Let’s talk farming and fertilisers! So green revolution onwards, Punjab had a heavy dependency on fertilisers. Chemicals were heavily used in fertilisers which were so heavily used in farming that they didn’t just remain in the soil, (con't)

#farmersprotest
they also leached into the waterway systems. And of course, in Punjab, everyone uses wells right? So all the drinking water was polluted with dozens of chemicals that are harmful. This is why Punjab (Malwa region especially) has such a high rate of cancer.
#FarmersProtest
There are other diseases and illnesses linked to this as well. You will also find brithdefects and sterility. Skin cancer and respiratory cancer are most prevalent. A lot of farmers are spraying their crops without any protective gear, so it easily gets into their airways.
Many farmers lack education, so they genuinely do not understand why they are getting sick. Even if some farmers know the dangers of fertilisers, they still continue to use them because without the fertiliser the crops don’t yield the same amount they used to with fertiliser.
Its a shitty vicious cycle they are stuck in. If they don’t use fertiliser, there isn’t enough crop at the end of the day. If they do use fertiliser bad health, but they don’t see health visually, they see it years later.
#FarmersProtest
The corporates who gave out these fertilisers new EXACTLY what they were doing. They basically sold people poison. To smaller farmers which were already struggling to compete, the government gave them incentives and didn’t educate them on what the long term consequences would be
So another issue that falls in with this is over farming. So back in the day, farmers used to grow about 3 different crops per year. Each season would have its own crop. That would give the soil enough time to regain some nutrients.

#FarmersProtest
But with fertilisers, it was promoted that you can do four crops a year. Some farmers even tried to do more. So the soil never had the time to regain the nutrients its lost. So fertiliser depleted the nutrients from the soil faster as well.

#FarmersProtest
There are different farming techniques used to make sure soil remains nutrient rich, but fertilisers and over farming did go hand in hand. It would take YEARS for the soil to clean out.
#FarmersProtest
Please read about debt bondage. But quickly, India uses debt bondage to suppress ppl. The bank or whoever they borrowed from deploy goons and thugs to harass people if they do anything other than what is expected of them.
#FarmersProtest
So long story short, this is another way the government and corporates screwed over farmers. Even after these laws are repealed, the struggle doesn’t end.
#FarmersProtest

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More from @Monica_Gill1

17 Feb
Let's talk corporates! Namely PepsiCo!
In the early 90's PepsiCo wanted to see soft drinks in India. At that time, only CocoCola had managed to get into the Indian market and they had pretty much taken over.
#FarmersMakeIndia
#FarmersProtest
GOI set the condition, that PepsiCo must also open up a food processing plants in India. So, PepsiCo moved into Punjab and set up contracts with local farmers for tomatoes and chilli which they were able to use for their sister company PizzaHut.
#FarmersMakeIndia
#FarmersProtest
Then in the late 90's, PepsiCo sold/closed the factories and just decided that they were no longer going to do contract farming in Punjab. BUT during this time they had also entered into contract farming in Gujarat for potatoes.
#FarmersMakeIndia
#FarmersProtest
Read 11 tweets
17 Feb
Dear @swamy39, you seemed like someone with a decent amount of literacy in a party full of imbeciles. Propagating the narrative below is beneath you. I highly advise you to check yourself. The below has absolutely no truth to it.
#FarmersProtest
There is no connection between Sikhism and Hinduism. Sikhism is an INDEPENDENT religion. Completely. This is a great example of the RSS agenda to some how make it a sect of Hinduism. And they have Harvard graduates propagating it. SHAME ON YOU @Swamy39!
#FarmersProtest
This is why we all need to be aware of what’s going on around us. This is why we need to read about our history and Punjab’s history. This guys is a Harvard grad, and he’s ABSOLUTELY delusional. @Swamy39 , stop writing garbage books.
#FarmersProtest
Read 4 tweets
16 Feb
"People describe the farmer as the lord of grains, but no one sees whether he, himself eats or not. It is the biggest wonder of the world that the one who produces remains hungry. I tell the Raja/Nawab and all types of govt (cont)
#RememberSirChhotuRamInModiEra
#FarmersProtest
of Hindustan to not harass the farmer to the extent that he stands up..Other people break the law when they get angry, w/ a govt, but when the farmer would get angry, he would not only break the law, he would also break the govt."
#RememberSirChhotuRamInModiEra
#FarmersProtest
Who was Chaudary Chhotu Ram? Sir Chhotu Ram was born into a well known Jat family in a village in Haryana on Nov 24, 1881. He got his law degree from Agra College in 1910 ad started practicing in 1905.
#RememberSirChhotuRamInModiEra
#FarmersProtest Image
Read 14 tweets

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