Reeling under loss of crops to floods: Farmer suicides in Marathwada rise to 899; Beed, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar among worst hit areas

A senior officer in the state agriculture ministry said, “I can say the number of farmer suicides in Marathwada have risen, which is a cause of alarm especially after the floods and rain that wrecked the lives of farmers.” However, he added, “The exact numbers of suicides due to financial distress caused by crop loss or the burden of other expenditures will have to be ascertained.”

Even though the state government has announced a Rs 31,628 crore package to compensate farmers who lost standing kharif crop to floods, organisations representing farmers have warned of a grave situation.

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana president Raju Shetti said, “The government apathy towards farmers and agriculture sector is responsible for rising suicide cases. The official data shows 899 suicides. The numbers may be even higher which are not recorded. The point is, the government has not been able to provide immediate relief to farmers who are subjected to natural calamities of such magnitude. Their entire standing crop has been washed away in the floods. The soil erosion has rendered them helpless as they cannot get back to farming. The compensation to individual farmers is just peanuts. As it cannot help them recover the financial loss or override the debt.”

Accepting the havoc caused to farmers and the agriculture sector was due to climatic changes, Shetti said, “The government cannot leave farmers in the lurch in such a situation. It will have to find solutions, or else farmer suicides are bound to take place.”

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader from Vidarbha region Vijay Jawandhia said, “When farmers are driven to financial distress with no signs of help, they are left with no alternative but to take their own lives. With loss of kharif crop, farmers’ problems multiply manifold. The compensation is not enough to recover even the expenditure incurred in sowing the crop.”

“The state government should immediately announce a crop loan waiver. This will at least free farmers from the burden of debt and give them access to fresh crop loans to cope with farming for next season. As it is, the farmers who have managed to save their kharif crop are also reeling under stress, unable to get the minimum support price for crops. Soybean, cotton or maize — which are the mainstay of small and marginal farmers — have failed to fetch MSP.”