Lincoln, Nebraska: Today the Indian agricultural research workforce staged awareness campaign in Lincoln, Nebraska supporting farmer groups currently protesting to repeal the Farm Bills/Laws 2020 in New Delhi (India). These demonstrations have emerged as the biggest protest ever globally, with 250 million protestors joining the cause at its peak.
The agricultural
professionals envision that the proposed laws by the Government of India seek
to exacerbate the issue of land inequality, security of remuneration, natural
resource depletion, and thus, threaten the livelihood and rights of the
citizens. As expected, the laws have been extensively critiqued by vast groups
of experts in various relevant disciplines, as they provide undue powers to the
corporate sector, without any checks and balances
necessary for a healthy public-private-stakeholder cooperation. These laws
further hurt an already diminishing and suffering agricultural workforce and
resource, and this is a systematic encroachment of rights dating back around
three decades.
The agricultural
researchers/scientists trained in a premier ag-oriented university like UNL,
recognize the weaknesses/threats of these laws and thus standby the ongoing
protests. Northwestern India and Nebraska are similar in many ways from an
agricultural standpoint. The NW India region makes up for the most irrigated
region globally, just like Nebraska is to the U.S. Water depletion, soil health
degradation, and groundwater and surface water quality heavily affect NW India
ecosystems. We aspire to see our native ecosystems managed in a cooperative,
regulatory, and scientific manner, inspired from Nebraskan agroecosystems. The
laws hinder us to achieve this land, water, and ecosystem stewardship, among
other critical implications.
Thus, these
awareness-generating efforts, are hoped to spread this message across
Nebraskans, and expect their support in this noble and just cause.
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