Agrarian Crisis Research Articles

A Sociocultural Perspective on Malnutrition in Children: Evidence from POSHAN Programme, Rajasthan

Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition or POSHAN Phase 2.0 was implemented in 20 districts of Rajasthan in 2018. After 12 weeks of outpatient therapeutic care of children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), 70.4% children were cured, 12.2% defaulted and 17.4% were non-recovered and referred to Malnutrition Treatment Centres for facility treatment. The research study attempts to (a) study the sociocultural factors at the family level responsible for varying numbers of cured, defaulted and non-recovered SAM children at different localities; (b) explore the probability of the SAM children staying healthy post successful treatment at community settings without any external intervention; and (c) explore the possible approaches beyond the emergency medical response to develop a long-term strategy to address malnutrition in children. The insights and cues gained from the phenomenology of individual experiences help us understand the structural elements that undergird a healthy living. It was observed that irrespective of socio-demographic characteristics and food basket of a family, all the SAM children had a troubled medical history and/or low birth weight. The research findings also point out that a rise in income alone does not automatically lead to increased nutritional food intake. It is also important to see the issue of malnutrition in the larger context of the agrarian crisis that has cast its shadow over the rural landscape. For sustainable and lasting solutions, it is essential to shift to and promote farming practices that facilitate indigenous, locally produced and culturally acceptable nutrition from supplementary foods.

La crisis agraria de 1878-1881 en León

In this paper, the influence of the agrarian crisis between 1879 and 1881 on the economy and society in León (Spain) is described. Whith the data provided by the newspapers about de prices of cereals, the lack of fluidity in the marketing of basic products during the crisis as well as the social response to it: the debate around the social issue, the socialism, and the charitable and educative enterprises emerging in those years is analyzed.

Covid-19 and some contours of India’s ongoing agrarian crisis

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to an aggravation of the agrarian crisis in India. The rural proletariat, poor peasants, and a section of middle peasants in India have been adversely affected. The paper advances a composite policy initiative to deal with this aggravation of the agrarian crisis involving an expansion of the existing rural employment guarantee schemes, various input subsidies to farmers, universal provision of safety gear for rural producers, and an expanded public procurement of food grains. It concludes with the political prognosis of the proposed composite policy initiative.

К ДИСКУССИИ О РЕФОРМЕ П. А. СТОЛЫПИНА И УРОВНЕ ЖИЗНИ В РОССИИ НАЧАЛА ХХ в.

The article is devoted to the discussion on living standards in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century in the context of the P. A. Stolypin reform. This discussion has been ongoing for ten years ago and divided historians into two groups, “optimists” and “pessimists”. The “pessimists” adhered to the traditional position of pre-revolutionary economists (and Soviet historiography) about the “impoverishment” of the peasantry in the central regions of Russia. The “optimists” (both Western and Russian) defended the thesis of raising the peasants’ living standards. The most famous representatives of the “optimistic” school in Russia are B. N. Mironov and M. A. Davydov. The article analyzes the evolution of M. A. Davydov’s position, which can be judged by his latest article in “Ural Historical Journal”. If previously Davydov avoided mentioning the “agrarian crisis” in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, now he recognizes the existence of a “crisis of agrarian overpopulation” and considers the Stolypin reform as an attempt to mitigate this crisis. Davydov claims that this attempt was successful and the crisis was mitigated thanks to the “agrotechnological revolution”. However, the author of the article shows that in reality, the increase in crop yields was not associated with the Stolypin reform. The greatest increase in productivity was noted not in those provinces where the reform was carried out most intensively.

The Peasants of the St. Petersburg and Moscow Provinces after Abolition of Serfdom

The article examines the condition of the peasantry in the St. Petersburg and Moscow provinces in 1850–1890 against the background of the development of 50 provinces of European Russia as a whole. The aim is to test the adequacy of the concept of the agrarian crisis of the post-reform village, which occurred as a result of the unfair reform of the 1860s predatory towards peasantry. The article criticizes the dominant concept of the Soviet historiography, which is regarded as controversial in modern scholarship. The first part of the article assesses the dynamics of the standard of living of the peasantry based on the traditionally used data: firstly, on production factor and sources of income, and the degree of sufficiency of peasant incomes for normal life and, secondly, on anthropometric indicators. The analysis of anthropometric data is preceded by a methodological introduction, which explains the theoretical foundations of using the body length data and the technique and procedure of processing primary information to obtain an adequate picture. Special attention is paid to the interpretation of the results of anthropometric analysis, which poses a difficulty to classical historians. The analysis of traditional and anthropometric indicators characterizing the condition of the metropolitan peasantry of the capital and 50 provinces of European Russia leads to the conclusion: in 1861–1890, the standard of living of peasants in the capital provinces had improved, moreover, to a larger extent compared to European Russia as a whole. The agreement of the results of economic and anthropometric analysis enhances the reliability of the conclusion about the improvement of the welfare of the Russian peasantry during the first 30 years after the peasant reform.

