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4/26/2017 FarmerSuicides:HowdoweSavetheHandsthatFeedus?
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Farmer Suicides: How do we Save the Hands
that Feed us?
SSB Technique
Personality Posted by Col DJS Chahal on Thursday, 18 February 2016 in Current

Development Aairs
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Maharashtra government has informed

http://www.olivegreens.co.in/blog/farmersuicideshowdowesavethehandsthatfeedus the Bombay High Court 1/10
4/26/2017 FarmerSuicides:HowdoweSavetheHandsthatFeedus?OliveGreensInstituteBlogOliveGreensInstituteSSB|NDA|CDS
Maharashtra government has informed the Bombay High Court

Psych 0
Home on 16 February
SSB Interview 2016 Exams
Written that 124 farmers have committed
Faculty Campus &suicide
Facilities Blog
Technique in the state since January this year, of whom 20 cases were
reported from Osmanabad alone.
InterviewAsked Questions
Frequently Contact us A AA
Techniques The High Court had asked the Centre, as to what kind of Share
assistance it can provide to the state to deal with the grim

NDA, CDS, agrarian crisis. StumbleUp
Submit
AFCAT & CPT In a very unfortunate and controversial remark, BJP lawmaker
Written Exam Gopal Shetty has attributed farmers' suicides to a "fashion" and
Preperation "trend" to end lives.
Earlier too a debate on the issue had emerged when, on 22 April

2015, in an extremely tragic incident a farmer, Gajendra Singh,
had committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in Chief
Blog Archive
Minister Arvind Kejriwal's presence at the Aam Aadmi Party's
rally at the Jantar Mantar, which is at a stone's throw from the
2017 Parliament.
These suicides demonstrate the hapless state and the level of

January (10)
frustration amongst the farmers, which constitute 60% of the
February (9)
population of our agrarian country.
March (10)
According to the gures given out by the Ministry of
April (8) Agriculture, a total of 3313 suicides were committed by the
2016 farmers for agrarian reasons during the last three years.
Maharashtra happens to be the epicentre for this crisis.
January (10)
February Farmer suicides account for 11.2% of the overall all suicides
(13) committed in India. The multiple and diverse reasons that are
being ascribed to this trend that has seen a sharp rise over the
March (9)
previous few years are:
April (11)
Climate change has made the weather unpredictable leading to
May (9)
monsoon failures (as in the present scenario) or unseasonal and
June (9) / or excessive rains, high debt burdens, high cost of cultivation,
July (12) government policies, public mental health, personal issues and
August (11) family problems.
September Historical Perspective

(14) Farmers in India have been at the receiving end from times
October (9) immemorial. Historical records relating to frustration, revolts
and high mortality rates among farmers in India, particularly
cash crop farmers, date back to the 18th and the19th century.
http://www.olivegreens.co.in/blog/farmersuicideshowdowesavethehandsthatfeedus 2/10
cash crop farmers, date back to the 18 and the19th century.
November
Home The IzaredariWritten
SSB Interview System was introduced
Exams by Warren
Faculty Hasting
Campus in
& Facilities Blog
(10)
1773. Wherein, Izaredars were appointed by the East India
December
Company to collect revenue from the peasants and farmers.
(8)
They ThekedarsContact
Frequently Asked Questions squeezed
usthe money out of the poor farmers A AA
2015 to pay the Company.
January (13) Later on in 1799, Lord Cornwallis introduced the Permanent
February Settlement System, in which the Zamidars were made the
(13) permanent owners and landlords, who could keep 11% of the
total produce for themselves and pay the balance 89% to the
March (15)
Company.
April (11)
The actual cultivators were reduced to tenants and were
May (10)
deprived of all rights over the land that they physically tilled.
June (11)
Permanent settlement xed the revenue for 10 years.
July (13)
Irrespective of the vagaries of weather or any calamities, the
August (11) peasants had to pay up the Landlords, who treated them very
September harshly.
(13)
Naxalism is actually an outcome of harassment of peasants by
October the landlords, who took up arms against them and called for
(13) equal rights for all.
November The Deccan Riots of 1875-1877 were an outcome of high land
(11) taxes of 1870s, payable in cash regardless of the eects of
December frequent famines on farm output or productivity, combined
(17) with colonial protection of usury, money lenders and landowner
2014 rights.
August (25) In the present times, the policies of globalization and trade
liberalization have created the farm crisis for the following
September
reasons:
(44)
A shift from food rst to trade rst and farmer rst to
October
corporate rst.
(16)
The cost of agricultural production has increased
November immensely because of heavy reliance on chemicals, capital
(17) intensication of production through dependence on
December mechanised farming and the deregulation of the input
(16) sector, like, sale of seeds, pesticides and fertilizers leading
to rising costs of production.
Deregulation of markets and lack of eective price
regulation, has led to collapse in prices of the farm
commodities.
commodities.
Home The present
SSB Interview agriculture
Written Exams policies are facilitating
Faculty Campus & Facilities Blog
establishment of agro-processing industry and agri-
business through subsidies, e.g. subsidies are being given
to cold storageContact
Frequently Asked Questions and transport.
us These subsides do not go to A AA
the farmers and producers.
Major Reasons for Farmer Suicides
Failure of Institutional Credits for Small and Marginal

