The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Report, published on 10 February 2010, revealed the statistics related to farmer suicide in 2008. According to the report, the five states most seriously hit by farmer suicide, including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, account for two-third of total rate of farmer suicides in the country. In India, an average of eight farmers committed suicide per day during 1997 to 2002, while the corresponding figure increased to 11 during 2003 to 2008.

Maharashtra, where Vidarbha is located, has recorded 3,802 farmer suicides in 2008, with a drop of 463, comparing to the figure in 2007 when the central government launched a massive loan waiver scheme to farmers and the additional relief packages to the 33 districts, including Vidarbha.

The NCRB Report also revealed that the total number of farmer suicides in the country in 2008 hit 16,196, with a decrease of 436 persons from 2007. However, economist Prof. K. Nagaraj commented that, due to the rapid decrease in population of farmers the apparent decrease in suicide rate did not show the alleviation of the hardship of farmers.

To urge the central government to take immediate action to alleviate the farmers' predicament, ACPP issued UA041008(9) in October 2004. In August 2006, UA060815(6) was issued in response to the situation in Vidarbha district of Maharashtra.

Sources:
Daily News & Analysis, the Hindu

Remedies for the plight of farmers in Vidarbha have been far from satisfactory over years. Under pressure from local and foreign groups, the state government recently planned to introduce a dairy development scheme by providing an alternative source of income for the distressed farmers in Vidarbha.

The proposal, initiated by Nitin Raut, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Minister (AHDD), targets the educated but unemployed youth of villages hit by suicide, self-help groups and farmers from backward communities.

According to the scheme, every farmer in the district will receive five cows or buffaloes and every village will have a pashu sevak (veterinary helper) who has a diploma in veterinary sciences. Beneficiaries will receive initial training from the agricultural and dairy development department. The officials from AHDD will take part in the training and seek markets for the beneficiaries’ products and will monitor their activities and progress. The proposal will be tabled in the next cabinet’s meeting.

To raise the concern on the widespread suicide in Vidarbha, as well as other parts of the country, ACPP issued UA060815(6) on August 2006.

Source:
Hindustan Times

As cautioned by experts, alleviation of the predicaments of Vidarbha farmers may only be a seasonal phenomenon and not the result of the Governmental relief package. (Please refer to the last UA updates.)

It was a black Diwali for farmers in Vidarbha this year. Mounting debts and repeated crop failure once again drove more farmers to commit suicide. The number of suicides in October has reached 53 (up to 21 October). Since January 2009 as many as 648 farmers have ended their lives in the region.

According to Kishore Tiwari, the president of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (Save Vidarbha Farmers, a local organization) which has been documenting farmers’ suicide since 2001, the recent pest attack badly hit the soya bean yield and the crop production was not more than 30%. In a letter sent to the Chief Secretary of government of Maharashtra in the end of October, Samiti warned that the farmers would face severe fodder and water crunch this season. The district collector of Yavatmal stated, that the rainfall was only 51% and the kharif crop (monsoon crop) particularly soya bean and cotton, was badly hit by the drought.

In August 2006, ACPP issued UA060815(6) to raise awareness of situation of Vidarbha farmers and its structural cause. UA041008(9) was also issued in October 2004 to caution the widespread of farmers’ suicide.

Source: the Hindustan Times

As a positive development on the situation of farmers in Vidarbha, the number of farmers’ suicide has decreased to 203 in the first half-year of 2009, while the number was 622 in the same period of 2008 with a sum total of 1,105 in the whole year.

The Congress led by United Progressive Alliance government had announced a populist loan waiver scheme in February 2008 to bail out about 36 million farmers who had borrowed money from various public sectors. While the scheme was cited as the key factor for the drop of the number of suicides, economists responded that no one can draw a direct link between the scheme and its impact on the general plight of the farmers. Experts pointed out that the decrease in farmers’ suicides could be due to the absence of drought; although the recent monsoons have also brought miseries to the farmers in the main cropping season.

Besides the accumulation of debts, there are other causes attributed to the predicaments of the farmers leading to mass suicides. ACPP issued UA060815(6) and UA041008(9)in August 2006 and October 2004, respectively, to draw attention to the issue of farmers’ suicides and urge the authorities to draw a comprehensive policy to remedy the situation in Vidarbha and other parts of India.


Source:
Times of India

It is reported that the relief packages, announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2006, has decreased the rate of farmer suicide in Vidarbha from two per day in 2008 to one per week in 2009. The key components of the packages are debt relief for the affected farmers and installment for irrigation facilities for the region. However, there is still room for improvement for the implementation of the packages, as Mr. Kishore Tiwari, the leader of a farmer advocacy group, said, “only 10% of the 70,000 wells sanctioned have been dug.”

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government is undertaking an eight-year project, called “Convergence of Agricultural Interventions in Six Distress Districts of Maharashtra”, as a concerted effort with the United Nations-affiliated International Fund for Agriculture. Through improving the farm practices and lowering the production costs, it is envisaged that the average annual income of each household will be increased from US$ 261 to US$ 435. The private sector and NGOs will ensure the sustenance of the project as they will be responsible not only for marketing of the crops but also agricultural capacity-building and sustainability. The project aims at creating 4,800 Self Help Groups for farmers and 15,000 for women, covering totally 349,800 households. Households belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, landless laborers, women and marginal farmers will be the targets.