Morpho-Physiological, Biochemical and Molecular Adaptation of Millets to Abiotic Stresses: A Review

Abiotic stresses such as drought, heat, cold, nutrient deficiency, excess salt and hazardous metals can hamper plantgrowth and development. Intensive agriculture of only a few major staple food crops that are sensitive and intolerant to environmental stresses has led to an agrarian crisis. On the other hand, nutritionally rich, gluten free and stress tolerant plants like millets are neglected and underutilized. Millets sustain about one-third of the world’s population and show exceptional tolerance to various abiotic and biotic stresses. Millets are C4 plants that are adapted to marginal and dry lands of arid and semi-arid regions, and survive low rainfall and poor soils. Abiotic stresses significantly affect plant growth which ultimately results in reduced crop yields. However, various adaptation mechanisms have evolved in millets to withstand different stresses. This review aims at exploring various of these morphophysiological, biochemical and molecular aspects of mechanisms in millets. Morphological adaptations include short life span, smallplant height and leaf area, dense root system, adjusted flowering time, increased root and decreased shoot lengths, high tillering, and leaf folding. A high accumulation of various osmoprotectants (proline, soluble sugars, proteins) improves hyperosmolarity and enhances the activity of antioxidant enzymes (e.g., Ascorbate peroxidase, Superoxide dismutase, Catalase, Peroxidase) providing defense against oxidative damage. Physiologically, plants show low photosynthetic and stomatal conductance rates, and root respiration which help them to escape from water stress. Molecular adaptations include the upregulation of stress-related transcriptional factors, signalling genes, ion transporters, secondary metabolite pathways, receptor kinases, phytohormone biosynthesis and antioxidative enzymes. Lack of genetic resources hampers improvement of millets. However, several identified and characterized genes for stress tolerance can be exploited for further development of millet resilience. This will provide them with an extra characteristic plant resistance to withstand environmental pressures, besides their excellent nutritional value over the conventional staple crops like rice, wheat and maize.

Anti-crisis mechanisms for solving the problems of agriculture development in the modern context

The article concentrates on the problems of the formation and development of agriculture in Russia in the event of a crisis caused by the pandemic, and provides brief characteristics of the core business activities in this direction. The features of the agrarian crisis, as one of the forms of economic recession, which are provoked by economic crises, and are also associated with business cycle fluctuations, are revealed. Furthermore, the main threats to the agricultural sector, the level of development of Russian agriculture at the present time are considered. A SWOT analysis of the environment-related activities of agricultural producers is presented, and the prospects for the development of the agro-industrial complex in a shifting trajectory from subsidized financing and debt restructuring of the agricultural sector to high technologies are considered. The authors state that modern society is developing in a cyclical spiral, in search of new models and new approaches to the managerial economics in agricultural production. The need for strategic anti-crisis intervention in the agro-industrial complex is determined by predicted patterns inherent in critical phases in the evolution of the system.

Анализ влияния морфометрических особенностей рельефа на пространственную дифференциацию почвенного покрова Смоленской области

The main research topic is the theoretical justification of integrated regionalization of rural areas to optimize the use of natural agro-potential by developing conceptual frameworks and new methodological approaches to assessing the effectiveness of its use and determining environmentally and economically options for the interaction of natural and production-territorial systems. The problem of creating a theoretical (conceptual) model of integrated regionalization of rural areas using modern geographical methods and GIS technologies to optimize the use of natural agro-resource potential is arisen. The object of study is the natural agropotential of Smolensk region. Considering the complexity character of research we used the model area. The aim of the study is to assess the relationship of the spatial soil’s distribution and relief. For this aim, the model area on the territory of Smolensk region was chosen, digital model was created and analyzed. The research results have independent scientific interest and optimize the using of the natural agro-resource potential. The development of theoretical and methodological aspects of agricultural zoning is the most current problem of modern geography. The solution to this problem is necessary to develop recommendations for agricultural management. At the present stage of development of agriculture in Russia with extremely limited material, labor and financial resources, overcoming of the agrarian crisis will be possible on the basis of more efficient using of the natural potential of the territory. For the first time, the correlation of the spatial distribution of soil cover depending on the relief was studied using the model area of Smolensk region. The series of diagrams with the distribution of soil types by height, the distribution of the prevailing soil types on the slopes of different exposures, distribution of the prevailing soil types on the slopes of different angles have been constructed.

