Farmers suicide – reasons and solutions

Situation Analysis: More than 70 % of our population depends on agriculture for its living. However, the farmers’ suicide rate in India is much higher than other developing countries. Karnataka is one such state where farm suicides ranges somewhere between 10000 and 14000 annually. The most prominent reasons are the indebtedness over the farmers, pressure from landlords and moneylenders to payback loan and the failure of the financial institutes to provide credit.There is often mental and physical harassment by these moneylenders who generally charge interest rate from 25 to 60%.

This therefore contributes to the loss of self-respect and esteem of the farmers and finally suicide. The suicide pattern suggests suicide happened at flourishing areas. In fact the suicide rate have been highest in Bangalore city area. Hence, it can be concluded that Suicide is no more a drought related phenomena and not common only in poor areas. Prolonged illness and unknown reasons have also contributed to high suicide rates. Inability to pay back loans due to consecutive crop failure years, compulsion to reduce prices due to free imports and uneven monsoon have also resulted in farmers suicides.

Therefore it can be safely assumed that just poverty (contributes only 3-5% in overall suicides) doesn’t result to suicides in Karnataka but there are more diverse and complicated reasons like poor governmental infrastructural facilities for agriculture. The suicide rate in Karnataka is being attributed to several reasons. There are many remedies that are being undertaken by Government to curb this. Hence, is there a gap between what is required as a remedy and what is presently done in the present scenario is the problem that needs to be answered.Most of the suicides occur due to private money lenders.

Hence more comprehensive measures needs to be undertaken like an exhaustive agriculture Insurance scheme with special attention towards cash crops. Other measures could be commissioning of anti-exploitation authority that can protect farmers against high interest rates and harassment by private moneylenders, making it sure that farmers are protected from spurious quality seeds, pesticides so that there are minimum chances of crop failure.The Problem: Is there dissonance between what is required as a remedy and what is presently done to prevent farmer suicides in the present scenario? If yes what can be done to minimize this gap?Options available: 1. An exhaustive agriculture Insurance scheme with special attention towards cash crops like cotton, coffee and sugarcane 2. An anti-exploitation authority to protect farmers against private moneylenders and spurious agriculture inputs. 3.

There is no gap between the existing and the desired and so nothing new needs to be done.Criteria for evaluation: 1. Effect on Farmers 2. Effect on Government 3. Impact on common peopleEvaluation of the Options: Option 1: Criteria 1: This will lead to protection and hedging for high investment crops and make farmers at ease in case of any natural calamity, external factors, and crop failures. But this doesn’t protect them against the exploiting moneylenders and hence cannot be the complete solution.

Criteria 2 and 3: Government already has a similar scheme and adding more features would be an easy and promising affair. The Farmers after getting hedged would not charge high rates of the produce thereby saving the common people from inflation.Option 2: Criteria 1: The biggest reasons for farmers’ suicides are indebtedness and pressure from private moneylenders in Karnataka. Protection from this would certainly minimize the suicide rate and even protect the farmers against the risk of crop failure due to watch on spurious inputs. Criteria 2 and 3: Government would have to incur a minimal cost in commissioning such authority and more responsibilities could be given to the existing authorities. Reduction in suicide rates is something Government has been aiming for.

Farmers getting loans at low interest rate and protection against false quality inputs would automatically make more output at low price and thereby saving the common people.Option 3: Criteria 1: Doing nothing is not a solution to curb suicide rates. This rampant suicide rate has been inflicting lethal blow to farmer community. It is also absolutely clear that there is a gap between the actual and desired.

Criteria 2 and 3: This option would let the situation worsen for the Government and people both. The farmer community is losing faith in Government and common people would be affected due to low availability and high prices of daily items.Recommendation: It is hence recommended that to commission an authority to protect the farmers against exploiting moneylenders and spurious seeds, fertilizers and pesticides and also to provide loans at lower interest from governmental financial institutes.Action Plan: 1. Commission a new Government authority or upgrade the existing authority that monitors all the private moneylender in the state.

2. The responsibility of the authority will also be to make sure that good quality inputs are available to farmers at government prices. 3. Each district to have a branch office of this authority and farmers to be made loans and other benefits available.