Harishchandra Sahu ploughs a one acre farm in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh and earns enough to barely make ends meet. After all the costs involved in farming, he says he makes only about Rs. 6000 (less than $100) per season of farming. In this he has to run his house, pay bills and also cover for any illnesses that may crop up.
This is the story of almost all farmers in India who work hard in harsh conditions to grow our food. Loss of farmland, introduction of corporate farming and many other fears have forced farmers all over India to protest on the streets for fourteen straight days.
In the words of Sahu, corporate farming was experimented on a small scale in Punjab and Gujarat and the results were disastrous for farmers there. Those protesting don't want the same results for themselves.
"We are treated like bugs and insects... more like second class citizens of this country," says Sahu. In the future because of the new laws introduced by the government they might even have to sell their farms or work in their own farms as labourers.
Video Volunteers community correspondent Bhan Sahu's report from Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh.
Community Voice Is Hard to Define. We’re Trying Anyway.
This piece summarizes the key findings from eight research reports recently published by Video Volunteers exploring how community voice works, where it breaks down, and what it actually produces when it is taken seriously.
A Call for Research on AI’s Role in Amplifying the Insights of the Systemically Unheard
The article argues that systematically ignoring and silencing the voices of the poor and marginalized worldwide does not serve society or democracy well and must be countered. While new technologies such as AI could provide an opportunity for change, we contend that these technologies need to account more effectively for...