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COVER LETTER 

•

 Name: Ayushi Dwivedi• Institution: Hidayatullah National Law University, Chhattisgarh

• Title of the Article: armer !uicide in India: Develo"ing #ia$le %olicy &"tions

• 'mail Id: ayushidwivedi(hnlu)gmail(com

• Address: !* College of Agriculture and +esearch !tation, *awardha, Dist(

*a$irdham-./..0, Chhattisgarh(

• Contact No: 12343./3/423

Farmer Suicide in India: Developing Viable PolicyOption

!" Introduction

!"!" Conte#tual Outline

The large num$er of suicides $y farmers in various "arts of the country is "erha"s the most

distressing "henomenon o$served in India over the last decade( These suicides, which reached

almost e"idemic "ro"ortions in certain "oc5ets of the country, were first "ic5ed u" and re"orted

 $y an alert "ress around the late /..1s( India is an agrarian country with around 416 of its

 "eo"le de"ending directly or indirectly u"on agriculture( armer suicides account for //(76 of 

all suicides in India( !ince /..0, more than 708,111 farmers have $een re"orted to have

committed suicides in India, ma5ing this the largest wave of suicides in the world(  In 71/-, the

 National Crime +ecords 9ureau of India re"orted 0,401 farmer suicides( / The highest num$er of 

farmer suicides were recorded in 711- when /3,7-/ farmers committed suicide( The farmers

suicide rate in India has ranged $etween /(- to /(3 "er /11,111 total "o"ulation, over a /1year 

 "eriod through 7110( 

/ National Crime +e"orts 9ureau, AD!I +e"ort Annual ; 71/- 

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Activists and scholars have offered a num$er of conflicting reasons for farmer suicides, such as

monsoon failure, high de$t  $urdens, genetically modified cro"s, government "olicies,  "u$lic

mental health, "ersonal issues and family "ro$lems(7 There are also accusation of states fudging

the data on farmer suicides( The "u$lic concern that these re"orts led to, forced some of the state

governments li5e *arnata5a, Andhra %radesh and =aharashtra to set u" en>uiry commissions to

go into this "henomenon in the res"ective states( =oreover, the National %olicy for armers

7112 also attem"ted to change this worrying facet of modern India(

This article see5s to e?"lore the statistics regarding farmer suicides in India, attem"t to

understand its causes, and finally offer via$le "olicy o"tions to effectively and e?"editiously

tac5le with this "ro$lem(

$" %itory o& Farmer Suicide in India

In the /..1s India wo5e u" to a s"ate of farmers suicides( &ne of the ma@or re"orters of these

suicides was the +ural Affairs 'ditor of The Hindu, %( !ainath( The first state where suicides

were re"orted was =aharashtra( !oon news"a"ers $egan to re"ort similar occurrences from

Andhra %radesh(8  In the $eginning it was $elieved that most of the suicides were ha""ening

among the cotton growers, es"ecially those from #idar$ha(-

 A loo5 at the figures given out $y

the !tate Crime +ecords 9ureau, however, was sufficient to indicate that it was not @ust the

cotton farmer $ut farmers as a "rofessional category were suffering, irres"ective of their holding

7 Das, A( 71//B, armers suicide in India: im"lications for "u$lic mental health, International

ournal of !ocial %sychiatry, 02/B, 7/;7.(

8 Tim Dyson /../B, &n the Demogra"hy of !outh Asian amines: %art I, %o"ulation !tudies,

#olume -0, No( /, "" 0;70(

- A@it

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siEe(0 =oreover, it was not @ust the farmers from #idar$ha $ut all over =aharashtra who showed

a significantly high suicide rate(4 The government a""ointed a num$er of in>uiries to loo5 into

the causes of farmers suicide and farm related distress in general( !u$se>uently, then%rime

