Cause Of Concern
Its has been half a decade, the problem of the farmers suicide is being encircling around the ears of the Indian population at large and politicians in special, whatever might be the reason as matter of concern for the fellow farmers or as hot gossip among the educated Indians in the towns and the cities or a Cause Of Concern among the bureaucrats to solve their problem.
India is a predominantly agricultural economy even today almost 65 to 70% of population depends on the agricultural sector and the allied industry for their livelihood. The present situation is unprecedented (has no precedent in the History) in the History, since the times of the Rashtrakutas till now agriculture always was dependent on the Monsoon rains which were always uncertain in their nature. History speaks for farmers as they had to pay 20 to 40% of their shares as tax to their rulers, but apparently no where in the History such an explosion in the suicide rate of the farmers is ever witnessed.
This article will highlight the situation of farmers and the cause of their suicidal tendency, as to why the land which once upon a time was endeavoured for its crop and reaped the benefits out of it, is today facing the hardest and the toughest time it could ever have (could have ever had).
This article will show that the reason for the failure of the crop which ultimately compels the farmer to commit suicide is not the so called UNCERTAIN MONSOON alone, but the real architect (SUTRADHAR) of this death game are the Long Term Government Policies, which are half way implemented and that too without taking any precautions for its unwanted effects which would affect the son of the soil in long term.
This article will also highlight that how the farmers are themselves responsible for their plight because of their short term planning or per say unplanned life due to ignorance and lack of knowledge.
As the problem is because of the increasing debts on the farmers it is important to first understand the Agricultural Credit System in India.
There are three types of loans availed by farmers, short, medium and long ranging loans.
In the short-term loans, the repayment of loan period is for 15 months. In the medium type of loan, the period is for the duration of 4 to 5 years. In the first type, small amount is used for petty purposes, while the second type is used for digging well, purchase of tractor and purchase of capital based tools and equipments for agriculture. In the long-term loan, the period is for the 15 to 20 years, and the credit is mainly used for the purchase of land or reformation and sustainable improvement in the agricultural system. However, in the post-globalization period, to compete with the market and to retain agricultural production and to meet expenses has become too difficult for the farmers who are cultivating small and medium holdings. The expenditure on sowing, cropping and final yield becomes more than the production itself or many a times farmer has to incur loans for marriage, festivals, rituals, which could not be met out on the basis of limited production, which in turn is again uncertain.
So this is the form of credit system/the generalized way of Loan System in Indian Agricultural Sector.
Now, according to the 59th Round of surveys of NSSO, some of the major observations of the survey, covering the indebtedness of the farmers were as follows;
Ø 48.6% of the Households were indebted.
Ø Of the total number of the indebted farmers, 61% had operational holding below 1 ha.
Ø Of the total outstanding amount 41.6% was taken for purposes other than farm related activities. 30.6% of the total loan was for capital expenditure purposes and 27.8% was for current expenditure in farm-related activities.
Ø 57.7% of the outstanding amount was sourced from institutional channels (including government) and the balance 42.3% from money lenders, traders, relatives and friends.
Ø The Expert Group Estimate that in 2003 non-institutional channels accounted for Rs 48000 crore of farmers’ debt of which Rs.18000 crore was availed of at an interest rate of 30% per annum or more.
Indebtedness or overhang of debt has been both due to exogenous factors such as weather induced crop uncertainties and endogenous reasons such as the consumption needs of the farmers that have taken the precedence over the repayment obligations. For many farmers this could be genuine as incomes from agriculture may not have been sufficient to generate a surplus. The Expert Group on Agricultural Indebtedness which was chaired by Shri R. Radhakrishna submitted its report in July, 2007. The Group, among others, have recommended inclusion of financially excluded, particularly the small borrower Households, and adoption of risk mitigation measures for agriculture. It has opposed setting up of the Price Risk Mitigation Fund to compensate farmers in extreme situation of price collapse in case of plantation and other crops not covered by MSP.[i]
The extreme reality of the Agro world in India, due to which the farmers take their fate to the death, is as follows:
(The author personally feels that the given reasons are the most appropriate cause and also the references from various studies prove it, the interviews of the farmers in the Washim and Yavatmal District of Maharashtra State, taken by the author, too confirm it.)
(The references given below are not reflected in this article as they are in terms of language but in terms of matter they are an outcome of the reference and authors own understanding of the subject.)
Increased agricultural expenditure
During last few decades agricultural production process has become difficult due to increased expenditure. The cost of seeds, fertilizers, organic farming techniques, new harvesting equipments, tractors, increase in the cost of manual labour etc. are major factors for
increased expenditure on production. Farmers opt to sale agricultural land than to suffer in its vicious circle. For these purposes if farmers draw loan and if he is not able to repay it, he again en-rolls for fresh loan, which he cannot meet and the vicious circle goes on increasing.
Lack of effective marketing
Indian farmers produce different types of products, such as Jawar, wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton and vegetables and fruits as well. However there is no proper education and orientation for the search of new markets. The brokers at Tahsil or district level exploit farmers and large stake of the profit goes to these brokers and farmers remain neglected.
