High input cost leading to crop failure, debts, and eventually extreme stress conditions are the main reasons behind farmers committing suicide in Madhya Pradesh.
Against the government “findings” that insulting arguments between husband and wife and poor mental health conditions were sole reasons for rising suicide incidents among the farmer community, a two-member (both are retired state agriculture department officials) human rights expert committee report submitted to state human rights commission recently is likely to contest the government claims. It may reveal that how farmers face harassment from bankers and how state authorities chew fat over farmers’ issues. The report will soon be made public.
Speaking to Business Standard an expert of the committee said, “We have talked to hundreds of farmers to extract prime reasons that instigate farmers to take extreme step. The gist of our discussion is that state farmers are under severe financial strain as input cost in farming is very high. There certainly might be other reasons for rising suicide incidence in farmers’ community but all lead to single reason; failure in agriculture practices. The farmers need power, irrigation and funds which are out of their reach and when farmers do not find solution to their small problems, when they runs from pillars to post and face a hostile government machinery they feel intense strain. That extreme strain leads to suicide.”
The expert also added, “Besides bureaucratic machinery and bankers, even scientists have not done much to avail to farmers.” The committee has also submitted its guidelines for the government to take urgent and immediate steps for betterment of the state farmers and arrest the rising suicide cases.
“State needs to adopt most modern agri techniques and devise most effective solutions like arranging alternate sources of income to pare the input cost in agriculture. Further bankers need to be more practical in their approach than they are while funding to priority sector,” the expert told BS.
Taking a suo moto cognisance the state Human Rights Commission had asked its own staff to investigate the suicide incidences in farmer community. The prima facie report of the staff also contested the government’s ascertaining false reasons that farmers’ commit suicide due to family issues or poor mental health.
Later in April this year the commission had constituted an expert committee that reached micro level through field visit and welcomed phone calls and written statements to investigate cases. The commission had also discussed with senior officials of the departments like power, cooperatives, revenue, agriculture production commissioner, animal husbandry, rural industries, civil supplies, panchayat and rural development, fisheries and dairy that claims almost sixty per cent of the total state budget in the interest of the farmers and asked them what they have done for betterment of farmers.
“It would spill beans how bankers lure innocent and illiterate farmers with their sugar-coated schemes,” a source in human rights commission said. The report will contest the government’s lie that farmers who have committed suicide during the last Rabi season were either mentally challenged or facing patty family issues. Madhya Pradesh is among five Indian states where farmers suicide incidences are on the rise. As many as 89 farmers had committed suicide during the three months of the last Rabi season.
