When will the Government wake up ?

Abdul Rashidi The farmers' predicament in India is turning from bad to worse. Last month the government virtually threw up its hands in the air before the Supreme Court on the vexing issue of farmers' suicides. Jaya Raj analyses the phenomenon and suggests the way out.

The government virtually threw up the hands in the air before the Supreme Court on May 3 on the vexing issue of farmers' suicides in the country. It told the apex court that despite a multipronged approach to improve income and social security of farmers, over 12,000 suicides were reported in the agricultural sector every year since 2013.

After hearing the government's initiatives and the counter view by petitioner NGO 'Citizen Resources and Action Initiative', a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Khehar washed its hands off the issue by saying, "Today, we find it hard to intervene in the case".
Besides the Chief Justice, the bench consisted of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Sanjay Kishan Kaul. The bench said "all the steps that need to be taken is squarely in the executive's domain". That includes crucial measures for stabilising the wealth status of farmers (like fixing the minimum support price for agricultural produce as well as extension of crop insurance).

The bench gave the Centre four weeks to file response to data placed by the NGO's counsel Colin Gonsalves, who argued that the much-hyped PM Fasal Bima Yojana had not reached even 20 per cent of small and marginal farmers as the Centre had parked thousands of crores of rupees with private insurance companies.

Grieving farmers' families The Centre submitted statistics on suicides in the farming sector and compared it with the total number of suicides in India. "A total of 12,602 persons involved in farming sector -- 8,007 farmers-cultivators and 4,595 agricultural labourers - committed suicide during 2015, accounting for 9.4 per cent of total suicide victims (133,623) in the country," the government said.
The vast majority of accounts of farmers' suicides focus on one of a few relatively small areas of India: the Vidarbha region in eastern Maharashtra, the plains of Karnataka, and the Telengana

Supreme Court region of northern Andhra Pradesh, where farmers' incomes depend on cotton cultivation; and Wyanad district and neighbouring areas in Kerala, where coffee is the major cash crop.

Jagdish Singh Khehar For the previous year (2014), it stated that 12,360 persons in the farming sector - 5,650 farmerscultivators and 6,710 agricultural labourers -committed suicide, accounting for 9.4 per cent of the total number of suicides (131,666) in the country. In 2013, the number was 11,772, accounting for 8.7 per cent of the 134,799 suicides in the country.

P S Narasimha Additional solicitor general (ASG) P S Narasimha said, "The government is addressing the low income of farming communities. He said agrarian distress is manifest from a large number of farmers living below the poverty line and unfortunate incidents of suicides can be addressed by enabling farmers to increase their income. With this understanding, the government was aiming to double farmers' income by the year 2022."

The ASG's submission before the apex court reaffirms that the government acknowledges that a large number of farmers living below the poverty line in the country and their low income are the real factors that drive farmers to take their own life in a year of crop distress.
The National Crime Records Bureau (which compiles data on suicides as well) has noted that "Highly erratic and inadequate monsoon in the last two-three years (2013-15) has aggravated problems for persons engaged in the farming sector.
Manifestations of these in extreme situations can be seen in the form of farmers' suicides."

D Y Chandrachud and Sanjay Kishan Kaul "Bankruptcy and indebtedness" emerged as the single largest underlying cause behind farmer suicides in 2015 with 38.7 per cent of the 8,007 farmer suicides linked to these factors. Farmingrelated issues formed the second major cause, accounting for 19.5 per cent of the cases. The data also showed that as many as 72.6 per cent of the farmers who committed suicide in 2015 were small and marginal farmers who owned less than two hectares of land.
According to Wikipedia, historical records relating to frustration, revolts and high mortality rates among farmers in India, particularly cash crop farmers, date back to the 19th century. The high land taxes of 1870s, payable in cash regardless

As much as 79.5 per cent of India's farmland relies on flooding and ground water recharge during monsoon season. Hence inadequate rainfall often causes droughts, making crop failure more frequent. Agricultural regions that have been affected by droughts have subsequently seen their suicide rates increase.

of the effects of frequent famines on farm output or productivity, combined with colonial protection of usury, money lenders and landowner rights, contributed to widespread penury and frustration among cotton and other farmers, ultimately leading to the Deccan Riots of 1875-1877.

Most of our farmers continue to be economically marginal and vulnerable to suicide if crop conditions turn unfavourable. We have to train and redeploy the excess manpower in the farm sector to make crops cultivation viable and remunerative to the down-sized number. It demands big and wholesome reforms in the agriculture sector. Only that will ensure the end of farmers' massive suicides in the country.

Various sections have been offering different reasons to explain why farmers commit suicide in India. These include: floods, drought, debt, money lenders, use of genetically modified seed and diverting crop loans to conduct lavish weddings. There is no consensus on what the main causes might be but studies show suicide victims are motivated by more than one cause for suicide.
It is a fact that as much as 79.5 per cent of India's farmland relies on flooding and ground water recharge during monsoon season. Hence inadequate rainfall often causes droughts, making crop failure more frequent.
Agricultural regions that have been affected by droughts have subsequently seen their suicide rates increase.

