FARMERS SUICIDE-CASE STUDY OF VIDHARBA AND MARATHWADA

INTRODUCTION
In 1990s, India woke-up to a spate of suicide among farmers community. The first
state where suicides were reported was Maharashtra with particular reference to
Vidarbha region. A look at the figures given out by State Crime Records Bureau
makes it evident that farmers as a professional category is suffering from this
problem of high-suicide rates. Approximately 3.4 million cotton farmers occupy the
Vidarbha region (includes Akola, Buldana, Washim, Amravati, Nagpur,
Chandrapur, Gondia, Bhandara, Yavatmal, Gadchiroli, and Wardha districts) and
95% of them struggle with massive debt, according to the Vidarbha Jan Aandolan
Samiti (VJAS; Local Farmers' Support Network). Incidence of farmers ending their
lives in this region had hit epidemic like proportions recently.
Several studies undertaken in India have revealed the incidence of suicides to vary
from 8 to 43 per 100,000 population with a pronounced State-to-State variation,
the highest being in Kerala (27 per 100,000) while the lowest is in Manipur (0.02%
of total suicides). Due to its medico-legal nature, information on suicides is
available from national, state, and city crime record bureaus in various parts of
India. Majority suicide studies are based on police records with very few from the
hospital records and nil from population settings. Given the inadequacies of police
reporting - analysis and misclassification bias (suicides, homicides, and accidental
deaths) - the numbers may be an under reporting of the situation.

FARMERS' SUICIDE
Since long time, Indian farmers have been facing a number of socioeconomic
problems, such as harassment by moneylenders, inability to repay debts following
crop loss, inability to get medical treatment for the family, etc. The problem is
compounded by lack of positive and cooperative support from banks especially in
the face of inclement weather and market fluctuations. Economic plight of farmers
might be illustrated with the fact that a farmer having as much as 15 acres of land
and hence considered a well-off farmer in Vidarbha, with an average income of Rs
2700 per acre per annum, had an income just little more than what he would have
earned the legal minimum wage for all 365 days of the year.
Agriculture is the main stay of the state of Maharashtra. Total irrigated area which
had been used for cultivation is 33,500 sq kilometres. Average annual profit from
cultivation in the state of Maharashtra is the lowest of all Indian states, lagging far
behind the state with the highest - Jammu and Kashmir (Rs. 4363 vs. Rs. 22,770).
The reasons for such a pathetic state of farmers include below average rainfall,
heavy load-shedding, lack of small irrigation projects, poverty, pressure of private
moneylenders and banks, ignorance of ancillary occupations for raising income,
employment problem of the farmers' children, decreasing interest of the young
generation in farming, rapid urbanization, apathy and lack of political willpower
toward welfare and development of the region, etc. Cumulative effect of all these is
evident on the psyche of the people of Vidarbha in general and farmers in
particular. Farmers are hence prompted to turn to local moneylenders (sahukars)
who charged them a much higher rate of interest. In fact, moneylenders proved to
be the most common and easy source of loans for the farmer (28.4%) followed by
loans procured from relatives (22.93%) while only 3.94% turned to land
development banks.
MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM
In a country of 70 million farmers, it is 10 in every 100,000 farmers committing
suicide. This is higher than the total national suicide rate. The number of farmers
committing suicide in India is more than twice of the total number of suicides being
committed in the top 100 countries on the suicide list! This indeed is worrying
factor. The Government's measures including waiving off loans, construction of
dams, and other assisting measures have not produced positive results so far.
In India, the national data show that suicide rate was 9.7/lakh population in 1995.
The population of Vidarbha is 12 lakhs, so number of suicides should be around
116 per year. But according to Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, suicides in Vidarbha
is 600 in 2007 till June, 1065 in 2006, 572 in 2005, 620 in 2004, 170 in 2003, and
122 in 2002. These figures definitely suggest suicide rate in Vidarbha is high since
2002 in comparison to national suicide figure. A total of 7000 farmers have
committed suicide during the last 3 years. That is an average of over six farmers
committing suicide per day! More than 2190 per year. Farmers' suicides in
Vidarbha in the last 3-4 years have already crossed 2500 causing a great anxiety.
Wardha district in particular is also facing this problem with increasing number of
claims for government ex gratia grant on steady rise.[9] In 2008 till April alone
there were 26 claims, as compared to 29 in 2004, 26 in 2005, 154 in 2006, and
128 in 2007. Subsequently Hon. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Vidarbha
and promised a package of Rs. 11,000 crores to be spent by the government in
Vidarbha. The families of farmers who had committed suicide were also offered an
ex-gratia grant to the tune of Rs. 1 lakh by the government. This figure kept on
varying, depending on how much pressure the government was facing from the
media and the opposition parties for being uncaring toward the farmers' plight.

