This was a report that i had done for The Hindu (Hyderabad).It will be hopefully published shortly.
D.V.L Padma Priya
HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh’s inclusion in the Big-five of the farmer suicide states in India seems to have found more evidence in the form of a recent study released by NGOs and farmers’ associations in the state.
In the last Kharif season, which lasted from August to November, 69 farmers reportedly committed suicide in the Adilabad district only. What’s more alarming is the fact that this number grew to 93 by December 15. The drought-induced failure of the Kharif crop and mounting debts are stated to be the reasons for the spate of suicides being reported from various mandals of the district.
A recent committee constituted by Deccan Development Society, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, PEACE and other organisations came up with a study report that reveals a staggering number of farmer suicides. The committee, comprising members from the Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham, visited around eight families in various mandals after reading about consistent suicides being reported in the local media, informed G.V.Ramanjaneyulu, the Director of the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture.
“In the first week of November alone, over 16 suicides were reported in local newspapers and that’s when we put together this committee to ascertain the facts. The committee came up with a report confirming 69 cases of suicide during the Kharif season,” Mr. Ramanjaneyulu told The Hindu.
Unfortunately, BT-cotton, once again has emerged as the killer crop. Majority of the farmers who took the extreme step had taken large amounts of loans, at staggering rates, from private usurers and micro-finance operators to cultivate cotton. The report states that though on an average 1.65 lakh hectares of land is under cotton cultivation in the district, this had increased by 20 per cent in 2009. Thus a total of 1.90 lakh hectares of land reportedly came under cotton cultivation, with almost 80 per cent of it under BT cotton hybrids.
G.Bhojanna of Lokeshwara Village in Lokeshwaram mandal of the district is one such farmer who ended his life last November due to mounting debts incurred on his failed cotton crop.
“His combined loan for two years amounted to Rs.3.5 lakh, and every month, he had to suffer the ignominy of the moneylenders’ visits to our home,” says Bhojanna’s 18 year old son G. Gangaprasad. A college student, Gangaprasad is forced to spend more time working as a daily wage worker in order to support his family. Bhojanna’s widow Indramma, a beedi worker, has to pitch in too with her meager income.
The interest rate on private loans ranges between 24 and 36 per cent, informs Rajasekhara Reddy, one of the committee members.
“The microfinance companies collect the interest amount every month. For a farmer this is a huge burden since farming doesn’t guarantee regular income,” he explains.
Confirming the report by the committee, S. Malla Reddy, vice president, Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham says over 93 suicide deaths were recorded by the Sangham by December 15, 2009.
“We had brought this to the notice of the District Collector too through a memorandum. However, the Collector approved ex-gratia assistance for only 18 deaths that he considered genuine. After we submitted our list, the assistance was extended to an additional 32 families,” he said.
The prolonged dry spell forced the farmers to re-seed thrice for gap filling, increasing their cost of cultivation, says Mr. Reddy. Each bag of BT cotton seed costs around Rs.750.
“The minimum cost of cultivation per acre is around Rs.12, 000. So a farmer would require a harvest of six quintals per acre merely to break-even,” he points out.
The government’s Minimum Support Price (MSP) did not help the farmers either. Though the MSP for cotton in Kharif 2009 stood at Rs.3000, the low yield-- almost half of the previous year-- pushed the farmers deeper into debts, the report points out.
The report also brings out the ever-increasing role of “dalaals” or intermediaries, who deal in “packages”, making the assessment of the loan amount really difficult for the farmer.
“The ‘dalals’ provide everything from seeds to fertilisers almost in the form a package and so the farmers are not sure of the cost of the material that is loaned to them,” he said.
Special thanks to Mahim for editing my report.
