhDs, and I would like to
express my deep gratitude to Harry Schouten, who never questioned my inquiry into
the uncertainties of (his) medical practice and whom I highly respect for accompanying
me with both professional seriousness and wit. Finally, I am indebted to my friends and
my family, who have provided the emotional foundation of this dissertation and who
several times helped me to continue my journey. This book is for you. Chris and Uwe,
jullie zijn mijn tweede thuis geworden. Dank daarvoor. Mama und Papa, ihr habt
meine (intellektuelle) Reiselust immer bekräftigt. Danke für eure Liebe und Bestärkung.
Marc, du warst immer da, auch zu Zeiten zu welchen ich den ‘weg kwijt was’. Du bist
mein Geschenk vom Leben.

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INTRODUCTION

Introduction
Introduction

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INTRODUCTION
I arrive in Laxminaikthanda at 6.30 and experience how the village is waking up.
Some women gather around Sateema’s fireplace, the men stand further away,
engaged in discussions while chewing on Neem sticks. Chai tea is steaming on
the stoves, and this lightens the village while the sun is about to rise.
Daily routines in Laxminaikthanda are governed by the demands of agricultural
production, and therefore the early morning hours belong to the few moments of
leisure in a farmer’s day. During my frequent early-morning visits I usually enjoy
this relaxed atmosphere. This particular morning something is different, though.
Sateema has no time to talk. Asking her what has happened, I learn that the
heavy and untimely rains of the last two weeks severely damaged her crops and
that she needs to harvest what is left. I follow her and the other women to the
fields and witness how they quickly chop off the small, yellow and pre-mature
maize cobs. The farmers form heaps of yellow cobs [see photo above]. I learn that
the economic consequences of the heavy rains are severe: the water-drenched and
damaged maize crops will earn the farmers merely about half the standard market
value. The same is true for chili peppers, the village´s second income generating
crop. Just like in similar situations in the past, there is neither insurance nor some
kind of governmental compensation that will offer any relief to Sateema and her
fellow farmers.
Notwithstanding the severe losses, Sudakar explains, the community will manage
to cope with this latest predicament: He tells me that apart from chili and maize
almost all farmers cultivate food crops for personal consumption. Sateema stresses
that since she and her fellow farmers shifted to inexpensive non-chemical pest
management years ago the cultivation costs had been very low anyway. Also, the
community secures the purchase of millets and rice by means of communal
savings. [Research diary, Laxminaikthanda, 03.04.2008]
The farmers in Laxminaikthanda form a community of marginal cultivators in the
South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.1 On a daily basis, they have to deal with the
material consequences that result from crop cultivation under irregular meteorological
circumstances. When damaged crops fetch a market price far below the average rates the
farmers find themselves in an economically vulnerable condition. Nevertheless, they
seemed to have found a way of coping with it. They rely on cheap and non-chemical
inputs and their homegrown food crops allow for sufficient calorie intake. Since 2005,
the farmers in Laxminaikthanda participate in the Non-Pesticidal Management Project
(NPM). This project emerged as an effort in civil society to deal with the vulnerable
livelihood conditions of marginal farmers. NPM promotes a range of local methods,

1 Usually, those farmers who own less than 5 acres of land are described as small farmers. Those who cultivate
on less than 2 acres of land are considered to be marginal farmers (FAO, 1988).

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