Farmers: It is highly cumbersome for a farmer to get loan and
the loans disbursed to the farmers are at an interest rate of 14
per cent, while the rate of savings today get a meagre 5.75 per
cent rate of interest.
What is highly provocative is that the consumer loans for

purchase of luxuries are available at around 10 percent of
interest.
Heavy debts on farmers owing to increased dependence of

small farmers on moneylenders, at rates of interest from 24 to
60 percent per annum, sometimes even more, which they are
unable to pay and get harassed by the goons of the
moneylender.
Governments inadequacies to implement functioning of

safety nets such as fair price shops (FPS), various forms of food
for work schemes and proper regulation of public distribution
system in the country.
Delayed and ridiculously meagre compensation for the crops

damage caused due to a calamity.
Minimum Support Price (MSP) does not support the

increased ination and the farmers are duped by the
private buyers on behalf of Food Corporation of India (FCI),
as they do not conduct the quality tests properly and purchase
from the cultivators well below the MSP.
Finally, they end up selling the produce at the procurement

centres, and thereby picking up undeserving prots, which
should have rightfully gone to the farmers.
Increasing cost of agriculture inputs like seeds, fertilizers,

pesticides, etc and reduced price of agriculture produces.
Unpredictable weather conditions owing to climate change

and cumulative crop loss prevents the farmers from repaying

Home their debts, as
SSB Interview a resultExams
Written they suer harassment
Faculty from the & Facilities
Campus Blog
moneylenders.
A reduced land holding due to successive property division

has made agriculture as a profession totally unviable. The small
landowners still continue to cultivate low-value conventional
crops, which make their farming unsustainable.
Inappropriate land use and cropping pattern has led to

cultivation of commercial crop, the loss of yield of the same
gets magnied because of the high cost of cultivation as well as
a greater requirement of cash inputs, whereas in subsistence
crops the loss of yield can be tolerated, as the share of cash
input is much lower.
Major Reason for this Crisis in Maharashtra
In the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, the monsoon has

failed for the second successive year. The availability of water
has further deteriorated owing to rapid spread of water-
intensive sugarcane cultivation, promoted by local political
elites.
Marathwada, region accounts for around two-thirds of the total

sugar production in Maharashtra and it needs to be understood
that Sugar dominates the political economy of rural
Maharashtra.
Sugar Cooperatives have been established in the western

districts of the state, because of the easy availability of water as
well as the high social capital.
Cooperatives have now been captured by powerful politicians

who then use their position to get subsidies for sugarcane
farming.
It has been established through research that the total water

required for sugarcane cultivation in Marathwada is 4,300
million cubic metres (mcm), or double the storage capacity of
the largest dam on the Godavari in the region.
In other words, processing this years standing crop will need

water that would be enough to provide drinking water to 15.85
lakh people till the next monsoon.
Therefore, in order to ensure water conservation and help

