Dr Mandeep Singh Azad and Dr Manmeet Motan
“Ja Jawan Ja Kisan” given by Lal Bahadur Shastri ji : is kisan of India really in Ja position. Recent rains and unpredictable climate has forced these farmers to either stop farming or to commit suicide as the fully grown and standing crop was completely damaged by the recent rains in all parts of country. Rains this year were much above the average required by the crops. This unpredictable climate change is damaging crops and in turn farmers are not getting the cost and effort they have made for growing these crops
At least 30 farmers in India have reportedly committed suicide over the past week in northern India after non-seasonal rains destroyed thousands of hectares of crops before harvest. According to India’s weather bureau, last month was the wettest March in a century. Estimates suggest millions of hectares of crops in states like Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan have been damaged. The state Governments of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh are yet to recognize the alleged suicides as related to crop damage. Our ground assessment indicates that J&K has suffered heavy loss of wheat and gram crop while 20-25 per cent of green vegetables have been lost due to untimely rains .About 50,000 hectares of agricultural land has been damaged in the Kashmir valley alone. Western disturbances coupled with the trough of low pressure coming from Arunanchal Pradesh to Odisha, which normally occurs in April-May, had brought heavy rains, thunderstorm and hailstones last month.The unusual rain and hailstorm in the state has damaged the rabi crop by more than 43 per cent in the Jammu region. The Agriculture Department of Jammu has begun damage assessment exercise. The rabi crop has been damaged in 1.43 lakh hectare area out of 3.32 lakh hectare in Jammu region. The wheat crop has been affected due to the continuous rain in Jammu region. The department has accessed that wheat in 1,03,104 hectare has been totally damaged out of 2,47,346 hectare in all 10 districts of Jammu. Similarly, 7,233 hectare area, under pulses, has been affected out of 15,320 hectare, 10,746 hectare area under vegetables out of 16,010, 11,547 hectare area under oil seeds out of 31,100 hectare and 10,823 hectare area under fodder cultivation out of 22,220 hectare. 56,000 hectare area under wheat cultivation has been damaged in Jammu. However, the total loss of wheat crop in district Samba is 20,000 hectare, Kathua 10,679, Udhampur 4,000, Reasi 1,825, Rajouri 8,000 and in Poonch 2,600. Meanwhile, the impact of the losses is already being felt. India has bought up to 80,000 tonnes of Australian wheat in recent deals, the biggest such imports by the country in five years as unseasonal rains damaged the crop at home.
Farmer suicide in India is the intentional ending of one’s life by a person dependent on farming as their primary source of livelihood. In 2012, the National Crime record bureau of India reported 13,754 farmer suicides. The farmer’s suicide rate in India has ranged between 1.4 to 1.8 per 100,000 total populations, over a 10-year period through 2005.India is an agrarian country with around 60% of its people depending directly or indirectly upon agriculture. Farmer suicides account for 11.2% of all suicides in India .Activists and scholars have offered a number of conflicting reasons for farmer suicides, such as monsoon failure, high debt burdens, genetically modified crops, Government policies, public mental health, personal issues and family problems. The National Crime Records Bureau of India reported in its 2012 annual report that 135,445 people committed suicide in India, of which 13,754 were farmers (11.2%). Of these, 5 out of 29 states accounted for 10,486 farmers suicides (76%) – Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.
In 2011, a total of 135,585 people committed suicide, of which 14,207 were farmers. In 2010, 15,963 farmers in India committed suicide, while total suicides were 134,599.In 2012, the state of Maharashtra, with 3,786 farmers’ suicides, accounted for about a quarter of the all India’s farmer suicides total (13,754).Farmer suicides rates in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh – two large states of India by size and population – have been about 10 times lower than Maharashtra, Kerala and Pondicherry In 2012, there were 745 farmer suicides in Uttar Pradesh, a state with an estimated population of 205.43 million. Farming in India is always a gamble “Even if everything goes well, the rains are good, the crop is excellent, still farmers cannot get a good profit.”.
Here are the 5 key points raised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi:
* Talking about agricultural technology, he said, “Agriculture technology needs to reach out to the farmers .”Lab to land is our biggest challenge,”.
* “Progressive farmers are the real talent who along with the expertise of the available agricultural institutes, can help create a productive talent pool,” he added. He suggested that these institutes could employ means of multimedia such as radio shows as well as digitized research material to train and benefit the farmers.
* He addressed the importance of allied sectors and issues including animal husbandry, fisheries and water conservation. He suggested there be a “Blue Revolution” in the fisheries sector.
* He emphasized on the need for water conservation. “Weather and water cycle needs to be coordinated. Water is a gift from the God,” he said. “Per drop, more crop can become our mission statement so that a farmer has awareness of water conservation
* He also spoke about developing Indian herbal medicines, a subject he frequently touched upon during his elections days. “China and India both have Himalayas, but China has gone so far ahead in developing herbal medicines,” he said. ”
As 43% of land in India, is used for farming but contributes only 18% of the nation’s GDP. The poor condition of agriculture in the country is the point of concern for Indians. The rural farmers in India suffer from poverty and most of them are illiterate so there is lack of good extension services. So we should all come forward and think of making life simple of these real feeders of such a large population who feed us but sleep with empty stomach .Government should start policies for making agriculture simple and high income generating enterprise so that these producers are not forced to commit suicide .There should be a policy to provide compensation to these farmers in time of these unexpected rains and climate change as it is alarming issue.
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