Question

Answer the following question in detail in about 150-200 words:

Elaborate the causes of farmers' suicide and suggest measures to solve this problem.

Answer 1

Causes of Farmers' Suicide:

1. Impact of environmental deterioration: Human beings have always endeavoured to maximise returns from nature. It has ended up in deterioration of natural environment because of deforestation, over exploitation of natural resources, destruction of natural spaces in the name of ‘development’. Human intervention has led to increased pollution and the emission of greenhouse gases that has caused depletion of the ozone layer, consequential melting of polar caps and unforeseen climate change.
2. Impact of globalisation: Thus, the impact of globalisation has led to increase in marketisation and the resultant rise in consumerism. Dumping of agricultural produce in India due to free-trade policy has adversely affected pricing of local products.
3. Indebtedness: Farmers who take loans from government agencies, private individuals or organisations, are often unable to repay loans and its interest, if the crops fail for one or more seasons. The impoverished farmers live a life steeped in debt. This weighs heavily on farmers, many of whom are men and sole earning members of their families. The psychological burden of being indebted passes on to the next generation. In situations of despair, many farmers are known to end their lives. By having to purchase expensive seeds every year from the market, the farmer is forced to seek additional loans. This pushes several farmers to bankruptcy.
4. Ignorance: Farmers may not be aware of new technologies and farming methods. This lack of awareness becomes an impediment to their progress.
5. Disparity of land holdings: Farmers in India’s villages belong to various categories such as large farmer, medium farmer, small farmer and landless labourers. The zamindars are farmers with large land holdings. However the majority of land holdings of most farmers are medium to small. Zamindars have greater economic security than farmers with small land-holdings. Landless agricultural labourers are the largest section of farmers who depend on others’ land for survival.
6. Dowry system: The custom of dowry has wreaked havoc with farmers in rural India. Often, they end up borrowing money from institutions or money lenders on the pretext of agricultural needs, but end up utilising the loans for personal purposes such as giving in to dowry demands. This social evil continues despite the law which treats its practice as a criminal offence. This has been seen in the case of suicides in the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions of Maharashtra.

Measures to tackle the problem of farmer suicides

1. Support to farmers in distress: It is necessary for farmers to have support systems in place, to help them tide over various crises caused by failed monsoons, crop failure, indebtedness etc.
2. Insurance: Life insurance for distressed farmers and their families as well as crop insurance against crop failure, failure of monsoons, destruction of agricultural produce by locusts or viruses etc. should be provided to farmers.
3. Provision for direct sales from farmers to buyers: Farmers work in rural areas but their crop must reach various parts of India. This brings in many middlemen who operate between the farmers and markets located far away. Middlemen and agents are known to grab a large share of the profits leaving a meagre sum for especially small and marginal farmers. Removal of the need for the systems of middlemen will be a step towards eliminating such forms of exploitation.
4. Water harvesting: Since water is an essential requirement for farming, and there prevails a repeated pattern of floods and droughts in various parts of the country, effective measures for water harvesting and water management, are necessary. It will help to channelise and use water resources with great discretion. The responsibility of water harvesting cannot rest only with the government but with various organisations and the efforts of all people.
5. Role of Banks: Banks and Cooperative Credit Societies need to set up their systems in farmer-friendly ways when it comes to the disbursement of loans to farmers and also to encourage a ‘saving’ habit among farmers. Farmers have to resort to private money lenders due to procedural difficulties in obtaining loans from banks, and other established financial organisations. Under such circumstances, debt-waiver schemes declared by the government have little or no value. They remain in a perpetual state of indebtedness and at the mercy of private money-lenders.
6. Multi-cropping: This would be an alternative to monoculture. There needs to be a strong support system from the government to provide training to farmers as well as supply good quality seeds, fertilisers and pesticides at subsidised and affordable rates.