=inister =anmohan !ingh visited #idar$ha and "romised a "ac5age of +s(//1 $illion to $e

s"ent $y the government in #idar$ha( The families of farmers who had committed suicide were

also offered an ex gratia  grant to the tune of +s(/,11,111 $y the government( Des"ite

government efforts at "um"ing in more money into the suicide $elt the suicide e"idemic among

farmers remained una$ated through 711412(2 Traditionally su""ort systems in the villages of 

India had $een "rovided $y the government( However, due to a variety of reasons the

government had either withdrawn itself from its su""ortive role or "lain sim"le misgovernance

had allowed facilities in the villages to wither away( The "ro$lems of the farmers were >uite

com"rehensive, and several causes have $een forwarded to e?"lain this "henomenon( They will

 $e discussed later in this "ro@ect(

'" Caue

To understand the macrolevel lin5ages running from "olicy changes to the "henomenon of 

farmer suicides, the causes of the same need to e?amined( armers are clearly suffering from

acute distress, and once cause $ehind this is unsustaina$le levels of inde$tedness, mostly $ecause

their incomes are systematically falling $elow their e?"enditures( armers are very vulnera$le to

shoc5s( If there was a medical emergency in the household or if there was an im"ortant life event

li5e $irth, marriage, death or if there was a cro" failure due to weather shoc5s of growth of "ests,

the household had to "er force incur de$t( This de$t is in addition to the de$t that the farmer 

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would already have incurred if heshe had decided to move into the cultivation of cash cro"s li5e

cotton(

However, as with any suicide, monocausal e?"lanations for farmers suicides would $e totally

inade>uate( And they cannot $e e?"lained "urely in terms of $ehavioural "atterns and "ersonal,

 "sychological motivations they have to $e seen as social "henomena and one has to unearth the

underlying social causes( A contrary claim often made is that a num$er of farm suicides are not

attri$uta$le to agrarian crisis and are due to factors li5e unsustaina$le life styles of farmers,

alcoholism, large e?"enses on marriages, or due to some incura$le diseases etc( These ty"es of 

e?"lanations are seriously flawed since they do not view suicides as a social "henomenon( The

fre>uent attem"ts to use these Jcauses as e?"lanatory factors underlying farmer suicides shift the

 $urden of e?"lanation from the social conte?t to individual suicide victim, and hence, in effect

end u" $laming the victim, and they are hardly hel"ful in devising a""ro"riate "olicy

interventions in dealing with the distressing "henomenon( 3 

'"!" T(e preent acute agrarian crii a a central &actor

Ghile these socioeconomic factors are e?tremely com"le?, it would ta5e a strong sense of 

denial not to see the "resent acute agrarian crisis as a central factor underlying this e"idemic of 

farm suicides( This crisis has $een there from around the midtolate /..1s, and this is the

 "eriod, as we have seen a$ove, when farm suicides have $een high and are increasing( 9ut farm

crisis in the country has $een acute, "ersistent and wides"read ; with almost every state and

region in the country e?"eriencing this crisis in one way or other(

As for the vulnera$ility of the region, it is a $ac5ward region with a low level of develo"ment of 

 "roductive forces in agriculture and industry( The region is highly water stressed with a low

degree of irrigation and with scanty, uncertain rainfall( As with such semiarid regions, the soil

>uality here is "oor ; and worsening ; and varies a great deal across s"ace( It is also a region

with a diversified cro""ing "attern with coarse cereals accounting for a large "ro"ortion of the

cro""ed area ; $ut this is a ty"e of diversification which is dictated $y "oor agrarian conditions

rather than $y agricultural moderniEation( The cash cro"s in the region ; li5e cotton are largely

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cultivated under "oor agronomic conditions, with low levels of irrigation( This ty"e of diversity ; 

dictated $y $ac5wardness and adversity ; hardly ma5es for any sta$ility if anything, it adds to

insta$ility and vulnera$ility(

'"$" )eo*Liberal State Policie ince !++,

This agrarian crisis was "reci"itated $y the neoli$eral state "olicies in o"eration since the