The situation in Vidarbha is still far from satisfactory and it is not the only example of farmers’ distress in India. ACPP has been calling for attention to the farmers' situation in different states of India since 2004. In 2006, UA060815(6) was issued to urge the authorities to address the situation in Vidarbha.

Sources:
Times of India,
Indian Express

Although major political parties were bringing up the farmers suicide issue at the Lok Sabha elections, it is questionable how seriously they are tackling the problem. During the campaign period in March, 6 more farmers in Vidarbha region committed suicide due to the agrarian crisis, mounting debts and crop failure.

Kishore Tiwari, president of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, claims that despite the multi-crore relief package offered by the state and central government, farmers suicide continued as the aid failed to reach them. In spite of the seriousness of the problem, Tiwari remarked that none of the political parties was making farmers suicide the main issue in the elections. While the state was busy with elections, farmers continue to face hardships.

To highlight Vidarbha, which has the worst hit record of farmers suicide in India, ACPP issued UA060815(6) to focus on its main causes and to urge the central government to implement specific measures and regulations to address the situation. The general situation of suicide of farmers in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra was also raised in UA041008(9) to urge the authorities to redress the situation.

Source:
Hindustan Times

Vidarbha district in Maharashtra suffered the worst drought in 2008, with unprecedented crop failure due to depleted water table, in addition to the global economic meltdown and uncertainty in local markers over the prices of commodities like cotton and soya bean.  An average farmer lost between Rs2,000 and Rs7,000 per acre in those crops, and at least 900 farmer suicides were recorded in 2008.  According to Kishore Tiwari of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, “the ease at which farmers are speaking of suicide this time sounds disturbing.”

The National Crime Records Bureau data recorded 16,632 cases of farmers committing suicide in 2007, down from 17,060 in 2006.  Maharashtra state has the highest number of farmer suicides in the country at 4,238 which accounts for 38% of all farmers suicides in the country.  Although there is no separate figure for Vidarbha, it could be inferred to be the worst hit in the state, based on the records since 1995 that it has been accounting for a majority of the cases.  Suicides declined in Andra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, but rose in Karnataka and Chhattisgarh.

Hotline Asia has been monitoring the issue of suicide of farmers in India for several years and issued UA041008(9) in October 2004 to urge the authorities to implement timely resources and proper preventive strategies to address the situation.  To focus on the situation in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, UA060815(6) was issued in August 2006 when government announced a loan waiver package but failed to bring relief to farmers.  The UA also highlighted the deep agricultural crisis related to non-completion of irrigation projects planned in the 1990s.


Source:
Daily News and Analysis (DNA) Mumbai

Official government web sites recorded a decrease in suicide cases in the 6 cotton-producing districts of Vidarbha from 1,488 in 2006 to 1,230 in 2007. According to the source in September 2007, the suicide rate was dropping slowly, reportedly due to better monsoon and the packages offered by the state and central governments. The market also reportedly provided further relief in the latter half of 2007, with a higher price for cotton and soyabean. However, among all suicides probed by the government, only around 200 have been attributed to agrarian causes (loans, harassment for loan recovery, etc.). Yavatmal district remained at the top of suicide rate in the 6 districts covered.

At the height of suicide cases in 2006, Hotline Asia issued UA060815(6) to express concern for the plight of farmers in Vidarbha, and to urge the government to intervene with infrastructure and economic measures to remedy the situation. For more information, please refer to the UA.


Source:
Indian Express

In spite of promises by the Prime Minister and Finance Minister, relief was not brought to farmers in the Vidarbha region, as well as other districts where the situation has spread to.

According to Hindustan Times, the spread of farmers’ suicide to western Maharashtra state highlights the deep crisis in agriculture, which employs two-thirds of India’s work force. Most suicides occur in parts of the region which is not irrigated, due to non-completion of irrigation projects in 1996 which was supposed to bring relief to these drought-prone areas.

According to Sharad Joshi, Member of Parliament (MP) and founder of Shetkari Sanghatna - a liberal farmers organization, the wrong agricultural policies have made farming unprofitable. The country’s agriculture, which contributes to nearly one-fifth of the GDP and accounts for 15% of exports, shows its fate is important for overall growth and social stability, yet its growth lags far behind the overall economic growth of the country.

Over the past 5 years, 301 farmers have reportedly committed suicide in 5 districts in western Maharashtra, while an estimate of 3,966 cases have been reported in Vidarbha during the same period. In August 2007 alone, 110 suicides have been committed in Vidarbha due to debts and extreme poverty.

Meanwhile in October 2007, a protest rally was held to publicize the demands of thousands of Vidarbha cotton farmers who have committed suicide, which kicked off an indefinite non-violence resistance to demand for a higher price for cotton. More than 10,000 cotton farmers of the region participated in the rally at the epicenter of the suicides, Yavatmal district, demanding that the central government “bring back Gandhian policies of truth and on-violence to save Vidarbha farmers.”

