ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE OF FARMERS' SUICIDES A SYMBOL OF AGRARIAN CRISIS IN KARNATAKA
Loading...
Date
2007-09-29
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Agricultural Sciences GKVK, Banglore
Abstract
Growing number of farmers' suicide cases in India and
Kamataka points to a deeper crisis in Indian agriculture. In
Kamataka, 10,959 farmers committed suicide during 1996-2000 and
another 3000 during 2000-03 and the death toll is continues
unabated. Therefore different economic dimensions of suicide were
probed in the present study involving 30 farmers who had committed
suicide and 30 farmers who had not committed suicide. Data
pertaining to various farm business aspects of deceased farmers
during 2003-04 were collected. Findings of the study revealed that 90
per cent of the victim farmers were practicing dry farming. Majority of
the farmer victims were male farmers (90%). About 60 per cent of
farmers suffered from psychological stress/mental duress arising out
of the agrarian distress. Debt burden, inter alia, was the major cause
for the farmers' suicide as almost all the farmers in the study
borrowed from one or the other source or from more than one source.
While the amount borrowed per suicide farmer was Rs. 1, 07,961 and
that by the non-suicide farmer was Rs. 42,063. High proportion of (73
%) farmers depended on moneylenders for loans reflecting the limited
reach of public financial agencies among farmers. Farm financial ratio
analyses like net capital ratio (NCR), Debt Asset Ratio (DAR) brought
forth the fact of agrarian crisis arising out of poor returns and heavy
indebtedness. Most of the non-institutional loans were diverted for
non-agricultural, consumptive, distress spending. The study suggests
formulation of a comprehensive agrarian policy for the study area as
well as for similar agrarian regions. A multidisciplinaiy expert
committee should be constituted to study the problem of suicides and
farm indebtedness; especially where private moneylenders prevail.
There is a need to prevent farmers' suicides by social institutions such
as Ryot Jagruti Vedike rather than to undertake ad-hoc measures
Description
Keywords
null