 $eginning of the /..1s( There were a num$er of dimensions to it, each reinforcing the other in

engendering this crisis( Gith the decline in ca"ital e?"enditure $y the state as "art of its

sta$iliEation measures, investments in agriculture ; and irrigation, soil conservation etc( ; came

down and this would have very serious conse>uences in a region where soil and irrigation

 "ro$lems are already acute( 9an5ing sector reforms meant that organiEed credit to agriculture

 "ractically dried u"( Gith the withdrawal of agricultural su$sidies, costs of "roduction,

 "articularly of cash cro"s li5e cotton, shot u"( &n to" of all this, e?ternal trade li$eraliEation, in

the form of withdrawal of farm >uotas and tariffs "rovided the ground for farm "rice crash,

again, "articularly in cash cro"s li5e cotton( The e?tension and "rice su""ort services "rovided

 $y the state were drastically curtailed( All this o$viously would have very serious conse>uences

on a fragile agrarian economy de"endent on state su""ort(. 

'"'" D-indling Intitutional Credit

After nationaliEation of the $an5ing system in /.4., there was an im"ressive e?"ansion of credit

to the agricultural sector( The share of agricultural credit in total $an5 lending nearly dou$led

from around /16 in the mid/.21s to a$out /36 in the late /.31s( inancial li$eraliEation, an

im"ortant "art of the neoli$eral "olicy regime, reversed this trend( The share of agricultural

credit in total $an5 lending declined from the "ea5 of /36 in the late /.31s to a$out //6 in

7110

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declined from 0/(76 in =arch /..4 to -0(26 in =arch 7110( Data also shows that the share of 

agricultural credit cornered $y farm siEes of more than 0 acres has increased(/1

'"." /ro-t( o& private agent in area li0e credit and eed upply

The s"ace vacated $y the state was ta5en u" $y "rivate agents "articularly in areas li5e credit,

su""ly of seeds and fertiliEers, e?tension services li5e advice and hel" on cro"s to $e grown,

digging of $ore wells etc(B, mar5eting of cro"s etc( These agents, often com$ining all these

multi"le roles were mostly from the ur$an centres in the region and, with ne?t to no regulation of 

their o"erations, their relationshi" with farmers was essentially a "redatory one e?"loiting the

latters vulnera$ility during the "eriod of crisis(

'"1" Lac0 o& 2lternative Liveli(ood Opportunitie

All this resulted in loss of livelihood for a large section of farmers( Ghat added to the crisis was

the almost total a$sence of alternate livelihood o""ortunities that they could have fallen $ac5 on

in a time of crisis li5e this( =any regions in India are very "oorly develo"ed even in terms of 

sustained, decent nonagricultural o""ortunities( Tamil Nadu is an e?ce"tion and there$y an

e?am"le of how alternative livelihood o""ortunities can hel" $eleaguered farmers( It is not only

the most ur$aniEed state in the country, it also has the $est s"atial s"read of a large num$er of 

small, medium and $ig towns( This, along with a good road networ5 and a good "u$lic trans"ortsystem has resulted in a situation where alternative nonfarm livelihood o""ortunities are

availa$le to the "oor in near$y towns during "eriods of agrarian crisis( And this has "rovided a

 $uffer against large scale suicide $y farmers(

'"3" Stagnant Revenue

Income from agricultural "roduction has $een dwindling $ecause revenues have $een stagnant

or fallingB while costs of agricultural "roduction have gone u"( +evenues have $een stagnant

 $ecause of a com"le? set of factors, as under:

8(4(/( Mield cro" out"ut "er unit of landB of most cro"s has stagnated

/1 Chand, +( 711-B( Indias national agricultural "olicy: a criti>ue( Indian ournal of 

