Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Experts: Monetary loss cause of farmer suicides -Ashok Pradhan

Experts: Monetary loss cause of farmer suicides -Ashok Pradhan

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Oct 29, 2015   modified Modified on Oct 29, 2015
-The Times of India

BHUBANESWAR: Experts feel that notwithstanding individual causes behind farmers' suicides, so many of them resorting to the extreme step shows that the average peasant in the state is in severe monetary distress. Unofficial sources put the death toll at 40 in the past two months.

"Some of the suicides may turn out to be for reasons other than agricultural loss. But, the larger picture indicates financial constraints are driving those in distress to choose death," said Anup Dash, a retired professor of sociology at Utkal University. Crop loss, debt burden, exploitative moneylenders and pressure to run families were cited as causes behind most deaths.

BJD spokesperson Samir Ranjan Dash said the government is taking all possible steps to mitigate farmers' sufferings. "Painting all suicides as being loss-driven is not right," he said. The Naveen Patnaik government boasts of introducing a separate budget for agriculture - the amount was Rs 10,900 crore this financial year - and formulating a new agriculture policy in 2013. It also launched the Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojna that promises a health insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh to each farming family. But these measures don't seem to have had the desired results if the rising suicides by farmers are any indication. Naveen recently announced a Rs 1,000-crore package for the drought-affected.

According to the Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households by the National Sample Survey Organization (70th round), around 57.5% agricultural households in the state had pending loans (compared to an all-India average of 51.9%). The average monthly income of a farmer family in the state stood at Rs 4,976 compared to the national average of Rs 6,426.

The Odisha Economic Survey 2014-15 said agriculture, which grew at 12.3% during 2012-13, was followed by a negative growth rate in 2013-14 due to cyclone Phailin and flashfloods. Farming was projected to grow at 1.97% in 2014-15. "Farmers were yet to recover from the damage caused by Phailin and now this drought has happened, breaking their backbone. While thousands are migrating for petty jobs outside the state, many are committing suicide," said Lingaraj, a farmer leader. "Many farmers did not get the government aid provided during Phailin for inexplicable reasons," he said.

"Odisha doesn't recognize the rights of sharecroppers though many of those ending their lives belong to this category. Though this an old problem, the latest surge in suicides may be due to market-driven agriculture gradually taking over traditional farming in the state," explained Sukadeba Naik, a professor of sociology at Sambalpur University. Till recently, farmers in the state used seeds preserved by them and cow dung as fertilizers with negligible input costs, unlike in highly-irrigated states like Punjab and Haryana. "The situation changed when the farmers were forced to buy seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. If a crop fails, their life is ruined," he said.

Loans of around Rs 15,000 per acre provided by cooperative banks are too small. The farmers have to invariably depend on moneylenders and the latter put them under pressure to return loans, which could be another reason for suicides.

The Times of India, 28 October, 2015, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Experts-Monetary-loss-cause-of-farmer-suicides/articleshow/49562064.cms


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close