Lack of fixed price and lack of nearby markets are the two reasons responsible for exploitation of farmers. It is true that in order to avoid this kind of exploitation, minimum agricultural cost of each product must be fixed up and it is suggested that “Industrialized agriculture production blocks needs to be strengthened as commercial hubs with better forward linkages.” [ii]
House Hold Reasons
The farmers have to meet out their day to day responsibilities in a systematic manner. The village community in India (farmers) is pre-dominantly superstitious and religious. The customs and traditions and celebration of marriage, with unnecessary and unaffordable expenses is an integral part of rural life, which further adds to their woes. Mahatma Phule has rightly pointed that lack of education (“Avidya”) and ignorance at all levels is the major reason for poverty and economic disabilities of farmers.[iii]
Extravagance
The tendency of the farmers’ in good season, after receiving better profits, than their earlier phase, to make more expenditure on entertainment by attending folk festivals like Tamasha or by getting addicted to drugs or liqour, which temporarily hallucinates them to be at the top of the world. In long term the extravagance of farmers complicates the situation. This extravagance affects the agricultural investment potentials of the farmers. At the same time on the other side farmers have to repay their old loans or evade the situation, and in the latter case the debts goes on increasing if instalment of the interest, at least, is not paid, and in this way the vicious circle begins.
Torture due to Banking Sector
The peculiar debt recovery techniques of the Co-operative Credit Societies and District Co-operative Banks, which provide loans to the farmers at minimum rates, not only insult farmers, but bruise their and their family’s esteem by removing the tin sheet on their houses, leaving them shelter less; by advertising their land holding guarantee in newspapers. It has been observed that for agricultural loans farmers prefer co-operative system, than that of indigenous bankers. From 1970s onwards due to nationalization of banks, burden of cooperative credit has increased.
Exploitation by indigenous bankers
The farmers when they feel it difficult to receive loans from cooperative credit system, due to their hazards and complications, they turn towards indigenous bankers and they suffer a great deal due to heavy burden of compound interest and they also transfer their lands holdings on papers as credit and if they do not pay the loan in time they have to loose their land. It has been observed that in spite of different types of rules the Government has failed to control the indigenous banking system.
In the recent drive in Maharashtra the Savkars i.e. indigenous bankers were carefully examined and many of them were punished. However, due to harassment few indigenous bankers have also committed suicides.
Illness and chronic diseases:
Victimisation to continuous illness due to chronic diseases, old age and unavailability of timely, standardised and reasonable Health Services in rural areas further add to their woes by increasing their debts. Farmer patients are exploited by doctors as well as private hospitals, for e.g. the doctors in the villages have tie ups with the doctors in the cities or the district centres and they have their share in whatever the doctor at the district centre would earn for the rural patient, this of course would increase the cost of medical ailment for the poor. Operations and all, further increase their expenses, which if not met by agricultural profits, leaves no other option but to commit suicide. About rural health and extension services it has been observed that “There is lack of education as well as non-availability of extension personnel for consultation on the advice given.” On epidemic disease Chikun Guniya in spite of ideal advisory programs on Radio the villagers could not get consultancy on rural level and they had to suffer a great deal.
Misc. factors
Four decades back there was joint family system and now it has been fragmented due to globalization, many industries were shut down and the labor returned to their villages. Further, farmers after WTO pact and globalization started to suffer more because the foreign fruits, food grains and even milk are available in Indian market, which is affecting farmers’ interest. It was expected that “cheaper agricultural produce can be imported for domestic consumption whereas internal produce may be dumped into warehouses as production surplus for the commodities having government support price and procurement.” However, in India due to lack of proper public distribution system, the stored food grains are not properly distributed and malnutrition of children goes on increasing in the isolated areas.[iv]
One of the last but none the less reasons for the farmers’ suicide is that, the government and the politicians who sometimes give their best to solve the problem, but apparently fail to do so is the inherent caste politics and the policies of the government which could not be altered if any government is to survive. Only example which can be cited is, in rural areas Government has adopted the scheme of free meal and mid day meal for the children to promote primary education among the masses i.e. children going to schools get free meal every day and at the end of the month, in some areas, they also get one sack of food grains, and the majority of them are the children of the peasants who work in farms, apart from this, the Below Poverty Level certificate can be easily obtained in India because of the corrupt practices of the officials there, and the significance of getting the Below Poverty Level Certificate is, that one who posses the BPL certificate gets the food grains at the rate of Rs2/kg to Rs.10/kg. Thus the labour who gets a sack of food grains every month, from one child, he has many children, and food grains at the aforesaid rates won’t be keen to work hard in the farms. Thus even if a peasant works for a day or two in a week, the normal wages for which are Rs.40/ for male and Rs.25-30 for a female, their needs are satisfied and they won’t turn for work, the reason is obvious when their basic needs are satisfied why should they work.
Now arises the REAL PROBLEM for the farmers, at the time of the harvest shortage of labour is widely observed and even a single day delay would lead to the perishing of the crop and loss of the blood of a farmer which he has sown with the seeds of his crop, and this what is happening for the years and leading the farmers into the Vicious Death Circle.Now,thus the position of Vidarbha and farmers there has become a cause of concern.
[i] General Studies on Indian Economy 2008 Edition.
[ii] Prasoon Verma “Agriculture as an Industry” Article in Yojna, September 2006
[iii] Phadke Y.D. and Mhaske S.G. Ed. “Mahatma Phule Samagra Vangmaya”
[iv] Research by Aher, Head, Department of Economics, Pandit J.Nehru Aurangabad titled ‘Distress and Relief: The Complex issues in farmers Committing Suicide.