Therefore, in order to ensure water conservation and help
farmers to shift out of sugarcane farming, adequate incentives
Home SSB Interview
and subsidiesWritten
must beExams Faculty in dry
given for cultivation Campus & Facilities
regions. Blog
Remedial Measures
Frequently Asked Questions Contact us
Introduction of National Agricultural Insurance Schemes to A AA
provide insurance coverage and nancial support to farmers in
the event of failure of any of the notied crops as a result of
natural calamities, pests and diseases. Specic attention needs
to be given to cover cash crops like cotton, sugarcane and
edible oils.
On 13 January 2016, the Cabinet approved the Prime Minister

Crop Insurance Scheme. This insurance scheme for farmers will
protect them against crop failures owing to successive
droughts.
The farmers will be required to pay premiums of as little as 1.5

percent of the value of their crops, allowing them to reclaim
their full value in case of natural damage.
Government must incentivise farmers to adopt progressive

farming practices, with high value inputs and improved
technology, besides stabilizing farming income, particularly in
the disaster years.
Sankata Harana is a novel scheme introduced by IFFCO during

2001-02, under which, any farmer purchasing fertilizers through
cooperative societies would qualify for relief in case of an
accidental death.
Personal Accident Insurance Scheme covers Kisan Credit Card

Holders, to provide relief in an eventuality of an accident.
To sustain the family of the deceased, all the nancial help

should be provided as Fixed Deposit in the bank, with quarterly
payment of interest.
Encourage farmers for adopting low cost organic farming

based on cost-eective technology with most suitable crop
patterns and indigenous pest management practices.
Biodiversity, through crop rotation must be the basis of

production to reduce vulnerability to climate and markets.
Strongest action under Indian Penal Code should be taken

against suppliers of spurious seeds and manufactures of
against suppliers of spurious seeds and manufactures of
spurious pesticides.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) should be popularized
among farmers so that the crop of neighbouring farmers, not
using pesticides, does not get damaged.
Government should provide community implements and
machinery at panchayat / block level so that small and marginal
farmers can also use mechanised techniques of farming at
lesser cost to improve productivity.
Institutionalized Credit System (e.g. Jan Dhan Yojana and

MUDRA banks) must be simplied and farmers be made aware
of their rights and government incentives.
Moneylenders charging the farmers exorbitant rate of

interest must be punished.
Gram Panchayats should evolve a mechanism to identify

the indebted and suicide prone farmers and help them to
overcome the crisis.
Government/ NGOs with a vision of eco-friendly

sustainable development should guide the farmers to make
the ecient use of water, electricity, pesticide and other inputs.
The role of commission agents, traders and intermediaries

should be minimized to facilitate the farmers to fetch
maximum price of their produce.
Finally, agriculture policy needs to shift from its current bias

of corporates rst to farmers rst.
Recent Developments on the Issue
Farmer Rallies by BJP:The BJP government will be organising

four farmer rallies at Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka and
Uttar Pradesh from 18 to 28 February 2016, which will be
addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Besides the above mentioned rallies, the Party is planning to

conduct similar rallies across the country by other senior BJP
leaders. During these rallies, the eorts made by the
government like the recently launched, Rs 17,600-crore crop
insurance will be showcased.
The above eort appears to be directed towards appeasing the

rural vote bank and also to woo back the farmers who had been
rural vote bank and also to woo back the farmers who had been
antagonised by the BJP over its stand on the Land Bill.
You could read my previous blog on Land Acquisition Bill:
http://www.olivegreens.co.in/blog/land-acquisition-bill-passed-
in-lok-sabha-after-amendments
Supreme Court has Questioned Centre on the following:
The SC asked the Centre to come clean on the state of

implementation of its welfare schemes in 12 drought-hit States
across the country.
It has asked whether the schemes like MGNREGA, National Food

