Political Diary

New Delhi, 25 April 2015

Rising Farmers Suicide

WILL MODI HEED THEIR MANN KI BAAT?

By Poonam I Kaushish

Till yesterday nobody had heard of Gajendra Singh. Today, he has become the national icon of India’s humungous agriculture failure. This 42-year-old farmer from Rajasthan committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in full public glare at AAP’s farmers (sic) rally in New Delhi Wednesday last. All saw, yet, no one stepped forward to stop or rescue Singh. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ignored the farmer, continued his speech to a cheering crowd even as the police jeered at him. Aachaa, woh mar gaya kya? Epitomising the country’s ennui to its farmers.

Then, started the political nautanki. Our netagan did what they do best --- pointing accusing fingers at each other, shouting their lungs out and created pandemonium in Parliament to show their heart-felt concern and solidarity with India’s kisan. Do they have a heart?

First of the mark was the Opposition who raised anti-Government slogans in the Lok Sabha leading in first an adjournment of the House and then the Congress walking out. Followed Prime Minister Modi who expressed his “anguish” asserting, “The problem is old, deep-rooted and widespread, we have to seek collective solutions….” Then two days later Kejriwal apologized.  

Bhashangiri and frozen clichés over all made a beeline for Dausa. While Congress and BJP leaders attended Singh’s funeral, AAP donated Rs 10 lakhs to the bereaved family and shed tears on prime-time TV. The NDA announced a police enquiry and the Congress demanded a judicial probe. Good deed done it was back to business as usual, another issue and manipulative politics.   

Undeniably all talk big about kisans, darlings they constitute a large vote-bank, but do little. Think. Over 65% of the population lives and works in agriculture, or activities thereof. But, over the last 25 years the share of farming in the economy has shrunk from over 33% to 15%. Leading to public investment in kheti-baari steadily falling.

The harsh reality is that unseasonal rains have destroyed crops in over 93.81 lakh hectares in northern India alone till date. In some regions drought-like situations prevail with too little rain resulting in over 40% crop failures due to lack of irrigation, while floods in others have lead to destruction of harvest.

See how sudden rains in February and March and unexpected cyclone in Bihar last week resulted in over 14 lakh hectares out of a total of 32 lakh hectares rabi and maize crops being damaged across the State and over 11 lakh hectares of wheat totaling 22 lakh tonnes damaged in 38 districts. Already five farmers have committed suicide and another three died of heart attack. 

Shamefully, in the last twenty years alone over 346,538 farmers committed suicide, an average of 16,500 casualties annually or 45 deaths every day according to the National Crime Records Bureau. However, agricultural experts aver the actual number of suicides is treble of this. In Punjab, the country’s food bowl in 11 districts till three years ago almost 6,926 farmers and farm labourers committed suicide.

Further, the farm sector is crippled by high indebtedness.  While the all-India aggregate rests at 51.9%, Andhra Pradesh has the highest share of indebted agricultural households 92.9% followed by Southern brethrens Telengana 89.1, Tamil Nadu 82.5, Kerala and Karnataka at 77.7% and 77.3%. Shockingly, Rajasthan is next with 61.8% and Punjab at 53.2%.   

Thanks to lack of vital reforms in this sector, be it in procurement, storage, crop insurance and marketing of produce. Add to this, unstable prices, fragmentation of land holdings and the farmers’ over-reliance on monsoons for a good harvest.

What is the way out? The Government should urgently expand formal financing routes for farmers by opening exclusive banks on the lines of the women's bank to help tide over the agrarian crisis facing the country. States RBI Governor Rajan 8% of total lending should be given to small and marginal kisans. Why should they depend on arhitiyas?

Alternatively, like once earlier, the NDA could think of a one-time loan waiver. Besides, crops should be insurance whereby both the Centre and State Governments along-with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) procure all foodgrain, irrespective of quality, brought by farmers to the mandis.

Pertinently, the MS Swaminathan Committee report recommended the minimum support price (MSP) should be at least 50% more than the weighted average cost of production. Plainly, the procurement prices of agricultural produce should be set as the entire cost of production with a 50 per cent profit quotient. Whereby, the “net take home income” of farmers should be comparable to those of civil servants.

Additionally, arrangements should be made to ensure MSP at the right time and at the right place, particularly in the areas within the scope of the National Rainfed Area Authority. More. A Market Price Stabilisation Fund should be established jointly by Central and State Governments and financial institutions to protect farmers during periods of violent fluctuations in prices; as in the case of perishable commodities like onion, potato, tomato.

Emphasis should be laid on modernizing irrigation facilities and ramp up research and technology both logistically and financially. Alongside, the Centre must institute an efficient marketing facility for agro-processing to become a profitable venture. It could also explore greater livelihood options outside the farming sector.

Also, small and marginal farmers, landless and agricultural workers should be covered under a comprehensive National Social Security Scheme to ensure livelihood security which would take care of expenses like sickness and hospitalization, maternity, life insurance and old age pension. This should also include protection from occupational hazards. For instance, in coastal States fisher families should get a subsistence allowance of at least Rs 1500 during the “closed season” period.

Alas, since Independence we have witnessed speeches, various policy measures and sops being announced pre-poll and rubbished post poll bringing things to such a pass that the Swaminathan report continues to gather dust. India’s kisan needs a cohesive strategy along-with an urgent need to promote the agro-processing industry by working on supply chain requirements like cold storage infrastructure.

All in all, our leaders need to bring policies to improve the economic viability of farming by ensuring that farmers earn a “minimum net income”, and ensure that agricultural progress is measured, by the advance made in improving that income. Focus more on the economic well-being of the women and men feeding the nation than just on production. Changing times and erratic weather conditions demand “out of the box solutions. Will Modi heed the kisans Maan ki Baat? INFA

(Copyright, India News and  Feature Alliance)