How a Kolhapur student’s work to prevent farmer suicides reached UK

“When I was preparing for UPSC, I understood that farmers need mental health support. I roamed many districts in Marathwada. When I reached Osmanabad, that’s where we first started working,” said Hegana.

Through his research and work, Hegana designed a pyramid model to move towards zero suicides among farmers. It intervenes on three levels — prevention, rehabilitation and sustainability.

For prevention, the Shivar helpline exists, where farmers who feel distressed can call and avail counselling. A farmers’ friends centre has also been established, where farmers who are not comfortable talking on the phone can directly come to the centre and converse. While Shivar doesn’t provide any financial assistance, it understands the concerns of farmers and informs them about government schemes they are eligible for and gets them in touch with NGOs that can help.

About rehabilitation, Hegana said, “If there is a suicide in the family, a lot of difficulties arise. The government and some NGOs provide money. But it is not enough to sustain their livelihood. So we do resource mapping for them and create a livelihood programme.”

For sustainability, the NGO has collaborated with the government to reach out to distressed farmers to help them create a farming model. “The loans of farmers usually range between Rs 3,000 to over Rs 1 lakh. We work with them and provide fertilisers and other material and guide them on how to go about it,” said Hegana.

Hegana said that so far, 10,500 farmers have contacted the Shivar helpline and it has helped them prevent around 198 farmer suicides.

Hegana has also produced a short film titled Avakaal to spread a message about preventing farmers from suicides and encourage them get back to farming again.

Hegana’s work has now been recognised by the UK government. He works with the Ministry of Health and Rural Development for advocacy and policy making for suicide prevention of farmers in the UK. “Farmer suicides have become an issue in the UK since 2019. I am working with them to create a tentative replica of our pyramid model. The next step will be implementation,” said Hegana.