How did this happen? Simple — over-reliance on a single herbicide — Roundup — used in conjunction with genetically modified cotton that included built-in resistance to Roundup. Both products, incidentally, brought to you by Monsanto. At first, it seemed like a great deal for farmers. Plant the cotton, douse the field with Roundup, and watch everything besides the cotton seedlings die. But just as many scientists have long predicted, monocrop agriculture in combination with reliance on just one herbicide turned out to be the most effective way to develop super-weeds that would spit in Roundup’s face that farmers could have devised.

…an obscure, century-old law in the United States designed to promote American exports allows American potash producers to essentially collude on price-setting. But the numbers are eye-opening — in the last year, fertilizer prices have risen faster than fuel prices. If you’re looking for a culprit not-named biofuels to blame for the global food price run-up, fertilizer fits the profile.

My father would have killed for a chance to be able to negotiate with a Reliance Fresh buyer.

yes, negotiation is good — not coercion; something which farmers in india should protected against.

Do you even know what a farmer with 17 acres of paddy/vegetables has to go through to get paid? My father would have killed for a chance to be able to negotiate with a Reliance Fresh buyer. I am sure that all companies are blood-sucking leeches when viewed through your pink glasses.

also, your rosy assumption that these companies will not resort to extra-judicial/constitutional methods to deal with farmers seems naive. this news report might inject a dose of reality to your fanciful musings:

An estimated 20,000 small farmers and other food producers in Singur (West Bengal, India) will be evicted on September 27, 2006 by the Left Front West Bengal government. In the name of “development”, their 1,253 fertile lands will be given to Tata Motors, a giant Indian company.

amaun, take a look what a google search for “tata land adivasis” brings up. vinod, for the sake of fairness, i would love to see post (authored by you) on the extra-judicial means corporations use in india, and how that could be characterized as a market failure.

my comment was not limited to indian farmers, but maybe you can link to me an article which shows me the benefits that have accrued to indian farmers from subsidies extended to first world farmers? it may be that indian farmers have several problems that squeeze them more, but i don’t see how a general climate of subsidies is beneficial to them. you might take a look at these two pieces, to begin with.

It would be great if the Tata, Birlas, Reliance and Walmart are allowed by the Indian govt. to negotiate buying prices from the farmers and sell to the consumer.

it might be — without a good legal system to support and protect them, informational asymmetries and the power of these corporations may leave indian farmers with very little bargaining power. i am all for increasing agricultural efficiencies, but i will not be pleased if indian farmers will be selling their land or produce to big firms at below-market rates. this is well-documented in other cases (especially africa) — mass displacement and low-wage employment for native people living close to precious resources. people are systematically and often, coercively alienated from their assets. meanwhile, the profits are diverted out and the social infrastructure remains under-developed.

tangentially: here is the impact subsidies within india (for the sugar lobby) have for maharashtrian cotton farmers.

Just to make it clearer, most Indian farmers are not killing themselves or, getting deeper into debt due to first world subsidies of first world farmers. It is because the middle-men have a stranglehold the avenues of distribution to the consumer. These middle-men are politically connected, have the muscle and under normal conditions (steady market) make 40% of the retail price. It is more during the inflationary spurts. Just to be even more clearer, these midlle-men do not have any transportation expense. The farmer and seller bear the tranportation costs. It would be great if the Tata, Birlas, Reliance and Walmart are allowed by the Indian govt. to negotiate buying prices from the farmers and sell to the consumer. The competition and efficiencies that these companies could provide would translate to better prices for the farmer.