5 Comments

1. 

   acilius

    /  November 7, 2008

   As I understand the article you’ve linked to, farmers are borrowing money to pay for very expensive GM seeds which they cannot use profitably. Unable to pay their debts, thousands of farmers then commit suicide.

   Undoubtedly a sad story, and a major issue for the people of India. But the GM crops seem to be the middle of the story, not the beginning or the end. Why did the farmers borrow the money in the first place? Surely they weren’t all such fools as the article would suggest (“promised they would be magic seeds.”) They must have been in rather desperate straits to resort to such a measure in the first place. Is it only farmers who have invested in GM seeds who face bankruptcy and commit suicide? Or does the investment come as a last wild gamble when the end is already in sight?

   And what sort of money lenders were they dealing with? Were they reputable banks or loansharks? If they were reputable, what regulatory provisions are in place to keep them on a level footing with their debtors? What happens to the farmers’ property after their suicides? Do the creditors get it? If so, what keeps the creditors from hounding their debtors in hopes that they will commit suicide? Or do they in fact drive the farmers to their deaths?

2. 

   cymast

    /  November 7, 2008

   Yes, I’ve read conflicting accounts, there’s obviously a lot of propaganda mixed with the facts. Several things seem clear to me- the GM seeds were exhorbitantly priced, the GM seeds didn’t produce, and the GMO farmers are commiting suicide by the thousands.

3. 

   acilius

    /  November 7, 2008

   Also clear, it’s tough to be a farmer in India, it’s easy to sell newspapers with stories that sound like science fiction, and the moneylenders are getting off the hook.

4. 

   cymast

    /  November 7, 2008

   Where’s Bat Boy when you need him?

5. 

   acilius

    /  November 8, 2008

   A delegation of Indian farmers should go to his cave and ask him to do battle for them.