GLOBALISATION

IMPACT ON AGRICULTURE


Positives of globalisation on agriculture:  

1. Mechanisation
2. New technology for seed development­ Green Revolution, GM crops
3. New technology for water conservation, irrigation development­ Iran , Israel
techniques, Drip irrigation
4. Export promotion due to new markets
5. New technologies like e­commerce for product promotion e.g.­ tea brands,
coffee, tobacco
6. New avenues like Multi­brand Retail players­ Walmart, Carlfour etc.
7. Backward industries such as tractor, fertiliser, farm machines investment
e.g. John deer
8. Food processing industries, Mega food parks with help of foreign technology
and investment
9. Agriculture infrastructure­ warehouses etc. also developed
10. Geographical indexing have improved demand for such commodities in
international markets and this have positive effect on farmers income.
11. Research collaboration with foreign countries and institutions has
increased.
12. Globalisation has encouraged the concrete of corporate and contract
farming which have helped farmers.
13. Proliferation of food processing industries has improved farmers returns. 

Negatives of globalisation of agriculture: 

1. Competition from global brands due to opening of sector
2. Forum like WTO pressurizing to tone down security net for agriculture sector
3. Input cost for agriculture is also effected by global events.
4. Prices in global markets able to impact local prices e.g.­ sugar industry
5. GM crops issues
6. Patenting of local products by multinational brands e.g.­ Jamun, Neem,Turmeric
7. Cash crop demand increase farmer focus on these crops. But demand and
price of these crops may fluctuate. This has major implication when farmer
deviate from food crops. This have issues for countries food security.
8. More importantly, Globalisation has shifted the public discourse from
agriculture to industry. Globalisation has indirectly led to industrial growth.
This needs land and resultantly increase in displacement of farmers.



IMPACT ON RURAL SOCIETY

Impact on rural areas­ 
1. Works and employment are being generated.
2. Connectivity brought awareness regarding various issues. Modern values are being advocated now.
3. Fuelling rural to urban migration. This in turn is increasing inward remittances.
4. Bringing up the culture of nuclear families in rural areas.
5. caste conscious in rural areas has been declining over past few years due to new economic opportunities. Thus social stratification is being impacted.

Impact on agrarian structures­ 
1. Aiding mechanization of agriculture due to improved productivity
2. Reduction of disguised unemployment in agriculture sector by creating new opportunities in other sectors.
3. Agricultural extension works are now spreading at faster paces due to new means in connectivity.
4. Cropping patterns changed due to advent of Globalisation. Farmers shifted to more commercial crops thus leaving them under vagaries of market for getting food
5. Globalisation created markets abroad. Thus increasing farmer's choices
6. More banks, so more formal credit facilities. Saving them from money lenders
7. Village as a Self­sustaining unit is destroyed. (because of economic forces too)


Impact on Urban Society 

Globalization is perhaps the biggest turn in human history which has affected
every facet of human life, and its effects are purely visible on Urban Indian
society too. It has also brought several benefits to the urban societies:­ 

1. It has made people more rational and weakened the caste system.
2. Individualism has led to female empowerment as now family duties are not obligatory on then.
3. Politically, concept of welfare state has come up to support the poor and needy who have lacked behind.
4. Change in attitude towards gay relationships, live in relationships, standing up to early marriages, exposure of movies, arts, music to global forces etc.
5. Creation of greater job opportunities in mostly the skilled sector. This change has predominantly helped the educated middle class in getting jobs.
6. The shift from labour intensive to technical processes has affected the unskilled laborers in getting jobs. Most end up getting paltry pay for labour intensive work. This is mostly caused due to lack of cheap vocational training.
7. Has adversely affected the owners of small enterprises and factories. They were not able to compete against the cheap manufactured goods especially from China, hence, rendering their factories uneconomical. 

Negatives:  

1. Changed the spending portfolios of the families with higher spending on recreation and entertainment rather than basic needs like food (Engel law) making society form materialistic
2. Promoted individualism in society leading to smaller families. This has severely affected old population due to lack of family support when needed most also leading to poor development of cultural values in children due to busy parents and unavailable Grandparents.
3. It has created rising trends of urbanization which is leading to high rural to urban migration and high slum population which increases inequality in society and higher crime rate.
4. Mindless aping of alien cultures without appreciation of local traditional


lifestyles is undoing efforts of previous generations leading to erosion of
cultural values which result in crisis of cultural identity, changing food
habits leading to lifestyle diseases because of fast life and unhealthy fast

food culture.


