Agriculture is largest and most sector of the Indian economy. More than 60% of the people depend upon agriculture & about 68% live on it in villages. According to the official estimate of 1991 census 40. 4% of rural population is estimates to live below the povety line against 28. 1% in urban areas. According to the royal agricultural commission, ‘An Indian is born in debt, lives in debt, dies in debt and passes it over to the successors after his death is from to a very great exent even to today. ‘
Farmers are living in such condition that they need money to purchases bullocks, agriculture implements, seeds. They need money to fulfill various social obligations and meets the requirements of social customs, tradition, festivals, marriages, education, health, etc. But due unavailability of water, uncertainty of nature. Failure of crop or glut in market him into a quagmire of indebtedness.
Some of them think that life is not worth living any more and end up committing suicide. Suicide by farmers on such a large scale in India is perphaps unprecended in history of Indian agriculture. Even during the 1950’s when the Gorwala commitee reported the famers were heavily ondebted to villages money-lenders or ‘sahukars’.
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But we never heard of farmers suicides during those days. Farmers suicides in Vidarbha region and Maharashtra state, have assumed serious proportions, attracting the assertion of PM of India. The UPA Govt. of the centre in its now budget has announced 60, 000 corers schemes to waive off farmer loan and state govt. also implemented it. After the package, the suicides cases not stopped. In current situation on suicide of farmers in Maharashtra we should identify its relationship with some social-economic factors.
In paticular some question arise about it. What is the nature of the current cultivation organzation? Is it also associated with rural credit scenario? Is there a withdrawal of states support from rural agrarian scenario? Is there is a geographical concentration of suicides? It is high among certain social group? Is indebtedness an important stressor? Actually many social economic causes are responsible for it. The issue of series of farmer suicides is much more complex, as it get mixed up with purely politics and vote polotics. So the social economic aspect should be consider, be identified at macro or micro level, Because it is difficult to identity all posible factors.
Apart from it following are some suggestion which can be reduce future suicides of farmers
- Increase in water availabilty through watershed development,
- Raising productivity of agriculture,
- Changes in cropping pattern,
- Soil improvement,
- Self help group programme,
- Agriculture production price policy,
- Opportunity of regular electric supply, industry & non farm employment,
- Change in cropping pattern, control of Govt. on private moneylenders,
- Insurance schemes, special loan for marriages, education,
- Agriculture education and farmers counseling, MLA, MP,
- Local leaders contribution & cooperation.
Thus the suicides of farmers in Maharashtra can be reduced and rural people as well as nation will set the U. N. millennium development goal.
References
- https://www.ndtv.com/topic/farmer-suicide
- https://www.indiatoday.in/mail-today/story/modis-nuisance-choir-should-do-field-research-on-rural-distractions-not-target-farmers-by-partach-naikarticle-by-sai-manoj-varner-1459794-2019-02-06
- https://www.deccanherald.com/specials/farmer-suicides-a-growing-menace-in-india-777206.html
- https://scroll.in/article/951254/the-breaker:seven-farmers-toiled-away-and-took-their-lives-every-day-in-2019
