INDIAN FARMS BECOMING KILLING FIELDS

TIME TO REORGANIZE ABOUT ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS AND CAPACITY OF NATURAL RESOURCES TO REGNERATE IN INDIA

Marginal Land Holdings, their neglect of potential benefits of ecological footprints, their carrying capacity to natural-resource-regeneration, their tendency towards growing higher proportion of cash-crops, helplessness for greater indebtedness, slowly budding neo-liberal model of capitalism, distinct aggregate-level institutional changes pursuant to liberalization of Indian economy, thereafter whimsical public investment alterations, input subsidies, organized credit and external trade have led to escalation of highly volatile cost of production, reducing the price of produce in completive market thereby becoming the major cause resulting in colossal rate of farmers suicide. This is the high time, should we not rethink about better alternatives in the backdrop of present vicious circumstances ? ....A K Singh IFS

46 farmers commit suicide every day in India. Every year 17,000 farmers on an average are reported to have been killing themselves. Since 1995 and almost more than 3 Lakhs farmers have committed suicide till date and more than 1 crore die per year in India from malnutrition, diseases and other non farming vocations accumulating to about 17 crores since then. Poor rate of returns on agricultural production and lack of non farm sector opportunities have heightened the perils of farmers in terms of yield of cultivation, in the form of constantly increasing price rise, in the dearth of quality input, in deficiency of modern tools and technology and in exploitative credit delivery. Monsoon failures, genetically modified crops, marginal land holdings, land-reforms-deficit, high debt burden, governmental policies, health and hygiene of life and livestock, middle man conflicts and family problems all these add to the gradually growing suicides by the one of largest farmers community in the world. Higher rate of land taxes, colonial protection of money landers, exploitative British agrarian regime had been frustrating amid frequent occurrence of droughts, famines and deprivations which used to cause widespread revolt, death and starvation of farmers. P Sainath started reporting about farmers suicides from 1990 onwards quoting the figures from National Crime Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs which publish suicides statistics for India. Prof K Nagaraj of Madras Institute of Development in his paper

2012 Farmers Suicides In India claims there are clear trends either towards decline in cultivation, and towards an increase in marginalization of cultivation as an activity which has led to deep agrarian crisis that the country has witnessed. Survey of 2003 reported that as many as 40% of farmers did not like farming and they were of the opinion

that given a choice they would take up some other non farming career, finding it unprofitable, risky and suicidal. A research study of Jonathan Kennedy and Lawrence King from Globalization and Health 2014, on the political economy of farmers suicides in India concludes that there had been a significant increase in the percentage of marginal farmers in India who started cash crop production and remained indebted which led to enhanced farmers suicides. Four states of Kerala, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and

Karnataka had some of the highest proportions of marginal farmers with higher rate of suicidal rates whereas Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan had both low proportion of marginal farmers and among the lower rates of suicides. They further suggest that despite more than six decades of trying, the majority of Indian states have been unable to enact meaningful land reforms, largely due to the strength of rural elites at the local level. Thus while redistribution of land is desirable, it has perhaps not been realistic one, moreover the states intervention to stabilize the price of cash crops and relieving of indebted farmers is not adequately effective enough at reducing suicides among the farmers in India. In an another study by Srijit Mishra- Farmers Suicides and Agrarian Crisis in India he opines that most common reason is indebtedness of farmers who were harassed for repayment of loan as the creditors insisted on immediate repayment on loans which quite often resort to sale of their assets. Reason for which can be attributed to the crop failure due to loss in sowing of the seeds with delay in rainfall, some times untimely excessive rains during harvest which leads to reduction of yield and price shock simultaneously with glut in the market causing widespread death and destruction among the Indian peasantry. Wherever the crop insurance covered food grains and major cash crops that came under regional level had a difficulty to operate with larger number of individuals. The regions that have greater need for insurance would have lesser chances of being compensated. At times farmer is not aware that he is insured because the premiums are directly deducted from their crop loans. In his one of the article-Lets bake in India first in Times of India Chetan Bhagat cries that we have failed the farmers so much that they survive at natures mercy, we have kept the Indian farmers poorer due to our fake-socialist, ill conceived policies and devious execution. If we really cared about our farmers, we would give them access to the

