Exploring Alternatives: A Report from Wayanad, Kerala | Jacobin Magazine American magazine JACOBIN has published an article about the efforts of Kerala Kisan Sabha in strengthening the farmer co-operative movement in the state by Ashique Ali and Angshuman Sarma:

Some excerpts of the article published in Jacobin Magazine:

“The Brahmagiri Dairy Project Report was the result of this collective effort, and Vaidyar presented it in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. The report advocated support for dairy farming in Wayanad and the setting up of a modern slaughterhouse with a meat processing unit. The Left Democratic Front ministry in Kerala approved the proposal, allocated 2.5 million rupees in financing, and gave it administrative sanction on March 31, 1999.

The Brahmagiri Development Society has adopted modernized agro-industrial practices to boost the income of farmers by selling value-added products. They have organized breeder farms, cattle farms, and feed factories in both Kerala and neighboring states to ensure that cheap raw material supplies are available for member-growers. The BDS has provided veterinary support and mortality insurance. It procures poultry and livestock from farmers at a fair price.”

“The communist peasant and trade union leadership that was behind the BDS saw it as a social cooperative embedded in the political struggles of the agrarian classes that would prioritize the welfare of agrarian communities over profit. After the cooperative has covered its expenditure on raw materials, infrastructure, and marketing, it uses a democratic decision-making process to allocate a portion of the surplus to modernize agriculture and expand the cooperative market. The agricultural producers themselves share the remaining surplus in the form of higher prices and better wages.”

Read the article here