Cong member flags Vidarbha farmers' suicide issue in RS

A Congress member today voiced concern in Rajya Sabha over growing number of suicides by farmers' in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.
Raising the issue through a private members' resolution, Vijay Darda (Cong) said that during the past 17 years, close to three lakh farmers have committed suicide in the region and the menace has become an order of the day.
Vidarbha is mainly a rain-fed farming region, where crops after affected because of vagaries of monsoon which makes the living of farmers unstable and difficult," he said.
Around 85 per cent of the agricultural land in Vidarbha are non-irrigated and since the soil is black, farmers mainly opt for cotton cultivation.

"On an average, a farmer produces an average of three quintals of cotton per acre and earns around Rs 15,000 but his input costs are anywhere between Rs 10,000-15,000 per acre," he said.
Dadra also said minimum support price (MSP) for cotton and soyaben should match the cost of production with a 50 per cent profit margin.

Noting that the loss-making agrarian activity due to hostile pricing of each crop and open exploitation of trade led to prevailing debt and despair among farmers, he urged the government to stop recovery of loans to farmers at the earliest.
Instead, he suggested the government should "compel" all financial institutions to lend money to farmers in the region at the maximum rate of five per cent.

He also said a package of Rs 200 crore should be created to provide financial assistance to farmers' widows and for imparting higher education facilities to their wards.
Dadra pitched for setting up agro-based industries in the region, comprising 11 districts, to ensure alternative employment opportunities for them.