Abstract
This chapter examines the legitimation of risk in the villages. The analysis investigates the way the legitimation and delegitmation of Bt technology is mediated through village power relations, as defined by land-holding, caste and gender. The exploration of power relations adopts Henrich’s (Am Anthropol 103:992–1013, 2001) conformist and prestige biases which were first applied by Stone (Curr Anthropol 48:67–103, 2007) to Bt cotton in Warangal. The chapter also explores the relative indebtedness of participants and the intersection of this with village power relations. As well as indicating the risk exposure of participants, the analysis of accumulated debt levels over time gives some idea of the relative risk exposure of Bt cotton cultivators when compared to those adopting the alternative methods of organic and Non-Pesticide Management (NPM) cultivation.
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- 1.
Durga is the mother goddess of the Hindu pantheon. She is purported to protect against evil demons that threaten peace and prosperity. Ganesh, the elephant-headed god, is the patron of arts and the sciences. Both are associated with popular festivals in Warangal—Durga Puja (September/October) and Ganesh Chaturthi (August/September).
- 2.
The official minimum wage rate in pre-secession Andhra Pradesh for the 2010/2011 season was Rs 112 for agricultural labour (Kolamkar 2010: 30). It is clear that wage rates have risen significantly in just over a decade—the minimum rate was Rs 35 per day in 1996. This pressure on wage rates, however, must be borne by cultivators. Although the official minimum labour rate does not differentiate between male and female labourers, the gender difference in pay rates is legitimated by villagers on the basis of the division of labour. Men’s work includes the spraying of pesticides and the ploughing of land with oxen. This is considered heavy work, and so is better paid, despite the strenuous, back-breaking nature of the work associated with sowing, weeding and harvesting which is performed by females.
- 3.
There is evidence of migration in all three villages. In Bantala, I was offered the use of a house in the dominant caste ward whose owner had migrated to Mumbai. Two Forward Caste participants in both Bantala (Pavan) and Nandanapuram (Nikhil) had children studying in Australia and the United States, respectively, while the son of Achanda (male, BC Chakali, cotton small-holder) in Orgampalle lives in a nearby town. Ashna (female, SC Madiga, marginal cotton-holder) migrated to the village after her marriage, but both she and her husband had spent a number of years living in Mumbai.
- 4.
A quintal, the unit of measure for cotton yields, is equivalent to 100 kgs.
- 5.
In an interview with a cultivator in Nandanapuram which is not included in the analysis, he asserted that dry, discoloured patches on his feet were due to his walking on Bt cotton fields. None of the other cultivators or wage labourers reported any problems.
- 6.
The price of Bt cotton seeds varied depending upon their source and ranged between Rs 750 and Rs 1250 per 450 gm pack sufficient for one acre. A number of participants claimed that larger farmers would buy up the stocks of Bt cotton seeds at traders and sell them to smaller farmers at inflated prices. The cost of non-Bt cotton seeds ranged from Rs 450 (the most common price) to Rs 600, while Nand, the NPM farmer, obtained non-Bt seeds for free given his NGO employment.
- 7.
This refers to the Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme (ADWDRS). Details are available at: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=104122. Accessed on 30/3/2017.
- 8.
The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh at that time, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, was instrumental in persuading the Central Government to announce the loan waiver . Available at: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/YSR-credited-with-loan-waiver-scheme/article15262124.ece Accessed on 30/3/2017.
- 9.
Ground red gram, or pigeon pea, is used to make dal.
- 10.
This absence of non-Bt seeds in the market is highlighted in a 2011 documentary entitled Bitter Seeds produced by Micha Peled. The film explores the experience of Bt cotton farmers in Maharashtra. Details are available at: http://www.itvs.org/films/bitter-seeds Accessed on 30/3/2017.
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Desmond, E.L. (2018). Analysis I: Risk, Power and Bt Cotton in the Villages. In: Legitimation in a World at Risk. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6065-6_6
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