Agricultural 'conomics, 4-7B /4-/32(

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This stagnation is the direct result of the increasing "ressure on cultiva$le land: the total area

under cultivation has declined while the num$er of o"erational holding have increased, im"lying

that each o"erational holding is now much smaller than in the early /.41s( 9etween /.414/ and

7118, the total num$er of o"erational holdings increased from 01(22 million to /1/(72 million(

During the same "eriod, the total o"erated area declined from /88(-4 million hectares to /12(40

million hectares( Thus average o"erated area declined from 7(48 hectares to /(14 hectares( &n

to" of this is the fragmentation of each holding into multi"le "lots( Thus, the declining siEe of 

o"erational holding, along with continued fragmentation, has meant smaller "roduction units in

terms of land area( This constrains the a$ility to use im"roved technologies of "roduction, and

has $een one of the main reasons $ehind the stagnation of yield growth(//

3.6.2. Neglect of rural sector 

Due to the aforementioned neoli$eral "olicy orientation and the neglect of the rural sector,

agricultural research and e?tension services have virtually disa""eared from the country thus

new and $etter cro" varieties have not reached the farmer( Along with this, irrigation surface

waterB infrastructure has $een neglected, and soil im"rovement and management efforts have

 $een drastically curtailed( Com"ounding this has $een the e?cessive use of fertiliEers in several

areas of the country that saw the socalled uality of the soil, and contri$uted to the stagnation of cro" yield growth(

3.6.3. Removal of Import restrictions

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'"4" Riing Cot o& Cultivation

&ne of the main reasons $ehind the rising costs of cultivation is the gradual change in cro"

 "atterns that have $een directly and indirectly induced $y "olicy changes( Lifting of e?"ort

restrictions and entry of multinational cor"orations have encouraged to farmers that they could

shift from traditional cro"s li5e rice, wheat, "ulses, etc(B to cash cro"s li5e cotton, "otato,

tomato, etc(

Cotton is the >uintessential cro" that lies entwined with the wave of farmer suicides( %roduction

of cotton re>uires large ca"ital outlays, large in com"arison to ty"ical earnings of farmer 

households( !eeds need to $e $ought from the mar5et every year $ecause of restrictions "ut in

 "lace $y the =NCs selling the seedsB large >uantities of fertiliEers and "esticides are also needed

whose "rices are increasing $ecause of reduction of su$sidiesB( Cotton cultivation is very water 

intensive( !ince, during this same "eriod, "rovision of irrigation was $eing systematically

reduced, farmers had to ma5e investments in $ore well tu$e wellB technology to secure the

su""ly of ground water( This involved su$stantial outlays, most of the time a sum that was far 

 $eyond the reach of the average farmer( Ta5en together, these factors im"lied increasing costs of 

cotton cultivation(/7

'"5" Riing Eential E#penditure

The same neoli$eral "olicy framewor5 that reduced su$sidies on fertiliEer and diesel and "etrol,

let the irrigation infrastructure gradually disintegrate, o"ened u" the im"ort and e?"ort of 

agricultural cro"s, increased the cost of electricity, also reduced the rural com"onent of 

develo"ment e?"enditures( or instance, gross fi?ed ca"ital formation in agriculture as a share of 

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." Recommendation and Viable Policy Option

Ghatever may $e the longterm im"act of glo$aliEation and GT& regime on Indian agricultural

commodities in the last few years, it has had an adverse im"act on the income of farmers( This is

com"ounded $y the cut in the agricultural and "ower su$sidies and increase in the cost of cultivation( No year offers to the farmers of India cheers $ecause of the alternate scourges of 

drought and floods( %oor farmers are forced to choose $etween a deluge and a drought as

natures inevita$le fury year after year( This has $een the ordeal $efore and after the

Inde"endence with the socalled cro" insurance scheme still remaining a mirage( The new farm

 "olicy, while "romising a lot for those who dare venture into agro $usiness, offers little ho"e for 

marginaliEed farmers(/8 

There are many flaws in that as well( irst, let us consider the "ayment of com"ensation(