Technical Equipment of Agriculture and the Problems of the Agricultural Sector Rehabilitation in the Context of Kazakhstan and Mongolia

Today, not only large agro-industrial structures are engaged in the production of agricultural products in the Republic of Kazakhstan, but also medium-sized commodity producers and farming enterprises, whose contribution to the volume of gross production annually grows by an average of 10%. Agriculture today has a significant impact on the entire socio-economic situation in the region. In the regional economy, the share of agriculture in the production of the gross domestic product is 33.8%, and its share in the republican production is 17.2%. The basis of agro-industrial production is grain farming. The main challenging issues of commodity producers in Kazakhstan are presented. Low-reliability rates of agricultural machinery are observed. The cars of the CIS republics are inferior to the best foreign alternatives by 3-5 and more times.
 The sustainable development of agriculture largely depends on the level of its technical equipment. The article assesses the current state of technological infrastructure on materials of agricultural organizations of Kazakhstan and Mongolia from the perspective of their availability, the structure of fixed production assets, the wear-and-tear indicators of farming equipment are shown. Therefore, the problem of the agricultural machinery renewal is one of the most relevant and topical issues, since it is difficult to be competitive in the country without modern and updated equipment.
 Based on the analysis, the necessity to strengthen government incentives for technical support is substantiated as a necessary condition for overcoming the agrarian crisis. In turn, the support for updating the technological capacity of agricultural organizations will affect the effectiveness of all other types of state support.

Experimental practice in the ruins of the Green Revolution: commoning with/in a water-scarce field

This article considers water scarcity as an expression of agrarian crisis in South India. It explores how the drought affects the everyday life of communities in the area of Kadavur, limiting their possibilities to choose what crops they can grow, what food they may eat, and what futures they will cultivate. Moreover, it draws from the framework of experimental practice proposed by Papadopoulos in order to understand how more-than-social movements engage in material organizing to transform their condition. In the first part, it constructs the biofinancialization of organic millet, in relation to the making of cheap rice. Hence, it presents an ethnography of alterontological politics through enhanced care and tinkering with food. Moreover, the article explores the role of water management technology in the troubled ecology of the drought. Finally, by discussing an ethnography of borewell repair, it sheds light on the odd entanglements between a global technology and this situated ecology. This brings the fieldworker into the picture and considers the emergent politics of communing with/in the field.

Towards Understanding Collective Distress: A Study of Distressed Communities in Vidarbha, India

Agrarian crisis and farmer's suicide is a serious concern in many countries across the world, including India, which has the largest body of small farmers. Though large regions are identified as highly distressed, research has been limited to individual suicidal behavior. Exploration among the general population to understand context-specific factors contributing to collective distress have been almost non-existent and this paper addresses this gap. In this study, the authors conceptualize and test a psychosocial framework using structural equation models to identify factors contributing to distress. A systematic random sampling technique was used to sample 10,402 respondents from 320 vulnerable villages in six districts of Vidarbha. The analysis identifies stressors as a domain that increases distress. The protective factors’ role in moderating distress was minimal. The individual social status characteristics had a significant contribution in explaining the variation in distress. The study provides a road map for future research to establish broad social characteristics that determine distress and enable informed policy formulation and practice.

A rentier class? Milanese nobility and the economy in post-unification Italy

ABSTRACT The Lombard nobility’s loss of political power after the Napoleonic Wars has led economic historians to overlook the persisting role of traditional elites in social and economic life. The aim of the paper is to reassess the contribution of the Milanese aristocracy to Italian economic development, providing new insights into the business behaviour of the nobility in northern Italian areas. The article presents some new findings on noblemen’s investments and enterprises related to agriculture, manufacturing, trade and banking. The research focuses on the decades following Italian political unification, a period in which noblemen increased their interest in the financial sector and joint-stock companies (transport, banking, new sectors and industries) as a result of the transformations induced by the Industrial Revolution and the agrarian crisis of the 1870s and 1880s. Both quantitative and qualitative data will be used to assess not only the number of individuals involved and the capital they invested in new ventures, but also their role in orienting, stimulating, managing or supporting entrepreneurial activities and their openness to collaboration with the members of the middle class. The analysis combines the deeds produced by four notaries, chosen on the basis of their contiguity to the Milanese aristocracy, the foundation’s deeds of the main companies established in the city, conserved in the House of Trade, and the information provided by other local and national institutions. The cross-referencing of this data suggests that the Milanese nobility maintained a prominent economic role well beyond Italian political unification, contributing to the modernization of the national economy despite the weaknesses and contradictions that marked this process.

