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Agrarian Crisis and Farmers Suicides in AP

1995-2012. Agrarian Crisis and Farmers Suicides in AP. Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and AP Rytu Swarajya Vedhika. Crisis in Indian Agriculture.

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Agrarian Crisis and Farmers Suicides in AP

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  1. 1995-2012 Agrarian Crisis and Farmers Suicides in AP Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and AP RytuSwarajyaVedhika

  2. Crisis in Indian Agriculture • Andhra Pradesh recorded the first major spate of farmers suicides 1986 when more than 100 farmers committed suicide in Guntur and Prakasham districts with failure of cotton due to high white fly incidence • Second major spate of farmers suicides were seen in 1997-99 when cotton crop failed in Warangal, Karimnagar districts due to high incidence of bollworms. More than 3,000 farmers were reported to have end their lives • Third major spate of farmers suicides were started in 2004 with more than 2500 suicides were reported and this time it was all kinds of farmers. • Since 1995 Maharashtra also started reported farmers suicides particularly from Vidharba region which is largely cotton growing in rainfed areas

  3. What does governments say? • Governments tend to deny the problem and attribute other reasons for the tragedy • As a long term strategy governments talk about low carrying capacity of agriculture and moving people out of agriculture (Draft Agril Policy, Govt of AP, 1999) • Privatising extension and market services withdrawl of government from providing basic services (Draft Agril Policy, Govt of AP, 1999, Approach Paper to AP Agril, Ashok Gulati 2008) • Technological solutions like synthetic pyrethroids or Bt cotton • Crop diversification to high value crops (Draft Agril Policy, Govt of AP, 1999, Approach Paper to AP Agril, Ashok Gulati 2008)

  4. Population depending on Agriculture in AP (59.51 %) (62.16 %) (68.61 %) (39.64 %) (40.87%) (43.04 %) (27.74 %) (22.52 %) (16.47 %) • In last one decade 13,68,012 people have left farming and most of them became agriculture workers • This is on average 375/day

  5. Total 2,84,694 in 18 years Source: NCRB 1995-2012 http://www.agrariancrisis.in

  6. Increasing Crisis in Agriculture *MP state was formed in 2001 The table only includes States whose annual averages have risen or fallen by over 100 farm farm suicides between the to periods. It also treats Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh as one unit for data purposes. Source: NCRB Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India Reports 1995-2012

  7. Farmers Suicides in India, 2012 Total 13754 Four major cotton growing states form 68% of the suicides AP and Maharashtra form 46 % Source: NCRB 1995-2012, http://www.ncrb.nic.in http://www.agrariancrisis.in

  8. Farmers Suicides in India, 2011 Total 14027 Four major cotton growing states form 64% of the suicides AP and Maharashtra form 40 % Source: NCRB 1995-2012, http://www.ncrb.nic.in http://www.agrariancrisis.in

  9. Total 35,898 in 18 years Source: NCRB 1995-2012 http://www.ncrb.nic.in http://www.agrariancrisis.in

  10. Farmer Suicides in AP 1995-2012 Source: NCRB-2012, Census-2012 http://www.agrariancrisis.in

  11. Farmers Suicides in Andhra Pradesh Total: 21,382 Avg 2375/year Total: 14,516 Avg 1613/year Source: NCRB, 2012, http://www.ncrb.nic.in http://www.agrariancrisis.in

  12. Rehabilitating victim families • 5241: Total farmers suicides recognized as genuine • 4879: Total families the study team met • Caste wise distribution • Backward classes: 2594 • Other classes: 1362 • Scheduled castes: 590 • Scheduled tribes: 382 • 3284: families receiving widow pension • 561: families do not have ration card • 2358: families not having pucca house, no sanction under INDIRAMMA housing scheme • 1109: families benefited under INDIRAMMA • 3787: families still struggling to earn their livelihoods • In the one lakh rupees paid as exgratia expenditure was • 46% to pay old loans • 22% agriculture investments • 17% miscellaneous expenditure • In the 50 thousand as loan resettlement 45% was to clear off bank loans

  13. Major Reasons • Increasing costs of cultivation due to • high input use • increasing costs of inputs, and • decreasing subsidies • Stagnating yields • Soil fertility going down • Monoculture of crops • Crops spreading into areas unsuitable for them • Shift to water intensive crops leading to • Ground water depletion • Failure of tubewells • Decreasing prices • Lower MSPs • Increasing price fluctuations after opening up of markets