According to the source, the root cause of the suicides of cotton farmers is a credit squeeze by legitimate banks that forced them to depend on illegal money-lenders, and the central government has also failed to provide minimum support price for the farmers.

In view of the growing local movements concerned about the plight of farmers in Vidarbha in 2006, Holtine Asia issued UA060815(6) to urge the government to commit to measures in terms of infrastructure and loan waivers, as well as fix a minimum price for cotton, to remedy the situation.


Source:
Hindustan Times
One Spirit

The situation of farmers' suicide in Vidarbha continues. In May, there were reports of three more farmers committing suicide, raising the toll to 40 in May alone. The main reasons are crop failure, debt burden and fear of not getting fresh loans for the upcoming season. Farmers continue to suffer from high input costs and poor minimum support prices.

Government records show that since January 2007, out of 29 suicides in Bidhar district of Karnataka state, 23 of them are related to sugarcane not being crushed on time. Suicides have peaked with the approaching end of the season at the end of May. Apparently, the surplus production led to a steep price drop which led to less than expected return on the investment, giving inadequate capital for the following year.

Previous measures and packages promised by the Prime Minister and Finance Minister did not bring much relief to these farmers.

Hotline Asia has been calling for attention to the farmers' situation in different states of India since 2004. Last year, in solidarity with the local movements concerned about the plight of farmers in Vidarbha region, UA060815(6) was issued in August, calling for specific measures by the government through commitment in infrastructure to remedy the situation.


Source:
Hindustan Times
Indian Express
Local Source
Press Trust of India

Reports of farmers' suicide continue, especially in Vidarbha. The Prime Minister's Office has arranged an Intelligence Bureau investigation of the relief aid distribution to the distressed farmers, following an affidavit in Apex Court that the local administration did not receive any amount of the package. (Intelligence investigation is generally put on the task by the Central government when there is a suspected scam.) The Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), a regional farmers' organization has also demanded the government to inform the media about the amount of relief package that has reached the farmers.

Meanwhile, a special package has been announced at the Finance Minister's budget speech on 22 March 2007, for farmers at Vidarbha, which included additional amounts for the coming year, compensation for the last season, and special assistance to 60,000 economically weaker farmers. Other schemes include grant for organic farming projects and subsidy to small and marginal farmers who have availed of the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme. This is reportedly an attempt to increase the percentage of expenditure to the agricultural sector, but there was nothing new for the distressed farmers, with no substantial measures to check suicides in Maharashtra state.

In response to the failure of the Prime Minister's package to bring solution to the plight of distressed farmers, Caritas India is launching a national campaign "Save the Farmers, Save India" in April 2007. "We will put pressure on the Central State and we will work as a catalyst and mobilize resources to reach out effectively to the families of farmers who have killed themselves," Archbishop Oswald Gracias of Mumbai and president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India stated. The Archdiocese of Mumbai's news weekly reported the Archbishop's appeal which urged the faithful to think of these farmers who were affected by drought of several years and not to be indifferent and insensitive towards the situation which may lead the entire community in similar predicament.

According to available statistics, more than 40 suicides have been reported in March 2007, 88 in February and 70 in January, making it more than 200 in this year, which is double of last year's figure in the same period. An estimated 1,864 farmers have committed suicide in Vidarbha region and around 5,000 farmers have killed themselves in India in the past six years.

In response to the situation and in solidarity with the local movements, Hotline Asia issued UA060815(6) in August 2006 to urge the authorities to provide specific concrete measures, including commitment in infrastructure, to remedy the situation. Similar situation of farmers in Kerala and Andrha Predesh States are also described in UA041008(9).


Source:
Press Note of VJAS (10 March)
Local farmers protest movement in Vidarbha
AsiaNews
Hindustan Times

The increasing suicide of farmers in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra continues to be an emergency situation that calls for an immediate solution. As of 5 November, it was recorded that more than 1,066 farmers have committed suicide in the region since June 2005. Between June and October 2006 alone, 516 farmers have committed suicide.

Concern groups believe that the relief packages of Rs 10,700 million (US$ 232 million) have not stopped the suicides because the Prime Minister, in visiting the region, has not taken the real demands of the distressed farmers seriously. They are requesting complete waiving of debt, better farmgate prices for cotton and other crops, and higher duty on imported agricultural commodity. It was alleged that the packages were formulated to benefit the industries and political lobby instead of the farmers. Without interest in addressing the basic demands, it is not possible to come up with pro-farmer policies.

In response to the situation, a strategic meeting was held on 12 November in New Delhi to formalize the nature and content of policies for distressed farmers. Meanwhile, a nationwide campaign was held in form of candle light vigils, to awaken the indifferent Central government to take concrete steps to address the issue of debt and suicide of farmers.

In response to the situation in Vidarbha, and to support local efforts, Hotline Asia issued UA060815(6) to support their demands for concrete measures, including setting minimum price for cotton and providing infrastructure for farmers to remedy the situation. For more information on the farmers’ situation and local actions, please refer to the UA.


Source:
Indian Food Policy
Focus on Global South