Farmers’ Suicides in India
No matter the race or age of the person; how rich or poor they are, it is true that most people who commit suicide have a mental or emotional disorder”. Suicide is not a matter of economics.The surge in input costs: A major cause of the farmers’ suicides in India has been the increasing burden on the farmers due to inflated prices of agricultural inputs. The culmination of these factors is seen in the overall increase in the cost of cultivation, for wheat, the cost at present is three times than it was in 2005.
- Cost of chemicals and seeds: Be it the fertilisers, crop protection chemicals or even the seeds for cultivation, farming has become expensive for the already indebted farmers.
- Costs of Agricultural equipment: The input costs, moreover, aren’t limited to the basic raw materials. Using agricultural equipment and machinery like tractors, submersible pumps etc adds to the already surging costs. Besides, these secondary inputs have themselves become less affordable for the small and marginal farmers.
- Labour costs: Likewise, hiring labourers and animals is getting costlier too. While this may reflect an improvement in the socio-economic status of the labourers, driven primarily by MGNERGA and hike in minimum basic income, this has not gone too well with boosting the agriculture sector.
- Lack of direct integration with the market: Although initiatives like the National Argriculture Market and contract farming are helping integrate the farmers’ produce directly with the market, cutting the role of intermediaries, the reality is still lagging behind.
- Lack of awareness: The digital divide, as well as the literacy gap, has made the marginal and small farmers particularly vulnerable due to their inability to utilise the positives of government policies. This is reflected in the continued unsustainable cropping practices – like cultivating sugarcane in water-deficit regions.
- Water crisis: The concentration of these suicides in the water-deficit regions of states like Maharashtra, Karnataka is a manifestation of how the water crisis and thereby failure to meet production demands have intensified the menace. This is particularly true in the backdrop of continued failed monsoons.
- Inter State water disputes: What has added to the already prevalent crisis is the unwillingness to cater to each other’s water needs amongst the states. A case in point is the recently resurfaced Kaveri dispute that saw Karnataka and Tamil Nadu battle out water shortage both in and outside the tribunal even to the extent of non-compliance with the tribunal award.
- Climate change has acted as the last nail in the coffin by resulting in furthering of the uncertainties associated with the already uncertain monsoon system and hence agricultural production. While incidents like flash floods have led to crop losses, deferred monsoons have seen production shortfall year-in and year-out
- India’s urban consumer driven economic policies: The political economy of India is driven more by the urban consumers than the rural producers. This is reflected in the urgency to impose price controls in case of price rise (imposing Minimum Export Prices, bringing items under Essential Commodities etc) and a lacklustre withdrawal once the price is under control. Contrast this with how we have been imposing minimum import price to secure our steel sector. This differential treatment to primary sector also limits profit margin and thereby hinders farmers’ chances of breaking free from the cycle of indebtedness.
- Some of the major relief packages and debt waiver schemes announced by the government are summarised below:
- 2006 relief package – primarily aimed at 31 districts in the four states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala with a high relative incidence of farmers suicides.
- Agricultural debt waiver and debt relief scheme, 2008 – Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme in 2008 benefited over 36 million farmers at a cost of 65000 crore rupees This spending was aimed at writing of part of loan principal as well as the interest owed by the farmers.
- 2013 diversify income sources package – In 2013, the Government of India
- Apart from these Central Government initiatives, there are many efforts from the state governments side like Maharashtra Bill to regulate farmer loan terms, 2008 and Kerala Farmers’ Debt Relief Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2012.
But farmers suicides didnt stop... Beacuse solution has to be solved from grassroot level it should not be superficial.
Here i Propose a few solutions:-
- Policies of integrated pest management to prevent pest damage – An all-inclusive approach that integrates biological, chemical, mechanical and physical methodology should be used to prevent crop damage. In this case, seeking inspiration from Vietnam’s no-spray early rule (predatory beetles are sustained for a biological pest control, cutting pesticide requirement by 50%) can be a good way to start.
- Lower fertilizer costs – Helping fertiliser industries cut down on costs, through internal funding rather than external borrowing should lower the input costs.
- Leveraging advancements in Science and Technology by ensuring that state seed policies focus on new genotypes, contract farming and sensitization to adverse weather conditions.
- Precision farming techniques like SRI (Systemic rise intensification ) must be encouraged.
- Farm equipment policy must focus on imported equipment to provide for cheaper local manufacture, some incentives like grant of duty credit scrips may be tried.
- Subsidies must be rerouted towards capital generation and entrepreneurial Custom Hiring Centers (CHCs) and the implementation must be ensured in a timely fashion.
- Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) must be encouraged in the agricultural sector, particularly towards capacity-building, skill development and the establishment of CHCs.
- Institutional financing must also be ensured to be adequate and inclusive rather than catering to the elites within the farming community.
