Seeds of suicide: lest you've forgotten or don’t know.

I have always tried to underscore the importance of agriculture and I fully concur with whoever said that is in the agricultural sector that the battle for long-term economic development will be won or lost. Agriculture plays a paramount role in the developing countries' economies.

A battle of supremacy is being wedged in the sector over control of seeds between the corporates and the peasant farmers resulting in fatal consequences for the defenseless farmers. Going by the happenings in India where lives were lost due to the effects of giving seed companies a free hand through privatization and deregulation that lead to increasing cost of seeds and agrichemicals for farmers, increasing farm debts and crop failure, the magnitude of this statement is evident.

One such victim is the 68 year Karnail Singh in 1998. His inability to repay his loan demeaned his being driving him – proud, stoic, and immersed in traditional values of trust and honesty to desperately consume poison.

These companies that drove people to their graves are there with us and we need to be careful as we deal with them lest we become on other statistic on the many farmers who’ve committed suicide as a consequence of their dealings. More can be found here

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