  14. During 2012-13 against the target of Rs. 37,127.77 crore (Rs. 23,827.50 cr kharif target) loans disbursed were 23,282.82 cr. • Target was also to cover 12 lakh tenant farmers (2000 cr) but only Rs. 183 cr was sanctioned • Among the targeted 12 lakh tenant farmers loan elgibility cards were given only to 4.23 lakhs (1.79 lakhs new and remaining 2.44 were renewed) and among them only 1.26 lakh tenant farmers have got access to credit • Total amount sanctioned as loan is Rs. 183.03 and more than half of it goes to West Godavari district Increasing tenancy • Increasing tenancy • 40 lakh tenant farmers • Increasing tenancy • No access to credit, insurance, compensations

  15. Regional variation in accessing credit

  16. Cotton Yields and Farmers Suicides in Andhra Pradesh Source: NCRB, 2012, http://www.ncrb.nic.in, Cotton yields DES data http://www.agrariancrisis.in

  17. Cotton yields in Andhra Pradesh (Lint in kg/ha) Cotton yields DES data http://www.agrariancrisis.in

  18. Changing Cropping patterns (in lakh ha) Source: * A.Vaidyanathan (2005) Report on the analysis of data of cost of cultivation surveys undertaken by the Indian Society of Agricultural Economics CULTURAL ECONOMICS and DES 2010-11 Season & Crop Report.

  19. Increasing Cotton Area in AP 1956-2011 Area suitable for cotton Cotton yields DES data http://www.agrariancrisis.in

  20. Source: Agriculture Action Plan Department of Agriculture http://www.agrariancrisis.in

  21. Share of cotton in net cultivated area across districts in AP, 2012 Cotton Area from Department of Agriculture

  22. Suggestions for immediate action • A comprehensive relief and rehabilitation package needs to be evolved to address the distress conditions of bereaved families. • Enough to take care of the problems related to immediate debt relief (public and private), release of land from mortgage, livelihood support (agriculture and non agriculture), education of the children and health needs • widow pension to the tune of Rs.5000/- per month to meet the survival needs of the family • simplifying the procedures of proving the case. The implementation of special package should be given to Panchayat and block offices. • The categorization of suicides into “genuine” and not genuine should be immediately scrapped. • Linking of all the deceased families with all existing government schemes on special priority is necessary. Schemes like MGNREGA, subsidized food grains of at least 35 kgs, insurance and pensions. • Address the issues of the families in extreme distress conditions and on the verge of suicide without waiting for a suicide to happen. This could include: debt relief, insurance coverage, release of land under mortgage, linking with existing food schemes etc. • The government should invest more in support of sustainable agriculture • Immediately expand and revise the MSPs to remunerative levels, and initiate procurement operations. The prices should provide the farmers sufficient margins above their actual cost of cultivation. Timely and effective procurement directly from the farmers by government agencies such as FCI and CCI should be ensured, for paddy and cotton as well as dryland crops. • Provide effective crop insurance and credit to majority of farmers including tenant farmers and non-loanee farmers and ensure proper implementation.

  23. Addressing the root cause • The government should introduce a “Price Compensation” system, especially for all the food crops where MSP is declared. Whenever the MSPs or actual market prices do not meet the target price (equal to Cost of Cultivation + 50%), the shortfall should be paid to the farmer directly. The farmer should no longer be forced to bear the burden of keeping food prices low for consumers. • Government should ensure income security for all farm households, including resorting to direct income support for covering living costs for dignified livelihoods if other measures don’t provide the same. • Promote sustainable agriculture that will reduce costs of cultivation and reduce crop risk by agri-diversity based and agro-ecological farming. A programmatic thrust along with appropriate and adequate support systems is required to spread sustainable agriculture like the CMSA program in Andhra Pradesh. The importance of grassroots farmer institutions cannot be overemphasized. • For rainfed areas which constitute about 60% of the total cultivated area in India, there should be a comprehensive mission to sustain agriculture and farmer livelihoods. This should be focused on diverse cropping systems, ensuring protective irrigation and strengthening livestock based livelihoods. Government investments in rainfed areas should be immediately doubled. • Provide bank credit to the farmers with adequate scale of finance, increase priority sector lending for agriculture and ensure correct implementation to reach small farmers.

  24. http://www.csa-india.org http://www.krishi.tv http://www.agrariancrisis.in http://www.sahajaaharam.in http://www.indiaforsafefood.in http://www.kisanswaraj.in Ph. 040-27017735, mobile : 09000699702 csa@csa-india.org, ramoo.csa@gmail.com Facebook: ramoo.agripage Centre for sustainable agriculture

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