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Centad made its contribution to a BBC Radio programme that explores the globalisation phenomenon and how it affects the lives of ordinary people the world over.
BBC correspondent Paul Moss has been visiting several countries for The World Tonight programme. In India, he wanted to understand the ground realities of cotton subsidies and their impact on farmers. Centad offered Moss a neutral platform to discuss issues concerning cotton cultivation in India.
Moss visited the Fatehabad district in the cotton belt of north India where he met state government officials and cotton farmers. While the officials were reluctant to be quoted, Centad took Moss to the field where he met farmers who were busy plucking cotton even as Moss interviewed them. The farmers expressed their disillusionment at the low price of cotton prevailing for the last five years, which can be linked to huge cotton imports surging into the domestic market.
A Centad researcher explained the link between trade distortion and its effect on the lives of people, and explained why removal of subsidies is crucial for any development through trade liberalisation.
Another concern that was debated was global warming and its effect on crop productivity and the economic viability of agricultural enterprise. If temperatures rise, productivity and growth in the agriculture sector will be severely affected.
The interview was broadcast on The World Tonight throughout the week of November 28, 2005, to December 1, 2006, and during the week of the WTO Ministerial Meet (December 12, 2005, to December 16, 2005).
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