CRITICAL STUDY OF FARMERS SUICIDE IN VIDARBHA REGION OF MAHARASHTRA – A CASE STUDY
Prof. Sonawane S.T
Indian economy is known as Agrarian economy .In four largest economies in which India is one of it 70% of Indian population is depend upon agricultural sector which is the main factor of India. Rural economy is solely dependent upon rainfall and the freaky monsoon however, it is recorded that for the last few decades the percentage of rainfall has declined in several Indian states including Maharashtra. Therefore one main critical problem created in Indian economy, it means in every year by year many farmers commit own suicide. Mostly five states in India having large ratio of farmers committed to suicide than others in India .The five states are Maharashtra, Andra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh. When in comparison of this state it found that farmers suicide ratio is high in Maharashtra state. Maharashtra state is also known as Western, southern, North, Central Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha regions, and also studied farmers suicide in these regions then find out Vidarbha region mostly farmers ending their own life means committed to suicide.
Cotton cultivation has been changing over the years and the farmers have not been able to adjust themselves in the fast changing nature of agriculture. They found in difficulties of income generation and employment. As a result, the seed of agrarian crisis was generated in Cotton cultivators in the Vidarbha region of the state of Maharashtra. And the most of the farmers who ended their lives through committing suicide are Cotton growers. Hence the Cotton becomes a suicide crop in the state. Also the gap between expected and actual production had widened in last few years. As well as, the gap between the expenditure and income also widened. Hence Cotton growers found themselves in the vicious trap of indebtedness. It has become one of the reasons of the distress act of suicides by farmers in the Vidarbha region of the state.
Farmers were always indebted someone has correctly said that a farmers is both in debt, lives in debt and dies in debt. I think this situation is in all over India not only in Maharashtra. But there were no suicides takes place in earlier days. The reason is that cotton fetched high prices than in 1972. It was called white gold of Vidarbha region even though yield was less. It fetched the same prices as gold. The first where suicides were reported was Maharashtra with particular reference to Vidarbha region.
This is also mainly because of the infertility of the land, lack of most water resources, cotton crop failure and lack of new technologies The main crop in Vidarbha is cotton, but the farmers growing it do not get their share from the government, which leads to the high distress among them, leading to the massive suicides.
From various information collected, it showed the solution such as Water management, natural farming, special agricultural zone, multiple crop system, supportive sources for farmers, Weather risk management system, Providing effective loan schemes, scientific innovation and Agriculture modernization, Agriculture farmer training, Counseling to farmers self reliance and capacity building among farmers. Monitoring and support system for unguarded farmers, support and counseling services transparent system for disbursement for relief packages in required preventing farmers suicide in the near future. Central and state government has announced the relief packages to the suicide affected families in Maharashtra. NABARD is implementing agency of the package provided by central government. This research paper focuses on the causes of farmers suicide and effective remedies. Therefore an attempt has been made in this article to address the issue of Vidarbha region. Farmers inconvenient condition leading to suicides and remedies to address the issue have been suggested.
KEY WORDS: Agriculture, Cotton crop, Vidarbha region, Farmers suicide, financial problem, Causes, Remedies, Sustainable development, Government policy
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Vol | : | 5 |
Issue | : | 2 |
Month | : | February |
Year | : | 2017 |