Totally agree and thought this was interesting and very well thought out.

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The article portrayed Wal-Mart in a positive manner, which is fairly rare in publications. I can see how Wal-Mart’s impact on Indian’s agricultural economy benefitted the local farmers, but there is more to it than that. In the short run, these farmers have increased their yield from production and most of all, a steady source of income. However, what lies ahead could possibly be reverse vertical integration. Once Wal-Mart established enough grounds in India, it is possible that Wal-Mart will start buying farmlands through local companies (foreigners are not allowed to purchase land) and start their own corporate farms. When this happens, Indian mom and pop farmers will lose their only competitive edge in the market and force to lower their price or even sell their land to Wal-Mart (in return, they get a job with Wal-Mart doing the same thing they’ve been doing). So how is all the pseudo-friendship building a gesture of kindness?

 

Some may argue that the scenario described above is the “ideal” situation for Wal-Mart and achieving that would mean bypassing India’s numerous political complications and restrictions. I am sure that given time, Wal-Mart will be able to work around the political restrictions and place itself as the number one retail/wholesale store in India. The only problem I can see happening at this time is a formation of workers’ union party at some point during the reverse vertical integration. This may hinder Wal-Mart’s profitability if it gets out of hand. This trend has happened in third world countries like China.

 

 

While it is always important for a company to go global, the amount of time that this seemingly good relationship will last is questionable. Walmart must be making a profit from this relationship so they are likely selling the goods at lower prices than the farmers could afford to sell them for on their own. This would eventually lead to negative implications for the farmers. I doubt that all of the local people are happy with this new presence. Now, however, although farmers being paid "well" is subjective, this article focuses on the current advantages of the system and is very informative regarding that.