In India, farming is being held back by the efforts of activists like philosopher Vandana Shiva, Ph.D., who charge $40,000 per speech to tell Western audiences that more science in their country is bad. 

Experts argue just the opposite, it is instead activism holding India back that has made farmers less able to to compete in a global market. 

They should be dominant. India is the largest producer of milk, and many grains, in the entire world, argues Divakaran Padma Kumar Pillay, but food security is lacking because environmental groups scare them about technology, and that keeps them from helping the millions of Indian people suffering with malnutrition. Food is a strategic resource. With cheap, plentiful food, all cultures turn to education, art, and science. India should be setting the pace, but unlike American farmers, Indians are not as educated. And government often places environmental claims and big city economics over food security.



Agriculture is the largest employment sector in India but foreign nationals tell them they should fear western science, and that prevents them from adopting modern techniques and enjoying a profit.

There have been some efforts at improvement, notes  Pillay. The National Food Security Act could provide food nutritional to the public but also a life of dignity. The Minimum Support Price (MSP) supports the farmers and removing the exploitative middle men. The Public Distribution System distributes food grains across the country at subsidized prices. That has prevented famines and achieved self-sufficiency in the production of cereals.

But the MSP does not cover a large number of farmers, and also many important crops, so in those there are still middlemen who pay low prices but sell at much higher margins. He also advocates for modern supply chain management, control of retail operations at the ration shops, software for the tracking of stock movements in order to prevent theft, and availability of modern storage techniques like silos.