Farmers Suicide - Problems and Solutions

One suicide every 8 hours

Vidarbha remains a grim statistic. One suicide in every eight hours. More than half of those who committed suicide were between 20 and 45, their most productive years. The Maharashtra government says as many as 1920 farmers committed suicide between January 1, 2001 and August 19, 2006. Nearly 2.8 million of the 3.2 million cotton farmers are defaulters, reports Jaideep Hardikar

Suicide count
There are no authentic figures on the exact number of farm suicides in Vidarbha, but the Maharashtra government accepts a figure of 1920 from January 1, 2001 to August 19, 2006. The Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), a farmers' movement, puts the toll at 782 from June 1, 2005 to August 26, 2006. And, in the last three months, there has been a suicide every eight hours.

Cost of cultivation
Across the country, the average cost of cultivation in cotton is a little more than Rs 16,000 per ha. With an average productivity of 460 kg per ha, it costs between Rs 35 to Rs 48 per kg to grow cotton. In Vidarbha, the cost of cultivation could go well beyond Rs 20,000 perha and if marketing cost is added, it crosses Rs 22,000. But the productivity is only 146 kg per ha. In other words, the cost per kg is almost double --- well over Rs 70 per kg. In Maharashtra, the cost of growing cotton increased from Rs 17,234/ha in 2001-02 to Rs 20,859 in 2002-03.

Right age, wrong step
Among the farmers who committed suicide in the past year, more than 50% were between 20 and 45 years of age (their most productive years), according to a study by the Sakal Newspapers Limited of the two districts, Amravati and Yavatmal.

Defaulters
The Planning Commission's fact-finding mission members found out that nearly 2.8 million of the 3.2 million cotton farmers in Vidarbha are defaulters. Of every Rs 100 borrowed, approximately Rs 80 goes back in to servicing of old loans.

Export-oriented agriculture

Until very recently, the majority of farmers throughout Asia would grow a range of seasonally varied crops for their own consumption, along with some extra for trade at local markets. Now, with a shift to export-oriented agriculture, farmers are required to generate those products that fit into the narrow constraints of the global market place. What is more, their production is expected to be large-scale, uniform and highly specialized.

In her testimony to the Women's Tribunal, Yaowapa Promwong related that, until a decade ago, families in her village in northeast Thailand exchanged seeds with each other. Most families would grow rice as their main crop, each usually growing several different varieties. Different families therefore had different harvesting seasons, allowing for community members to help each other during the harvests. Through such activities, production costs were kept low and community spirit was strong. In addition to their primary crops, families would often farm fish, prawns and other shellfish in the rice fields, grow vegetables, and raise livestock around their homes. They produced enough food for their own consumption, often with surplus to trade at local markets. This culture is now quickly disappearing.

The decline of seed-saving

In much of rural Asia, women like Yaowapa have traditionally been seed-savers and plant-breeders. Their knowledge of seed-selection and conservation has enabled villagers to grow produce appropriate to the land. Thus, heritage seeds have been passed down over generations, along with the family land itself. When growing for export, however, the produce must fit certain characteristics defined by foreign marketers. Many farming families have now discontinued seed-saving, turning instead to seeds from multinational agri-businesses that supposedly know the market demand.

Chemical-intensive agriculture

The move towards large-scale monoculture farming brings greater vulnerability to farmers as their seasonal income depends on the outcome of just one or two crops. In order to facilitate fast and uniform growth, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides have been promoted by agri-businesses in the over locally available, natural and often free agricultural inputs such as manure. According to Carmen, the costs of agricultural inputs have increased by 200-300% over the last 10-15 years, while the selling prices of produce have not matched this rise.

Imports and subsidies

The introduction of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), along with the resulting drop in import tariffs and regulations in Majority World countries, have seen more and more small-scale farmers unable to compete with the influx of cheaper, subsidized foreign products. The consequences of this are exacerbated as farmers are encouraged to grow just a few varieties of produce primarily for export, are rendered increasingly vulnerable to price fluctuations relating to those particular items.

Why Suicide

• Money lenders - Most farmer suicides result from their inability to repay loans taken from unscrupulous money lenders. Lending at usurious rates, up to 70% of poor village population goes to money lenders for loan, alternative financing being unavailable for them. Our financial system does not have space for the poor of the villages.
• Capital Intensive Farming- We have made farming very costing, all input costs have become so high that profitability has been severely impacted. Farming has become un-economic for the farmers.
• Intensive and export oriented farming - Single and intensive cropping has made farmers poor and more prone to foreign market preferences and seasonal factors like monsoons.

Way Out

• Freedom from Usury - the only solution is Interest free financing.
• Returning to sustainable farming practices.
• Better access to markets.
• Multiple cropping and mix cropping.
• Water Conservation
• Agriculture ( Food) Processing Industries
• Village Industries