Drought in Vidarbha and Marathwada - Farmer Suicides in Maharashtra

Famer suicides in India have been a cause of concern for over a half decade. State
like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra have become hotspots for famer
suicides in India. Farmer suicides are an unfortunate result of the agrarian distress
plaguing the rural economy. Farmers' suicide is evidently a phenomenon.
Marathwada and Vidarbha complex regions in Maharashtra have recorded high
numbers of farmer very suicides, and an attempt to calculate the number of and
the suicide mortality suicides rate is the first step towards gaining an
understanding of the in-depth prevalence and seriousness of the issue. Despite
being easy to quantify, it is hard to decipher the reasons behind the suicide death.
An analysis of the data reveals the relationship between farmer suicides and issues
such as monsoon failure, water shortage, and drought, absence of social security,
robust crop procurement mechanisms and increasing debt burdens. It is estimated
that during the period between 1990 and 2010. the years of lite lost on account of
farmer suicides increased by 12%. During the same period, India moved from the
20th to the 8th position in the global index of life lost due to suicides (Mishra
2014). The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) estimate for 2010 shows that India
accounts for 35.6% the global years of life lost due to suicides (Mishra 2014).
Compared to the rest of Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha have many socio-
economic characteristics pointing to their severe economic backwardness. The
farmers in both these regions are largely dependent upon cash crops like Bt cotton
soybeans and tur. However, both regions have one of the lowest irrigation coverage
rates at 14.08 % (Marathwada) and 12.82 % (Vidarbha).

Drought Prone Areas and Commercial Crops

The agricultural economy of Maharashtra is characterized by its vast drought
prone. Areas. Approximately 20,000 villages in 20 districts in the state are always
affected by drought. Most of these belong to the Marathwada and Vidarbha region.
Every five years or so, Maharashtra experiences a drought. There are large tracts of
cultivable land that are not irrigated. Farmers of the state continue to face frequent
distress conditions owing to the droughts and erratic monsoon.
Crops such as Bt cotton are often lost because of fake seeds and insufficient
irrigation facilities. Bt cotton was supposed to be bollworm-resistant, but now, it
has become susceptible to it. These regions lack public extension services and
institutional mechanisms that inform farmers of the high risks involved with
cultivating Bt cotton in under rain-fed conditions. Lack of irrigation facilities falters
the farmers' expectations about yield and income flow and leaves them under
financial stress. Similarly, Bt seeds are sold in these areas by multinational
companies at higher prices than indigenous varieties produced in Gujarat, a
neighbouring state The eastern regions of Vidarbha have a higher tribal population,
and cultivation of commercial crops like cotton is almost non-existent there. As a
result, the debt burden mains low. and the suicide rate is also lower. 97 A large
number of suicides have also been reported in Marathwada and Vidarbha because
of rural and agricultural credit problems.
Since the Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme of 2008 were
implemented in Maharashtra, the suicide death toll has decreased significantly.
Nevertheless, by 2012 there had been a spike in suicides among farmers. There
were an increased number of suicides in Maharashtra due to drought in 2014.
Farmers in these regions lost most of their crops in 2015 due to fake Bt cotton
seeds. This crisis was further aggravated by the glut in 2016. State farmers had by
then experienced an unprecedented lack of effective state intervention and
procurement.

Eligible Versus Ineligible Suicides

Farmers' suicides in Maharashtra are complicated by the categorization of suicides
as eligible or ineligible suicides, which robs many families of compensation from
the state. Therefore, only the family of a deceased person with a valid 7/12 abstract
in their name is eligible for ex-gratia compensation of 1 lakh. If a farmer dies by
suicide, but does not possess the 7/12 abstract in their name, then their death is
not recorded as a farmer suicide. Not having land in the name of every cultivator or
family member is a common practice in villages. Additionally, there are cultivators
who cultivate on leased land or whose land is owned by an elderly family member,
like a father or grandfather. In general, owning land in the name of a female is
virtually impossible, but the list of farmers' suicide is not exclusive of female
suicide and since females do not have their name in 7/12, they are classified as
ineligible farmer suicides. By declaring a significant number of farmer suicides
ineligible, the total number of farmer suicides in the state is reduced. Even in cases
where the suicide is verified as a genuine farmer suicide, the family has to pay an
amount to process the case for the ex-gratia payment from the government.

DISCUSSION
Farmers are in severe distress and there is an urgent need for increased public
awareness among farmers regarding agricultural policies both financial and those
extended by the government. If given an option, 40% farmers said that they would
like to quit agriculture and take up some other carrier. It is a complex task and
requires more than just throwing money at it. Surely, other measures will be
needed to set the rural economy on track. Marketing and storage infrastructure will
have to be built. New crop patterns that answer to emerging needs will have to be
introduced. Better rural credit delivery system will have to be evolved. Self-help
groups need to be encouraged.
Finally, suicide should not be viewed as only mental health problem, which is a
common notion among people. The various factors which play are: (1) chronic
indebtedness and inability to pay interest accumulated over the years, (2) economic
decline leads to complications and family disputes, depression, and alcoholism,
etc., (3) compensation following suicide (death) helps family to repay debt, (4) grain
drain, and (5) the rising costs of agricultural inputs and falling prices of
agricultural produce.
In the Indian situation, the causes are multifactorial, cumulative, repetitive and
progressive, leading an individual to a state of helplessness, worthlessness and
hopelessness, obviously influenced by his social strengths, and weaknesses along
with his mental health status.

Conclusion
Between January 2001 and July 2018, 23,701 farmers from 18 districts of
Vidarbha and Marathwada committed suicide. The two regions of Vidarbha and
Marathwada accounted for over 83.74 percent of the state's farmer suicides. Poor
state agricultural extension services and the predominance of non-institutional
credit mechanisms in rural financial markets indicate state withdrawal from rural
and agricultural life. Therefore, the provision of socio-psychological support by
non-governmental organizations would be a deaths significant step towards
decreasing suicide among famers. In order to solve the problem, agricultural
producers in suicide prone areas should be helped in a way that would build their
ability to produce and market their products. A timely intervention of a
procurement mechanism during the glut would be a face-saving move on the part
of the government