Polls progress: Phase 5, 6 and 7 campaigns continue. Changing rhetorics in the lead campaigners.
Rs. 80,000 Crore strong GCMMF Amul’s IRMAN Jayen Mehta has been inducted into Asia Pacific Power List 2024 by Campaign Asia. One of the 50. AMUL and Jayen, Congratulations!
If we want India to be an USD 5 Trillion economy, farming-food systems have to be at least USD 1 Trillion, 20%. What will take us there? We need a framework that includes natural farming prominently. Local food systems, local enterprises. We need a National Farming-Food-Fibre Council mandated with this agenda and framework. We need good investments into research and learning. 1-2% of Farm-Food GDP. We need more research-evidence-knowledge-learning-advocacy-scaling support institutions, academies, and universities. We may need to reorient, repurpose existing council(s). We need repurposing of all subsidies in the sector. Fair Carbon-Eco credits have to be channelled to farm families. A ministerial taskforce/mission involving all ministries dealing with the sector is a must. Budget for natural farming mission has to be made. Unfallowing of lands have to be front-ended. Communitizing the entire effort with agency in the hands of the communities, led by women. Collectivization, collective action. Fairshares to producers. Can this be part of the first 100-day plan announcement, of the new Government coming in June?
Artificial intelligence is becoming a new integral part of our life, living. AI increases our pace of absorption of the essence. It can take notes and extract summaries. It sifts the large flows of information, data that are hitting, assaulting us. It distils, curates, categorizes, and analyses. It matches the patterns. It contextualizes. Will it not have biases? Will it not get corrupted? Can it be impartial? How do we cope with it, and adapt ourselves for this? How do we tame it for use to us? It is becoming generative – emulating and augmenting creative work, manipulating language and knowledge, and keep getting smarter? This AI may require strict regulation. Its abuse can have implications across – education, health, food systems, defence, economy, incomes, expenditures, entertainment, lifestyles, knowledge, skills, employment, livelihoods, enterprises, wealth, inclusion, equity et al. It can reduce some jobs, and increase new jobs. Can we have, as a result, equitable ownership of this AI and universe? We can have augmented productive workers and service providers in the economy coexisting with non-workers, care workers and volunteers in harmony with dedication towards nature. Can we see and work for realizing this future?
Some of us might be in meetings, online calls, workshops, teamwork, etc., more than 50% of our work time. And these are increasing. Are they meaningful, direction giving, energizing? Solidarity, ideation, collaboration, and celebration? We need homework, animators for each purposive ‘convening’. Multiple formats combined. Rhythms, signature tunes. Open spaces within. Reflection, silence spaces. Breaks. With next steps always incorporated.
As we are coexisters, can we learn to flow with our coexisters? Children, youth, elderly, experienced, wise and not-so-wise, leaders-followers, arrogant-gracious, ambitious, angels, kind, weak, hardworking, virtuous, et al. Struggle is a flow. Commitment is a flow. School helps us to flow. Vision, dreams help in flowing. Hope, trust, and faith help. Our opinions matter for our flow. Potential, possibilities, agency matter in our flow. Flow does not stop with attaining X age, achieving Y results, and so on and so forth. Can we coexist and flow? Can we let go of the past, present and latch on to the new possible flows? Even if it is hard. Even if it appears near impossible. For significant, paradigm shift flows. Can we?
Yes, we can. If we let go, coexist, flow. Towards meaningful possibilities. In N? In naamamayoga for 7L.
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