world and allow them to benefit from globalization. Why the campaign bake in India can not be a revolution ushering in a manufacturing transformation ? He further yells, the irony is that with more than half a population involved in farming, why cant we provide for the kitchens of the entire world ? Why do we see our farmers bonded labors, locked into producing only for India ? Why do we hate agricultural multi national corporations so much that we dont let them get near our farmers ? Why do we allow Indian middlemen and crooks to suffocate the farmers and feel that a global corporate sector will be their worst enemy ? Though no empirical data could establish the relation ship between genetically modified Bt cotton crops and the rising trends of farmers suicide in India in one of the study by Gilbert 2013 article published in Nature magazine, yet the Anti-biotech activists in India repeat their claim that there are evidences of link between Bt cotton and farmers suicides, a claim that is perpetuated by mass media. India is the country situated in one the subtropical region on globe where per unit capita productivity of land is proved to be highest in the world. Farmers keep exploring the income only from their cultivation, which needed close monitoring and dependence ranging from fertilizer, seeds, water irrigation, use of tools and technology, adequate power supply, credit-financing to multiple other agro climatic favorable factors including support from the various stake holders. In most of the cases ecological foot prints,-the requirement of the natural capital from the land remains untapped whereas there is an immense ecological capacity to regenerate. Farmers are only reaping the fraction of it. Economic value of natural capital of their small piece of agricultural land and the worth of ecosystem services which is naturally harnessed but not reaped by farmers largely remain unknown along with the nutrient cycling which his land provides to the maximum carrying capacity of sustainable agriculture.

In harvesting seasonal fast growing short term cash crops the options for growing sea food, wild fruits, spices, condiments and medicines remain largely untouched despite the natural availability of plenty of raw materials like firewood, organic matter, fodder and natural manures, hydro power, biomass fuel together with availability of moisture and water in the vicinity of farmers agricultural land. Potential productivity in terms of handicrafts, wooden

jewelry, pets, decorations and souvenirs like orchids, butterfly, aquarium, fish and shells together with agricultural cultivation is hardly contemplated by our farmers. Larger wide spectrum of carbon sequestration, the benefit arising out of it together with climate regulation, waste decomposition and purification of water are the ecosystems services which are rendered by the nature free of cost are largely remain indistinct and incomprehensible. Although environmental awareness is rapidly improving in our contemporary world, ecosystem capital and its natural flow are still poorly understood in larger part of the north India and the threats continue to impose, and we suffer from the so called tragedy of commons. In knowledgeable society of Kerala surrounding ecosystem services of estuarine and coastal ecosystem are being harnessed on longer term basis without having to do any extra effort to gather them, together with coconut, arecanut orchards, spices and condiments, medicines and bio-fuels, beaches, boating, backwater sports rendering ecotourism services and

economically benefiting from natural ecosystems which in the due course of time become redundant as we conform to part of natural ecosystems. Now the question arises as to how to convince the farmers and their leaders about the potential benefit which arise out of the natural resource development in the surroundings of his field ? How to regenerate the agriculture land with its maximum carrying capacity on a sustainable basis taking into account the diversified factors which if enhanced create immense income and wealth generation for the poor farmers who have been committing suicide depending upon the small piece of land only for cash crop cultivation ?

A K Singh is the member of Indian Forest Service working in the Ministry of Forest and Ecology and Environment Government of Karnataka looking after restoration of environment in mining affected areas. Views portrayed here are personal and

opinionated. Contact 9481180956, aksinghifs@gmail.com

References: 1. P. Sainath: 10 Farmers a Day. The Death Toll In Indian Agriculure. 2. G C Daily 1997 Natures Services: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems, Washington. 3. Marsh G P 1864 Man and Nature New York. 4. Lewis , Alig 2009, Empirical Methods for Modelling Landscape Change, Ecosystem Services and Bio-Diversity 5. Gibson,Williums and E Ostrom 2005, Local Management and Better Forests World Development 6. Pretty J 2003, Social Capital and Collective Management of Natural Resources 7. Chetan Bhagat, Lets Bake in India first. Open up the agriculture sector to help our farmers and economy. 8. National Crime Records Bureau: Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India, 1997-20006, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 9. Durkheim Emile 1979 Suicide: A Study in Sociology, London and Henley. 10. Patel, Vijaykumar, Thakur, Gururaj & Jha: Suicide Mortality in India: A national survey 2012 11. Directorate of Economics and Statistics. Ministry of Agriculture Land Use Statistics at a Glance. 12. Srijit Mishra : Risks, Farmers Suicides and Agrarian Crisis in India, Is there a way out ?