FARMER SUICIDE
A series of programs like minimum support price, compensation, agricultural aid and state support when wholeheartedly implemented can enable the reduction of the alarming rates of farmer suicide in India.
Shamali Bendre is a Social Rights Activist based in Maharashtra. [supsystic-social-sharing id=’5′]
India is a nation where farmer suicides are not a rare occurrence. State facilitated data suggests that more than 120, 00 farmers have been committing suicide every year for the last fifteen years.
The lack of agricultural support prices, inadequate government policy, massive loans and the inability to cope up with the extensive costs of agriculture have collectively lead to the problem of farmer suicide in India.
The state of Maharashtra recorded the highest number of suicides after which came Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
The Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil stated that 639 farmers have committed suicide in three months (March to May) this year due to diverse causes such as extensive debt, crop failure and the inability to repay bank loans.
Out of these 639 farmers, 188 were declared eligible for compensation as per government schemes, based on the government’s criteria of crop failure, debts and their failure to repay loans, From which 188, families have received compensation. The Minster also noted that 122 cases were ineligible for compensation and 329 cases were pending for investigation.
The opposition political party had demanded to know the number of families where farmers had committed suicide over the last three months and wanted to know the measures that were being taken to help then. It is important to acknowledge that many policies of the government such as the loan waiver, crop loss compensation, and minimum support process may not be reaching out to farmers who are in dire need of these supports.
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The rampant agricultural crisis is one of the major reasons why in the last year alone 1,500 farmers have committed suicide.
