What is the relationship between discovery of water on Moon and the drying up of the wells in a remote village in Africa? Well according to the Union Agricultural Minister of India Mr.Sharad Pawar, water discovered on the moon was actually the water which disappeared from the wells of Africa.
First some quick facts.
India is the second largest producer of Sugar in the world after Brazil.
This fact in isolation would indicate that India can export its sugar production to other countries and make some good bucks since Sugar is always in demand across the globe.
BUT, India is also the largest consumer of Sugar in the world.
Now this fact when viewed in conjunction with the first would caution us against exporting sugar without having adequate stock for the country’s own sugar consumption for a reasonable period of time in the future. Well what is the use of being one of the largest producers in the world if you cant satisfy the needs of the same good for your own people?
Now some more amazing facts.
Nine months ago, Mr. Sharad Pawar the agricultural minister had asserted that India had a “bumper stock of sugar” and had allowed the Indian sugar to be exported at a mere Rs.12 per kilogram.
Today, India is facing a severe shortage of Sugar (a whopping 30% shortage) and is importing (7 million tonnes) of the same Sugar at Rs 27-30 per kilogram!
Now this is simply the result of an extaordinary amazing foresight by our agricultural minster, isn’t it?
Today the sugar prices have more than doubled in India! Last year the sugar price in India was around Rs 16 per kg and today it is around Rs 35-40 per kg.
“What say Mr.Minister ?”, when questioned, this was the reply given by our agricultural minister:
“Global Warming“
WHAT ???
“It (global warming) has affected sugarcane and other vegetable crops“, said Mr. Pawar.
Well Mr Minister. Just a few months ago you said India had a bumper stock of Sugar. Did the global warming evaporate even our Sugar stocks?? Or did we export all the bumper stock we had assuming that the globe was cooling down?
Isn’t this the heights? Sell what you own at a price x and then buy the same later at a price 2x.
Well individuals dont do this when they are selling/buying things for themselves. But governments definitely will, since the burden of buying at twice the price lies with the people and not with the ministers.
Commodity shortages like this will continue as long as we have politicians who consider the interests of capitalists and industrialists above the interest of the common man. Next in line is Paddy and you know the reason for its shortage.
Global warming today has become a convenient target for Governments worldwide to blame it for their inefficiencies.
Well, So what is the truth behind the Sugar shortage in India apart from the exports we did when we had a bumper stock ?
In 2008-09, India produced only 145 lakh tonnes of sugar against 283 lakh tonnes in 2006-07. The reason?
Definitely Not Global Warming. Its farmers shifting their focus.
“We don’t get the right price for our crops. We’re always on the receiving end. Even after spending so much money on the crop we end up waiting for 13-14 months for our turn at the sugar factory,” says a sugarcane farmer.
The sugar cane farmers who had made India an exporter of Sugar inspite of India being the largest sugar consumer in the world – these very farmers never got the right prices for their crops. And so the sugar cane-growers shifted to grains and oilseeds instead. This was actually predicted two years back, only our intelligent administrators failed to take a note of it.
So, instead of using hi-fi terms like Global Warming and Green House Effect, its in the better insterest of the country that the government focus on a scientific farming policy which would ensure that every year the country grows atleast what it needs.
But given the amount of agricultural land that is being converted into Industrial land in the world’s most populous nation (in terms of Geography, China is more than twice the size of India), I fear that our future generations should have their teeth strengthened and digestive systems modified to consume industrial output as their dinner with some software snacks.
The way out? Increase agricultural production and have sufficient food to eat first, and this will automatically reduce global warming too. Spend your time and money on inventing non polluting technologies, there’s plenty of that in nature, one just have to open their eyes to see it.
To summarize,
Mr. Pawar
Its not the Global Warming in the nature
But its a Local Warning by the farmer
