The dual role of debt in concealing & sustaining an agrarian crisis-in-the-making - Insights from a case in South Gujarat

Situated within broader debates around biotechnology and indebtedness in agriculture, this paper explores the use of credit/debt in the adoption of genetically modified Bt cotton by Adivasi farmers in South Gujarat. The study focuses on three aspects vis-à-vis agrarian debt: its relationship with agricultural practices, its interaction with class and caste, and overall, its role within the ongoing agrarian change in the region. By employing a qualitative ethnographic methodology in a region which has adopted Bt cotton relatively recently, the study reveals insights into important mechanisms of agrarian debt and its evolution. The data indicates a cyclical and reinforcing relationship between Bt cotton and credit. However, the burden of debt and risk is experienced differently based on one’s class and caste position, indicating a complex debt-class-caste nexus. Based on the climate-related damages and increasing unaffordability in the studied area, I argue that debt plays a dual role in concealing and sustaining an agrarian crisis – firstly, that it conceals a crisis-in-the-making, and secondly that it sustains the crisis by placing the brunt on individual households. The study therefore identifies debt as a crucial point for future study in the making of agrarian crises.