Impact on Women

Positive impact: 

• Increased employment opportunities 
• Increased educational investment in girl child by parents due to earning prospects 
• Economic liberalisation served as a catalyst to thrust women into the limelight in India 
• Attracted more companies as well as different organizations into India which providedopportunities for not only working men, but also women 
• Higher education and pay raises self–confidence and brings about independence.  This,in turn, can promote equality between the sexes, something that Indian women have been struggling with their entire lives.   
• Globalization has the power to uproot the traditional treatment towards women toafford them an equal stance in society. 

Negative impact: 
World Trade Organisation regulations have brought about a change in national policies
so as to allow the free entry of foreign corporations, to give more incentives to big
businesses rather than to small firms, and to lift import controls on agricultural
products. This has resulted in further marginalisation of rural and indigenous women.

Women do two thirds of the world’s work, receive ten percent of world’s income and
own one percent of the means of production. This is the present picture of women
workers in the era of globalization.

Although the humiliation, harassment and exploitation of women have been
commonplace throughout history, such treatment has become more widespread with
globalization. 

Out of the total 397 million workers in India, 123.9 million are women and of these
women 96% of female workers are in the unorganized sector. Accordingly, although
more women are now seeking paid employment, a vast majority of them obtain only
poorly paid, unskilled jobs in the informal sector, without any job security or social
security. 

Health: 
Additionally working women in India are more likely to be subjected to intense
exploitation; they are exposed to more and more risks that cause health
hazards and are forced to endure greater levels of physical and mental stress.

It is not only in the unorganized sector or in small enterprises, but also in the
modern sectors like the Information Technology and the automobile sectors
where working women are forced to work for 12 hours while the local governments
ignore this open flouting of the labor laws

The uncertainties of obtaining work and the dire need to retain a position in the
midst of intense competition cause mental tension, strained social relationships,
psychological problems and chronic fatigue, all of which are difficult to prove as
work­related.

Mechanisation: For example, several traditional industries where women work in large numbers like handloom and food processing have undergone changes in the forms of production with the introduction of machines, power looms etc, which have result in the loss of employment for large number of women.

Hazards related to the attitude of society and family:
Though more and more women seek paid employment, the stereotypical attitude towards women and their perceived role in the familial hierarchy has not undergone much change. 

Women continue to be perceived as weak, inferior, second­ class citizens. 
For working women, this discrimination is extended to the workplace also.
 
In addition, this perception that they alone are responsible for the domestic work, leads to a feeling of guilt when they are not able to look after the children or family members due to their official work, often resulting in emotional disorders.

Sexual harassment in the workplace: 
One of the evils of the modern society is the sexual harassment female workers endure from their male counterparts and other members of the society.



GLOBALISATION AND DEMOCRACY

Globalisation is the movement of goods, people and ideas across the world. It has
affected every section of the society and every sphere of the country that is
economic, political and social. Its relationship on democracy is mixed. 
 
Globalisation promoting democracy: 

1. Spread of ideas of the western democracies such as liberty, fraternity, equality, individuality etc. to the developing countries has made its people demand for democracy on western lines. 

2. Influx of progressive ideals of secularism, equality and justice lead to liberalising of prejudicial predispositions in a conservative society making it more open, tolerant and harmonious.

3. Migration of people has raised demands for accommodating the minorities something which can be done in democracies.

4. Role played by multilateral bodies like UN, World Bank in making countries subscribe to democratic practices and standards such as good governance is responsible for maturing of democracies.

5. It brings much needed aid, capital, entrepreneurship and expertise into the struggling countries, helping them grow faster, reducing poverty and inequality­ strengthening economic democracy. 


Globalisation denouncing democracy:  

1. As Globalisation makes movement of ideas easier, governments have become more authoritarian to restrict such flow. 

2. In search for global markets, western developed nations establish puppet authoritarian governments in developing nations.

3. Multinational corporations influence decision making in developing countries especially the African countries undermining peoples will.

4. Globalisation has promoted only a particular concept of democracy i.e. the western model, it disregards the variations in developing countries which value different ideals.

5. Supranational bodies such as WTO and UNSC often bind national governments with their decisions, making them act against the will of the electorate sometimes. This gives wind to notions of surrender of sovereignty under international pressure. 

6. Growth of counter cultural movements because of dilution of traditions and perversion of traditional social values.

7. It promotes various divides in the society: rural­urban, gender and digital divides, thus weakening the foundations of social democracy

8. Benefits of globalization have not been evenly spread throughout the society. They have bypassed the most deprived sections of citizens in countries of the global south e.g. Tribal, Dalit and rural folk in India. 

Globalisation on the whole, has had a mixed relationship with democracy. But experience suggest that countries which have adopted the ideals of democracy historically have better dealt with Globalisation whereas others have become subservient to Globalisation.