Manmohan Singh Left leaning economists argue that agrarian crisis is most often related to the liberalization of the Indian economy: "the adoption of the neo-liberal model of capitalism by the ruling elite in India". Others dispute such views. Likewise, a number of right leaning social activist groups saw a link between high cost genetically modified crops and farmer suicides.
The government itself commissioned a number of studies to look into the causes of farmers' suicide and farm related distress in general. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Vidarbha in 2006 and promised a package of ₹ 110 billion. The families of farmers who had committed suicide were also offered an ex gratia grant of ₹ 100,000 by the government.
Some say the government's response and relief packages have generally been proved ineffective and misdirected. It has focused on credit and loan, rather than income, productivity and farmer prosperity.
Outside India too, farming has been identified as a high stress profession that is associated with a higher suicide rate than the general population. This is particularly true among small scale farmers and after periods of economic distress. Significantly higher suicide rate among farmers than general population have been reported in developed countries such as the UK and the US. But it is not a way out for farmers there.

Here in India, suicide seems inevitable if one is a farmer. Primarily it is because of the huge number of persons engaged in farming in India. Sixty per cent of the country's 1.2 billion population is still engaged in agriculture to produce a record 272 million tonnes of foodgrains in 2016. But that is not sufficient enough to feed all tummies.
The share of agriculture in employment in India was 48.9 per cent of the active workforce (NSSO-2011-12) while its share in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was only 17.4 per cent in 2014-15. That is an inefficient and wasteful manpower deployment.
When a large fraction of a nation's population depends on agriculture for its livelihood, average incomes get low.
Agriculture can be a remunerative activity only when the manpower deployed in it is small and safeguards are in place to shield farming from vagaries of weather and environment. Our economists and leadership in the early days of Independence failed to grasp this point.
Most of our farmers continue to be economically marginal and vulnerable to suicide if crop conditions turn unfavourable. We have to train and redeploy the excess manpower in the farm sector to make crops cultivation viable and remunerative to the down-sized number. It demands big and wholesome reforms in the agriculture sector. Only that will ensure the end of farmers' massive suicides in the country.



