Via Hellenic Shipping News, October 27:
India’s Record Rice Crop Brings Problem Of Plenty For Farmers Juggling Protest
Farmers in India are gathering in the largest rice crop in history, which promises record exports, while making sure to keep up their longest-running protest, set to turn a year old next month.
The sit-in against controversial agriculture reforms is taking place in the capital, miles away from the five acres (2 hectares) of lush green rice paddies tended by Sukrampal Beniwal in his village of Munak, in the northern state of Haryana.
“We’ll not budge until the government rolls back the laws,” he said, referring to three measures the farmers, demonstrating by the tens of thousands in New Delhi, say will threaten their livelihoods.
Farmers in the breadbasket state have joined hands to bring in the mammoth crop and make sure that every time a group sets off to harvest rice, a similar number leave to join the protest on the outskirts of New Delhi, Beniwal said.
“Because of our camaraderie, we have quite successfully dealt with the two competing challenges: managing the protest against legislation and harvesting a big crop,” he added.
Introduced in September last year, the legislation deregulates the agriculture sector, letting farmers sell produce to buyers beyond government-regulated wholesale markets, where growers are assured of a minimum price.
While small farmers say the changes make them vulnerable to competition from big business, and threaten the eventual loss of price support, the government says the reforms will bring them new prospects and better prices.
Yet, with global food prices near decade highs after a surge of 30% in rates for cereals over the past year, India’s problem of plenty also offers a dazzling opportunity.
The new harvest will boost exports to help the South Asian nation cement its status as the dominant supplier of the world’s most critical grain, traders say.
“Indian prices are very attractive at a time when demand is rather strong from many buyers, including China and a clutch of countries in Africa,” said Aditya Garg, a leading exporter of the grain.
“In fact, for non-basmati rice, many Indian exporters have received orders from a lot of new buyers in Egypt, Sudan, Tanzania and Iran.”....
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If interested see also September 16's: Ag Commodities/Shipping: "India may corner nearly half of global rice trade as exports soar to record"
