Millions of smallholder farmers globally earn low incomes from agriculture, which are only set to worsen under climate change. Policies on how to improve smallholder outcomes however, have been contested in the literature. In my PhD, I found that, since the 1980's, policy makers in developing countries have promoted the private sector to lead agricultural development in inputs, credit, irrigation, and extension provision. Pushed for food security and economic growth, policy makers assumed that private sector commercialisation increased yields and profitability for smallholder farmers in rainfed areas, who numbered 1.5 billion people in 55 countries. To compare the aims and outcomes of these agricultural policies for smallholder farmers, I conducted interviews and household surveys over eight months of fieldwork in Telangana, a drought prone state in south India. Telangana was the epicentre of rapid smallholder adoption of private sector driven genetically modified cotton and groundwater irrigation technologies since the 1990s after economic reforms in India. My research showed that smallholder commercialisation in Telangana increased farmer indebtedness from crop failures and failed investments, causing farmers to leave agriculture as a primary income. This was down to four explanatory factors:
1) Low rainfall, soil fertility and drought extremes in Telangana meant cotton saw frequent harvest failures and low yields
2) Farmers borrowed credit to pay for crop investments but low yields and cotton, groundwater failures made them unable to repay their debts
3) Market intermediaries promoted and financed cotton cultivation in environmentally fragile areas, worsening economic outcomes for smallholder farmers
4) Government withdrawal in agricultural policy made way for private sector driven agricultural development, being absent in regulating unsuitable cash crop adoption
These findings detailed what the consequences of policy makers ignoring the economic, social and environmental context in which agricultural policies are implemented. In this fellowship I plan four steps to increase the impact of my PhD research to academic, non-academic and policy audiences:
First, I will conduct new scoping research in India for one month, expanding from my PhD thesis. I examine the politics behind how and why groundwater irrigation policies promote cash crop agriculture in rainfed smallholder areas given the adverse environmental and economic outcomes. Second, I will utilise the scoping study to write research applications to the ESRC, British Academy and Leverhulme Trust. In this research, I study the intersection of irrigation policy, climate change, groundwater depletion and energy subsidies in India.
Third, I will publish three journal articles out of my PhD thesis in leading geography and development studies journals, on genetically modified cotton and groundwater irrigation adoption and the effects on non-farm livelihoods in rainfed and smallholder India. These publications will increase my academic career prospects via their interdisciplinary impact in geography and international development. Fourth, I will communicate my PhD research to multiple audiences via presentations, videos, blogs, and policy briefs. Within academia, I will present at prestigious geography and international development conferences in the USA, UK and Europe. To engage with popular audiences online, I will write articles for The Conversation, an influential academic journalism site. Finally, over two weeks, I will present at and organise a workshop inviting agricultural economists, rural development NGOs and agricultural policy audiences in Hyderabad, a city in Telangana, south India. The event will discuss the policy implications of my research on dryland smallholder commercialisation in India, helping to nuance agricultural policies by the Indian government. This will help me build my academic and policy networks in India for future research projects.
