Friday, 17 May, 2024
By: Yash Gupte
P. Ramulu, a native of Adloor Yellareddy in Sadashivanagar mandal of Kamareddy district, was identified as a farmer. He is survived by wife and two children. Image Source: IANS
Maharashtra had the highest rate of suicide deaths among those employed in agriculture (37.3 percent), followed by Karnataka (19.9 percent), Andhra Pradesh (9.8 percent), Madhya Pradesh (6.2 percent), and Tamil Nadu (5.5 percent).
A 38-year-old farmer in Kamareddy district of Telangana committed suicide out of fear that his farmland will be stolen for the proposed industrial zone, sparking a protest staged by farmers calling for the proposal to be abandoned. P. Ramulu, a native of Adloor Yellareddy in Sadashivanagar mandal of Kamareddy district, was identified as a farmer. He is survived by wife and two children.
Farmers and incensed relatives of the deceased attempted to demonstrate in front of the Kamareddy municipal building with the farmer's body. Police, however, put an end to their demonstrations, and the farmers afterwards demonstrated for two hours near the Kamareddy bus terminal on the old National Highway 44. Following the police restrictions, the protesters left the body on the road and marched to the municipal office, where they staged an agitation till Wednesday evening. The farmers' protest was supported by the BJP. Outside the Collector's office, BJP MLA Raghunandan Reddy sat down with the farmers who were in protest. He urged that the government only purchase those sites for the industrial zone that are unsuitable for farming.
The suicide by the 38 year old farmer has once again highlighted the issue of farmer suicides in the country.
In India, farmer suicides have long been a contentious topic in discussions about the state of the India’s agricultural industry. Out of 10,881 people involved in agriculture and losing their lives, (consisting of 5,318 farmers and cultivators and 5,563 agricultural labourers) in 2021, 5,563 farm labourers committed suicide, according to the National Crime Records Bureau's most recent statistics (NCRB)- making up 6.6 percent of all suicide victims in the nation (1,64,033).
From 2019 to 2020, there was a 9 percent increase in suicides, and a 29 percent increase from 2019. Out of 5,563 suicides committed by agricultural labourers during 2021 - 5,121 were male and 442 were female. Maharashtra had the greatest rate of suicide deaths among those employed in agriculture (37.3 percent), followed by Karnataka (19.9 percent), Andhra Pradesh (9.8 percent), Madhya Pradesh (6.2 percent), and Tamil Nadu (5.5 percent).
Maharashtra reported 1,424 suicides, followed by Karnataka (999) and Andhra Pradesh (584). Maharashtra's Marathwada and Vidarbha regions have unusually high rates of farmer suicides.
The NCRB report states that 5,763 farmers or cultivators killed themselves in 2018, and 5,957 did so in 2019. According to the data, 5,579 farmers or cultivators died by suicide in 2020. A total of 135,585 people died by suicide in 2011, of whom 14,027 were farmers and agricultural labourers.
In India, fewer farmers and agricultural labourers committed suicide in 2012 compared to the year before. 13,754 (11.2 percent) farmer and agricultural labourers suicides were reported in 2012, reporting a decline. 11,772 farmers and agricultural labourers committed suicide in 2013, down from 13,754 the year before, but the numbers were still high in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka, reported Economic Times.
As per NCRB data a total of 8,007 farmers have committed suicides during 2015 - an increase from 5,650 in 2014. According to the data, however, 11,379 farmers committed suicide in 2016; this number fell to 10,655 in 2017, 10,349 in 2018, and 10,281 in 2019.
India has a population whose reliance on agriculture exceeds 50 percent. The pressure from both increased transportation and storage costs as well as decreased crop prices has affected millions of primarily small-scale farmers. Numerous explanations exist for why farmers in India commit suicide, including those including floods, droughts, debt, the use of genetically modified seeds, public health issues, and a reduction in pesticide use as a result of lower yields and reduced investments.
As per research by Dr Yasmeen for Indian Journal of Economics and Development - “the main reason of farmers ’suicides can be attributed to both natural and manmade factors. While natural factors like uneven rains, hailstorm, drought and floods adversely affect crop yield, the man made factors, i.e. pricing policies and inadequate marketing facilities result in post-yield losses. Consequences of rural indebtedness are disastrous.”
Farmers' organisations contend that the government sets market prices and that it isn't paying the Minimum Support Price (MSP), which is the price at which it must buy the farmers' product back if the market price falls below it.
The "Spate of Cases of Suicide by Farmers" research, which examines suicide cases among farmers across the nation, demonstrates how inefficient government relief efforts are since they don't take into account the plight of farmers who obtain loans from private lenders. No matter how favourable the circumstances, farmers always lose money. Due to the fact that this situation continues and that both the state and federal governments have not taken the necessary steps to protect farmers and help them overcome these challenges.