		EDITOR'S MAIL MATTERS OF PUBLIC POLICY FRANKLY SPEAKING FARMERS' SUICIDES REALPOLITIK WHITHER AAP MODI'S FOREIGN POLICY CHINA'S NEW SILK ROAD DALAI LAMA ARUNACHAL VISIT ISLAMISTS IN CHINA STATE OF EDUCATION STATE OF EDUCATION BHOPAL NOTEBOOK BENGAL POINTERS TELUGU STATES BJP IN KERALA CHANDIGARH DIARY HITS & MISSES OLYMPIC SPIRIT AMERICA WATCH PAKISTAN WATCH SIGNS OF THE TIMES INTERVIEW OBITUARY BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR CRIME AGAINST WOMEN SECULARISM IN INDIA ART OF LIVING Issue:June' 2017 Subscribe Now	FARMERS' SUICIDES When will the Government wake up ? Abdul Rashidi The farmers' predicament in India is turning from bad to worse. Last month the government virtually threw up its hands in the air before the Supreme Court on the vexing issue of farmers' suicides. Jaya Raj analyses the phenomenon and suggests the way out. The government virtually threw up the hands in the air before the Supreme Court on May 3 on the vexing issue of farmers' suicides in the country. It told the apex court that despite a multipronged approach to improve income and social security of farmers, over 12,000 suicides were reported in the agricultural sector every year since 2013. After hearing the government's initiatives and the counter view by petitioner NGO 'Citizen Resources and Action Initiative', a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Khehar washed its hands off the issue by saying, "Today, we find it hard to intervene in the case". Besides the Chief Justice, the bench consisted of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Sanjay Kishan Kaul. The bench said "all the steps that need to be taken is squarely in the executive's domain". That includes crucial measures for stabilising the wealth status of farmers (like fixing the minimum support price for agricultural produce as well as extension of crop insurance). The bench gave the Centre four weeks to file response to data placed by the NGO's counsel Colin Gonsalves, who argued that the much-hyped PM Fasal Bima Yojana had not reached even 20 per cent of small and marginal farmers as the Centre had parked thousands of crores of rupees with private insurance companies. Grieving farmers' families The Centre submitted statistics on suicides in the farming sector and compared it with the total number of suicides in India. "A total of 12,602 persons involved in farming sector -- 8,007 farmers-cultivators and 4,595 agricultural labourers - committed suicide during 2015, accounting for 9.4 per cent of total suicide victims (133,623) in the country," the government said. The vast majority of accounts of farmers' suicides focus on one of a few relatively small areas of India: the Vidarbha region in eastern Maharashtra, the plains of Karnataka, and the Telengana Supreme Court region of northern Andhra Pradesh, where farmers' incomes depend on cotton cultivation; and Wyanad district and neighbouring areas in Kerala, where coffee is the major cash crop. Jagdish Singh Khehar For the previous year (2014), it stated that 12,360 persons in the farming sector - 5,650 farmerscultivators and 6,710 agricultural labourers -committed suicide, accounting for 9.4 per cent of the total number of suicides (131,666) in the country. In 2013, the number was 11,772, accounting for 8.7 per cent of the 134,799 suicides in the country. P S Narasimha Additional solicitor general (ASG) P S Narasimha said, "The government is addressing the low income of farming communities. He said agrarian distress is manifest from a large number of farmers living below the poverty line and unfortunate incidents of suicides can be addressed by enabling farmers to increase their income. With this understanding, the government was aiming to double farmers' income by the year 2022." The ASG's submission before the apex court reaffirms that the government acknowledges that a large number of farmers living below the poverty line in the country and their low income are the real factors that drive farmers to take their own life in a year of crop distress. The National Crime Records Bureau (which compiles data on suicides as well) has noted that "Highly erratic and inadequate monsoon in the last two-three years (2013-15) has aggravated problems for persons engaged in the farming sector. Manifestations of these in extreme situations can be seen in the form of farmers' suicides." D Y Chandrachud and Sanjay Kishan Kaul "Bankruptcy and indebtedness" emerged as the single largest underlying cause behind farmer suicides in 2015 with 38.7 per cent of the 8,007 farmer suicides linked to these factors. Farmingrelated issues formed the second major cause, accounting for 19.5 per cent of the cases. The data also showed that as many as 72.6 per cent of the farmers who committed suicide in 2015 were small and marginal farmers who owned less than two hectares of land. According to Wikipedia, historical records relating to frustration, revolts and high mortality rates among farmers in India, particularly cash crop farmers, date back to the 19th century. The high land taxes of 1870s, payable in cash regardless As much as 79.5 per cent of India's farmland relies on flooding and ground water recharge during monsoon season. Hence inadequate rainfall often causes droughts, making crop failure more frequent. Agricultural regions that have been affected by droughts have subsequently seen their suicide rates increase. of the effects of frequent famines on farm output or productivity, combined with colonial protection of usury, money lenders and landowner rights, contributed to widespread penury and frustration among cotton and other farmers, ultimately leading to the Deccan Riots of 1875-1877. Most of our farmers continue to be economically marginal and vulnerable to suicide if crop conditions turn unfavourable. We have to train and redeploy the excess manpower in the farm sector to make crops cultivation viable and remunerative to the down-sized number. It demands big and wholesome reforms in the agriculture sector. Only that will ensure the end of farmers' massive suicides in the country. Various sections have been offering different reasons to explain why farmers commit suicide in India. These include: floods, drought, debt, money lenders, use of genetically modified seed and diverting crop loans to conduct lavish weddings. There is no consensus on what the main causes might be but studies show suicide victims are motivated by more than one cause for suicide. It is a fact that as much as 79.5 per cent of India's farmland relies on flooding and ground water recharge during monsoon season. Hence inadequate rainfall often causes droughts, making crop failure more frequent. Agricultural regions that have been affected by droughts have subsequently seen their suicide rates increase. Manmohan Singh Left leaning economists argue that agrarian crisis is most often related to the liberalization of the Indian economy: "the adoption of the neo-liberal model of capitalism by the ruling elite in India". Others dispute such views. Likewise, a number of right leaning social activist groups saw a link between high cost genetically modified crops and farmer suicides. The government itself commissioned a number of studies to look into the causes of farmers' suicide and farm related distress in general. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Vidarbha in 2006 and promised a package of ₹ 110 billion. The families of farmers who had committed suicide were also offered an ex gratia grant of ₹ 100,000 by the government. Some say the government's response and relief packages have generally been proved ineffective and misdirected. It has focused on credit and loan, rather than income, productivity and farmer prosperity. Outside India too, farming has been identified as a high stress profession that is associated with a higher suicide rate than the general population. This is particularly true among small scale farmers and after periods of economic distress. Significantly higher suicide rate among farmers than general population have been reported in developed countries such as the UK and the US. But it is not a way out for farmers there. Here in India, suicide seems inevitable if one is a farmer. Primarily it is because of the huge number of persons engaged in farming in India. Sixty per cent of the country's 1.2 billion population is still engaged in agriculture to produce a record 272 million tonnes of foodgrains in 2016. But that is not sufficient enough to feed all tummies. The share of agriculture in employment in India was 48.9 per cent of the active workforce (NSSO-2011-12) while its share in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was only 17.4 per cent in 2014-15. That is an inefficient and wasteful manpower deployment. When a large fraction of a nation's population depends on agriculture for its livelihood, average incomes get low. Agriculture can be a remunerative activity only when the manpower deployed in it is small and safeguards are in place to shield farming from vagaries of weather and environment. Our economists and leadership in the early days of Independence failed to grasp this point. Most of our farmers continue to be economically marginal and vulnerable to suicide if crop conditions turn unfavourable. We have to train and redeploy the excess manpower in the farm sector to make crops cultivation viable and remunerative to the down-sized number. It demands big and wholesome reforms in the agriculture sector. Only that will ensure the end of farmers' massive suicides in the country.