According to the guidelines framed $y the government, a family will $e eligi$le only if the

farmer who committed suicide owing to ina$ility to re"ay the loan has $orrowed it from a $an5 

or a credit institution recogniEed $y the government will $e eligi$le( It is well 5nown that

suicides are caused more $y the ina$ility to re"ay loans to "rivate moneylenders rather than to

 $an5s( &ver half the num$er of claims have $een re@ected on grounds of ineligi$ility( The ground

realities seem to have $een ignored(/- 

Another issue that re>uires careful scrutiny is the Cro" Insurance !cheme, intended to ta5e care

of cases of cro" failure and "rovide genuine relief to the affected farmers( The scheme seems to

 $e facing hurdles( The

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they $ecome more inde$ted forcing the farmers to commit suicide( It is time to ado"t "olicies,

which are realistic and aimed at short term as well as long term solutions( In the first "lace,

strategies must $e devised to ena$le the small and marginal farmers to have greater access to

institutional credit and discourage them from the shyloc5s tem"ting them with informal credit(

armers need to $e educated to ado"t "ro"er cro"mi?( There is a need for shift in the mindset

from a commoditycentered a""roach to an entirely new cro""ing or farming system $ased on

integrated natural resource management( Ge need to develo" a com"rehensive "olicy ta5ing into

account all the related as"ects ; agrarian reforms, rural credit system, agricultural insurance, cro"

changes, em"loyment o""ortunities and the role of %anchayat +a@ Institutions( There is a need

for the total revitaliEation and revam"ing of the farm sector and rural financial institutions to

ensure average "er cent age of sustaina$le growth "er annum for the sector otherwise the

am$itious target of eight "er cent growth rate "er annum during tenth "lan 71177112B would

remain a dream(/0

."!" 2griculture related trategie

4.1.1. Providing compensation for families of farmers who have committed suicide

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regulations on moneylenders similar to the "revious 9ritish legislation that limited the interest

rate, instituted a ceiling on "ay$ac5 amounts, "rotected against land alienation, and shielded

farmers "rimary assets( Also, De$t Conciliation 9oards may $e set u" as dis"ute resolution

mechanisms in situations where loans have $een given at e?or$itant interest rates and have no

 "ros"ect of re"ayment(/2 

4.1.3. Increasing !ormal"institutional credit sources

The credit mar5et needs immediate attention the formal credit structure should $e revitaliEed( A

dearth of formal sources vests immense "ower in the hands of the informal moneylenders( This

 "ower allows for the vicious system of a$use that contri$utes to the suicides( Ghile informal

moneylenders cannot $e re"laced >uic5ly, more formal lending sources will hel" create healthy

com"etition for the moneylenders as well as alert their $orrowers to fair "ractices( These

InstitutionaliEed Credit !ystems must $e sim"lified for them to stand as via$le alternatives to

moneylenders(

4.1.4. Provision of Pension fund and crop insurance for farmers.

The farmers "ro$lem is rooted in his e?"osure to ris5 ; yield as well as "rice shoc5s( Insurance

schemes may $e devised to mitigate these( This can $e done in three "ossi$le ways( Credit

insurance can loo5 into the credit default( A fund with contri$ution from the creditor, the de$tor 

and the uantity of 

 "roduce(

A com"rehensive Agricultural Insurance !cheme should $e launched( !"ecific attention should

 $e given to cover cash cro"s ; li5e cotton, sugarcane and edi$le oils( !uch measures would

/2 +amaswami, 9, +avi, ! and Cho"ra, !D 711-B: !tate of the Indian armer, A =illennium

!tudy, #ol(77: +is5 =anagement, Academic oundation, New Delhi(

//

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 "rovide a security net for farmers in the case of serious loss due to environmental factors(

