Forgotten Farmers
Sitting down for breakfast, lunch or dinner we rarely think
about farmers tilling soil, seeding and harvesting, packing and transporting
vegetables. The pristine white grains of sugar bear no resemblance to the
fields of sugar cane. We don’t feel the heat, the physical toll of tilling the
earth, the anxiety of waiting for a successful crop, or its ruination caused by
untimely rains or frost.
There was a time the farmer was eulogized by artists, poets
and socialists. Paintings such as Jean Francois Millet’s The Gleaners, Allah
Baksh’s farmers working the land, or
Zainul Abidin’s depictions of the struggle of farmers, seem to be images of the
past. The combine harvester is just not as ‘romantic’ as oxen straining to pull
a plough in muddy soil.
Sowing and harvest celebrations were an important part of
the farming communities of Pakistan. Films from Mother India !957 to Waahi 2018,
remind us that farming is still the
backbone of South Asia, even if it is not always acknowledged.
Agriculture grew around rivers - the Indus, the Nile, the
Tigris-Euphrates and the Huang He. Surplus produce made trade, economic
development, the crafts and other professions possible, giving birth to the
great civilizations of the world.
Food self-sufficiency is still an elusive goal, especially
for countries living on the far edges of economic prosperity. Those few that
could grow enough food to feed their populations, such as India, still deal
with hunger and malnourishment, because much is exported to support economic
growth. It is reported that 30 farmers a day commit suicide in India due to
economic difficulties.
As civilizations connected with each other, new varieties of
food were also exchanged. The “Islamic Green Revolution” developed agricultural
techniques, and spread sugar, coffee, rice and citrus across their empire. The “Columbian Exchange” named after Christopher Columbus, had an even greater
impact on the spread of food varieties.
Potatoes, maize, corn were high in nutrition, tomatoes, chilli peppers, cocoa
,vanilla, peanuts and pineapples, added more taste .
This new
appetite for variety transformed food production. Monoculture, clearing of forests
for large scale farming, priority to cash crops, use of chemical fertilizers and
pesticides, and the colonizing of farmland in other countries that came to be
known as Banana Republics, are now criticized for their adverse effect on the environment, economic
dependency and political hegemonies. The novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, by
Gabriel García Márquez, is set against the backdrop of the imperialist
capitalism of foreign fruit companies. We have seen the harmful effects
of political sanctions on countries, for example wheat from Russia and Ukraine is
no longer accessible to African countries who may face imminent starvation.
In all this heady growth of commercial agriculture, the
image of the farmer has been lost forever, it seems. Increased urbanization has
cut off rural life for 55% of the world’s population, to whom the source of
food is the supermarket. Many rural communities in Pakistan, are just waiting
to head to the city, as they become less valued and more invisible, with little
attention after the Green Revolution of the 60s.
However, just as farming gave rise to cities, today cities are
creating opportunities for farming. The city provides land, a water supply and
labour, the essentials for farming.
In the aftermath of World War I, to deal with food
shortages, city dwellers were encouraged to grow food in allotments created on
public lands. Japan, where for years empty urban plots were cultivated for
crops, has established Citizen Farms. In
a Pakistan faced with natural disasters, political turmoil and rising transportation
costs, city farms can contribute to local food sufficiency. Karachi has some modest urban farming
initiatives such Crops in Pots and the Karachi Farmer’s Market. The University
of Karachi developed a policy to grow fruit trees, vegetables and even wheat in
unutilized land on the campus.
A growing number of cities, have established rooftop farms, school
gardens, vertical gardens on the sides of buildings, community farms in empty
plots and edible urban forests. Permaculture
or mixed planting of vegetables and fruit in small urban gardens, can produce
enough food to feed a family. Urban
farming brings back the culture of celebrating harvests, managing food wastage,
and greater appreciation of how food is produced.
Durriya Kazi
May 22, 2022
Karachi
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