Adaptations to Climate Variability and Agrarian Crisis in Kolar District, Karnataka, India

Adaptations to Climate Variability and Agrarian Crisis in Kolar District, Karnataka, India

On the role of rainfall deficits and cropping choices in loss of agricultural yield in Marathwada, India

Crop loss and ensuing social crises can be detrimental for the agriculture-driven economy of India. Though some studies identify country-wide increasing temperatures as the dominant factor for crop loss, the agro-climatic diversity within the country necessitates an understanding of the influence of climate variability on yields at regional scales. We report a complex interplay among rainfall, temperature and cropping choices, with a focus on the drought-prone Marathwada region in Maharashtra. Our analysis based on observations, as well as statistical and process-based modelling experiments, and temperature projections of 1.5 °C and 2 °C warmer worlds show that for the two major cropping seasons, rainfall deficit is the primary cause of crop failure, as compared to rising temperatures. The gradual shift from drought-resilient food crops, such as sorghum and pearl-millet to water-intensive cash crops such as sugarcane in recent years, is seemingly responsible for aggravating this crisis. Our findings warrant strategies promoting drought-resilient food crops, that will be useful, not only for mitigating the immediate agrarian crisis, but also for curbing impending threats to food security in the region under future climate change.

Economic Growth and Rural Crisis in India: Imagining Cooperatives as a Viable Solution

Despite sustained high growth in India over the past three decades or so, barring the recent turn of events, structural transformation has been characterized by deepening agrarian crisis, high unem...

Agrarian crisis and neoliberalism in India

The nature and manifestations of the rural and agrarian distress in India point to the disastrous, class-specific nature of neoliberal economic policies. A significant aspect of this process is its spatial dimensions – the various ways through which uneven development has been the cornerstone of the unfolding dynamics of economic growth in globalizing India. The prolonged agrarian crisis, fuelled by neoliberal economic policies, has created a crisis of survival in the rural areas. It has uprooted a class of cultivators and agricultural labourers, who have joined the informal economy as insecure, vulnerable workers.

Effect of Pranic agriculture on vegetative growth characteristics of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.)

Objective: The present study was aimed to understand the application of pranic agriculture (PA) on the vegetative growth of Spinach. Methods: Spinach seeds were divided into non-pranic and pranic and sown in agricultural plots and growth parameters were recorded on 14, 26, 32, and 40 days respectively. The data were analyzed using Independent t-test at the 5% (p<.05) level of significance Findings: Shoot length and the number of leaves of Pranic treated Spinach were found to be significantly (p<.001) higher when compared with non-pranic samples. Also, stem diameter, root length, and leaf lengths were all higher in pranic treated Spinach. Conclusion: Pranic agriculture has the potential to enhance Spinach growth and thus could help farmers to overcome the agrarian crisis. Keywords: Prana; Pranic healing agriculture; Root length; Sustainable agriculture practices; Sustainable farming

Farmers’ Suicides and the Agrarian Crisis in Punjab: Some Sociological Observations

Farmers’ suicides have been a serious issue over the last three decades in Punjab and also in other states. Much debate has concentrated on the economic factors, especially debt. This article makes sociological observations of Durkheim in the context of Punjab’s society and culture that may help us see the other side of the problem. It argues that debt per se is not the cause of suicide always but that of the agrarian crisis, following the liberal theory of economic and social development. The culture of consumerism is like fuel to the fire.

Betting on Potatoes: Accumulation in Times of Agrarian Crisis in Punjab, India

ABSTRACTDespite the widespread consensus that neoliberal India is reeling under an overarching agrarian crisis, this article argues that at least some capitalist farmers are continuing to accumulate and are thereby contributing to the process of class differentiation. Through a study of potato‐growing capitalist farmers in Punjab, the archetypal Green Revolution state of India, the author shows that such farmers can navigate complex production and market processes to make profits. However, risks of volatile prices and land and credit markets have made capital accumulation more uncertain. While potato is a minor crop in Punjab and the case cannot be generalized, it brings into focus both under‐explored non‐state actors and processes in the state, and important tendencies of change since the plateauing of Green Revolution technologies. The analysis also highlights the agency of such farmers in negotiating a transformed political economy context, including the presence of corporate agribusinesses.

Coping with crisis: labour markets, institutional changes and household economies. An introduction

Today as in the past, most often crises take people by surprise. This fact has recently provoked strong criticism of the ability of an economic theory to predict crises, to understand their course and to establish solutions to mitigate their effects. History can thus serve as a reservoir of facts and experiences, and the use of a broad chronological perspective has been recently highlighted as essential to providing a wider, comparative knowledge of past crises. Recent economic historiography has highlighted the importance of studying financial and commercial crises alongside agrarian and demographic crises, as well as questioning specific aspects of these shocks. Another important dimension stressed by recent historical studies is the importance of recognising that crises in the past occurred against a background in which uncertainty was the norm. In societies that experienced various forms of ordinary uncertainty (linked for example to the ‘dead’ season in food or textile production), crises constitute peaks of exceptional uncertainty.