Food sovereignty and farmer suicides: bridging political ecologies of health and education

ABSTRACT

Rates of farmer suicides are skyrocketing among agrarian societies. We analyze the role of Zero-Budget Natural Farming as a form of grassroots intervention in this crisis. Leaders of an Indian agrarian social movement known as the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha argue that educating farmers about Zero-Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) has the potential to improve financial autonomy, mitigate the farmer suicide problem, and ultimately contribute to food sovereignty. Synthesizing insights from the political ecologies of health and education, our analysis suggests that farmers' livelihoods are more resilient following their transition to ZBNF, and that their wellbeing is improved.

KEYWORDS:

• Political ecology
• food sovereignty
• India
• social movement
• agroecology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 ZBNF is one of the agroecological models taught at Amrita Bhoomi through farmer-to-farmer training, however, Amrita Bhoomi is not limited to ZBNF alone. The center is routinely used by different social movements including the Dalit youth movement for its own agroecological education activities, and serves as a space for cross pollination between movements.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

David Meek

David Meek is an environmental anthropologist, critical geographer, and food systems education scholar with area specializations in Brazil and India. Meek theoretically grounds his research in a synthesis of political ecology, critical pedagogy, and agrarian studies. His interests include sustainable agriculture, social movements, and environmental education.

Ashlesha Khadse

Ashlesha Khadse is part of the Amrita Bhoomi Center – a farmer’s agroecology and political education school in Karnataka, India linked to La Via Campesina. She has been associated with Indian farmers movements since 2009. Ashlesha completed her Master’s of Science from El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR) in Chiapas, Mexico, where her research focused on the role of farmers organizations in scaling up agroecology.