Farmers Protest Series Kanika Varma

For part two, I am going to be talking to Veronica Limeberry, a doctoral candidate and an adjunct instructor at American University. Food and agricultural sovereignty are among the many research interests Veronica focuses on. In this discussion, she highlights the global agricultural structure, focusing on how privatization has led to the exploitation of the small farmer globally.

Transcript: https://kanikavarma.wixsite.com/podcasttranscript 

It has been close to 10 months now that the contentious farm bill was covertly passed by the Modi government last September. This legislation will essentially curb farmers' rights and transfer the locus of power to private companies that have been exploiting Indian farmers for decades now. After the introduction of the legislation, protests erupted in the state of Punjab and farmers marched to the border of New Delhi where they have been rallying against what they see as a death knell. Farmer unions are demanding that these laws be repealed and do not see a compromise to this situation. Amongst the new wave of COVID many have expressed disbelief in the continuance of this protest, not understanding the life of or death situation that the laws themselves present. In this two-part podcast I want to shine a light on some nuances of the situation from the grassroots perspective. Last month, I sat down with Mr. Sukhdev Singh, one of the leaders of BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), one of the largest farmers' unions protesting at the border.