Security and mid-day meal are implemented properly.
Court has asked Union to reach out toaected States and

discuss criteria for declaration of drought and steps taken to
alleviate hunger in these States.
Governments Response
The govt has told the SC that an expert committee will be set
up to re-examine the National Policy for Farmers
(NPF)amidst growing number of suicides by farmers. The NPF
has been eective since the previous eight years.
The Minimum Support Price (MSP)for various crops was as per

the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices to promote
de-risk farming and cut losses. The basis of working out MSP
needs to be re-examined.
A total of Rs 61,291 crore has been earmarked for 2015-20 to

provide relief to the States which may be hit by disasters.
Conclusion
It is very unfortunate that the nation as a whole has failed to

appropriately strengthen the hands that feed us. The farmers
live in a state of unprecedented deprivation and most deaths
are due to lack of adequate medical facilities or starvation or
physical and mental ill health.
Farmers do not need government packages to salvage them out

of crisis, but they need government policies that are farmer
oriented so that we can nd a long term solution out of this
problem. Otherwise, time is not far when we will have none to
work in the elds and grow us food.
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Personality Posted by Col DJS Chahal on Thursday, 18 February 2016 in Current

Maharashtra government has informed

Maharashtra government has informed the Bombay High Court

assistance it can provide to the state to deal with the grim

Earlier too a debate on the issue had emerged when, on 22 April

These suicides demonstrate the hapless state and the level of

September Historical Perspective

Failure of Institutional Credits for Small and Marginal

What is highly provocative is that the consumer loans for

Heavy debts on farmers owing to increased dependence of

Governments inadequacies to implement functioning of

Delayed and ridiculously meagre compensation for the crops

Minimum Support Price (MSP) does not support the

Finally, they end up selling the produce at the procurement

Increasing cost of agriculture inputs like seeds, fertilizers,

Unpredictable weather conditions owing to climate change

and cumulative crop loss prevents the farmers from repaying

A reduced land holding due to successive property division

Inappropriate land use and cropping pattern has led to

Major Reason for this Crisis in Maharashtra

In the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, the monsoon has

Marathwada, region accounts for around two-thirds of the total

Sugar Cooperatives have been established in the western

Cooperatives have now been captured by powerful politicians

It has been established through research that the total water

In other words, processing this years standing crop will need

Therefore, in order to ensure water conservation and help

On 13 January 2016, the Cabinet approved the Prime Minister

The farmers will be required to pay premiums of as little as 1.5

Government must incentivise farmers to adopt progressive

Sankata Harana is a novel scheme introduced by IFFCO during

Personal Accident Insurance Scheme covers Kisan Credit Card

To sustain the family of the deceased, all the nancial help

Encourage farmers for adopting low cost organic farming

Biodiversity, through crop rotation must be the basis of

Strongest action under Indian Penal Code should be taken

Institutionalized Credit System (e.g. Jan Dhan Yojana and

Moneylenders charging the farmers exorbitant rate of

Gram Panchayats should evolve a mechanism to identify

Government/ NGOs with a vision of eco-friendly

The role of commission agents, traders and intermediaries

Finally, agriculture policy needs to shift from its current bias

Recent Developments on the Issue

Farmer Rallies by BJP:The BJP government will be organising

Besides the above mentioned rallies, the Party is planning to

The above eort appears to be directed towards appeasing the

The SC asked the Centre to come clean on the state of

It has asked whether the schemes like MGNREGA, National Food

Court has asked Union to reach out toaected States and

The Minimum Support Price (MSP)for various crops was as per

A total of Rs 61,291 crore has been earmarked for 2015-20 to

It is very unfortunate that the nation as a whole has failed to

Farmers do not need government packages to salvage them out

Rate this blog entry: 14

Frequently Asked Questions Contact us A AA

0Comments Sortby Oldest

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