White revolution goes awry

It was supposed to start a white revolution in the six most troubled districts of Maharashtra's Vidarbha, where no less than 2,000 farmers have committed suicide in the last six years. But one year after over 14,000 cows of superior breeds were distributed to farmers as part of a relief package announced by the prime minister, the cows have become a huge liability for the beneficiaries.

The Maharashtra government's monthly magazine, Lokrajya, said in its July issue that milk production in the districts had risen 37 per cent after 14,221 high-breed cows were distributed to farmers in these six districts and comes to the conclusion that the financial woes of farmers could soon be history.

However, an analysis of the Lokrajya numbers reveals the true story. It says production in the period has gone up from 44,600 litres a day to 61,200 litres "" a rise of 16,600 litres. With 14,221 high-breed cows, it works out to just 1.16 litres a day per new cow.

Kishore Tiwari, president of the Vidarbha Janaandolan Samiti, said farmers had to spend Rs 85-95 on each cow every day as there was a shortage of fodder in the region, while the additional milk fetched them a return of only Rs 50-55. Clearly, the farmers are spending more on the upkeep of the cows than what they earn.

Claiming farmers had started selling these cows to private dairy owners or even butchers, Tiwari said this was yet another case of the government putting the cart in front of the horse.

Till 1995, most Vidarbha farmers produced cotton and coarse grains like jowar and bajra to feed their families and cattle. They started shifting to cotton after seed companies flooded the market with their low-cost seeds. Once cotton prices started to decline in the world markets in the late-1990s, the farmers did not have enough grain to feed their family or cattle. Neither did they have enough cash to repay loans. This drove many of them to end their lives, Tiwari said.

An official closely associated with designing the relief package said the government was ready to plug any loophole that might be there in the scheme. "We are also following up with the Centre to find out ways to give assistance to farmers for fodder for the animals," he added. Meanwhile, the farmers of Vidarbha still grapple with the problem of superior cows.