&therwise, losses of one $ad cro" year accumulate >uic5ly and create the des"erate situations

that might "rom"t suicide(

4.1.#. $anagement of Resources

In the selected districts where agriculture is largely rainfall de"endent, strategies to increase

irrigation "otential "articularly, through watershed develo"mentB, should $e devised so as to

 "rovide sco"e to increase value addition( The =aharashtra 'm"loyment

reduce the availa$ility of "esticides for committing suicide( Ge have also o$served its successful

 "ractice in two cases during our survey( +e"lication of such e?"eriments should $e encouraged(

or instance, shifting from inorganic to organic farming will give low returns in the initial two to

three years( This acts as a deterrent for marginal and small farmers( Com"ensating them during

initial years would hel"( This can $e done through ='

term ramifications of suicide on the farmers family( These cam"aigns should $ring

 "sychological and cultural issues underlying suicides to the fore( or e?am"le, the shame related

/3 =ohanty, 9(9( 7110B( Ge are li5e the living dead: armer suicides in =aharashtra, Gestern

India(The ournal of %easant !tudies,87 7B,7-8724(

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to having large un"aya$le loans has $een re"eatedly cited as a reason for suicide( Ghile such

social "ressures and "re@udices cannot $e removed overnight, the village community should $e

steadily shifting towards change( #illagers must $e encouraged to stand $y each other in

solidarity since nearly every small and marginal farming family is undergoing similar "ressures

of high in"ut costs and low returns from agriculture(

4.2.2. 'etting up of helplines

Introduce hel"lines and disseminate the num$ers in the villages so that individuals in distress can

turn to someone( To $egin with, the hel"lines of organiEations o"erating in ur$an areas can $e

disseminated(/. 

4.2.3. Reducing access to pesticides

+educe the easy access and availa$ility of insecticides"esticides( rom those availa$le, to?icity

should $e reduced to nonlethal levels( The containers of these to?ic chemicals should have

 "rominent warning signs as also instructions for "ro"er handling, storage and usage in local

languages( Gherever "ossi$le, add emetics or stenching agents to ma5e insecticide"esticide

re"ulsive while consuming( Consider "roviding formulations that cannot $e readily a$sor$ed in

human $ody( The "roviderssu""liers of insecticides"esticides should $e "art of this e?ercise and

held accounta$le for their la"ses( As mentioned earlier, encourage other forms of "est control(

'ncourage $io"esticides and "hase out chemical "esticides within a time frame(71 

4.2.4. Increasing and improving Pu(lic +ealthcare facilities

The average distance to reach a health facility which can handle "oisoning cases is more than 71

5ilometres in many districts of India, and there are instances where this is a$out /11 5ilometres

away( The "rimary health centres %HCsB should have trained staff and $e e>ui""ed with

necessary material to handle cases of "oisoning( This will reduce travel time and save more lives(

The "ersonnel at the "rimary health centres should also $e trained to identify, intervene im"rove

their listening s5illsB and refer "atients with suicidal tendency for "ersonaliEed care( 'ducate the

/.

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community to identify de"ression and alcoholism and initiate treatment( The native healers,

 "ractitioners of alternative medicine and faith healers can also $e trained to identify such cases

and refer them for more s"ecialiEed care(

4.2.#. %sta(lishing responsi(le reporting standards for the media

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institutional sources is concerned, and land ownershi" is a criteria for $orrowing( Hence non

institutional sources, "articularly the commission agents, have come to occu"y a dominant

 "osition, as they lend on the $asis of cro" as collateral, and with minimum "a"er wor5( +emedies

thus have to $e found not only in terms of short term or immediate solutions to suicides, $ut also

longterm solutions to end the agrarian crisis itself( This also underlines that the state and state

run financial institutions would have to alter their system of lending ; loans would have to $e

made ade>uate, timely, chea", and commensurate with demand( The red ta"e and additional costs

involved, which ma5e institutional loans so unattractive, would also have to $e reduced

drastically(

/0