Why is Farming turning fatal?

Why is

Farming TURNING

fatal ?

An illustrated inve stigation

This is an illustrated booklet that examines and try to give a summary of the phenomenon of farmer suicides in India and the reasons behind it.

All the statistics and figures stated in this booklet have been taken from peer reviewed reasearch papers and as well as the explanation of the various factors behind this issue.

This booklet is done as a part of

DESIGN PROJECT - 1 Ajitesh Lokhande, B.Des, Graphic Design, Semester Four, National Institute of Design

Five out of every ten That’s the number of people in India who rely on farming for earning their livelihood.

This is Ankit.

He’s one of the other five people who don’t depend on agriculture. He has recently bought an exclusive high-quality T-shirt from a International Luxury Brand.

1

The arrival of such international brands became possible after

Liberalisation of the economy took place in the 1990s. Thus, the Indian market was opened up to the world.

As a result of this open market, Cotton was placed under an Open General License. This meant that cotton was allowed to be freely imported into India.

So, because of increased imports, Indian farmers were now competing with international producers.

As you can see, India’s cotton yield was very low compared to other countries This is why Cotton

Supply went up and prices went down.

Worldwide Cotton Yield (in Kgs. per hectare)

This is Ganesh.

He’s one of the farmers who was affected by this sudden crash in prices. He could not understand why he had received such a low return on his cotton harvest.

He had no idea that this low return was due to the liberalisation of the market. He had heard that because of this move, he would be able to sell his cotton to international companies.

But instead of making a profit, he was compelled to sell his produce for peanuts.

The government opened up the economy but didn’t inform the farmers of the likely effects.

The

Cotlook A index is a number that is an average of worldwide cotton rates. This number thus reflects the demand for cotton.

From 1994-2001, the Cotlook A index fell by

55%

But the corresponding decrease in the area under cotton production was only

15.4%

This shows that the farmers were unable to respond effectively to the changing market scenario and thus suffered losses.

Also, cotton yield in India went down from

254 kg 186 kg per hectare to

per hectare.

A substantial fall of 27 per cent.

2

Another consequence of Liberalisation was the arrival of a variety called

BT Cotton

This genetically modified variety of cotton promised higher resistance to pests like bollworm, thus leading to higher yields.

The Cotton industry was quick to recognise the benefits of BT Cotton. The companies that produced the BT Cotton seeds were trying their best to promote and propagate the production of BT Cotton in India. Study after study showed that BT Cotton gave higher yields compared to normal cotton.

Government figures show that BT Cotton results in a growth in yields as compared to regular cotton.

= Normal Cotton

For instance, a field certain area of regular desi cotton would give you 60,580 Tshirts

= BT Cotton

30%

Whereas the same field planted with BT Cotton would give 82,750 Tshirts.

However

numerous activists, NGOs & farmers have still been strongly opposing the promotion of BT Cotton.

Along with other factors such as low prices for their harvest, BT Cotton has been said to be one of the major reasons behind the rise in crop failure indebtedness and ultimately suicide among farmers.

Since 1995, a total of

2,96,438 farmers have committed suicide in India. That number amounts to

81 farmer deaths per day.

Which is why we face the urgent need to understand the reasons behind this issue. Let’s try to see some of the key factors behind this tragic scenario.

What are the things that can MAKE or

BREAK

a good harvest?

What are the factors and decisions that the government, the industry & farmers like Ganesh must examine ?

How does one ensure the welfare of the farmers and a good produce so that they are not compelled to take extreme & tragic measures ?

3

One important factor is

Access to Information There is no reliable way for farmers to make sure their decisions will help them in the long run. For instance, their predominant source of information is the seed and pesticide manufacturing companies themselves.

Ankit can keep up with the latest fashion trends, tech. happenings, current affairs college admissions and every thing else he needs to know.

So while he has access to all this information‌

Ganesh has no way of knowing what kind of seeds to buy, what amount of pesticides to use, how much yield he will get & if he needs irrigation or not. There is no institutional machinery set up that can help farmers like Ganesh in taking the right decisions in today’s globalized and capitalist market.

There are

four factors

that are regarded to be behind the BT Cotton controversy :

The first issue is the widespread distribution of Spurious Seeds (a mix of BT, Non-BT and unapproved varieties). Mostly sold by local traders, the seeds were targeted to farmers trying to save on seed costs. These had an inconsistent germination rate and often resulted in crop loss and disappointment for many farmers.

practically gambling on the seed they used (Stone 2007). The companies were the sole source of information for them.

There was also a huge lack of information regarding which varieties of BT Cotton were approved/unapproved by the government. Faced with choosing among the numerous brands of Bt cottonseeds released between 2004 and 2005, farmers were

Lastly, Inconsistent information on the effectiveness of BT Cotton - Many studies have been published by various institutes and cited one after the other by the media or selectively by opponents or proponents to Bt cotton.

Appropriate use of pesticide was another area that farmers lacked information about. Many ended up overspraying/underspraying leading to crop failure.

Water 4

& its availability is a crucial factor that has a strong impact on the produce and yield. Dependence on monsoon rains, droughts, lack of irrigation and untimely rains are some of the ways in which water can affect the farmers.

Area under cultivation that was irrigated went down from per cent to from and from

03.85 23.74 32.88

per cent to per cent to

01.22 13.04 17.59

in Maharashtra, in Karnataka, in Madhya Pradesh.

These states lie in the same rainfed deccan belt. This might explain why they show similar crop failure patterns with BT Cotton.

These states along with Kerala account for 65% of all the farmer suicides in the country.

5

Higher Costs of BT Cotton led a lot of farmers to borrow loans hoping they would more than make up for it with the higher yields.

Lack of better

Credit facilities and related infrastructure such as a debt safety-net have also been responsible for indebtedness and impoverishment among farmers.

Being a smart consumer, Ankit is aware of all the schemes and discounts he can get on his credit card. In this way, he makes the most of all the credit facilities he has.

A 450 gram packet of Normal Cotton was sold for 300 rupees whereas the same packet of BT cotton was sold for 1,650 rupees.

Expectations of higher yields from BT Cotton combined with lack of information about its many requirements such as High Irrigation, Pesticide requirements led to higher costs of cultivation but lower yields. This ultimately led to inescapable indebtedness.

A study of the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra found that out of 111 cases of farmers’ suicide, of the families interviewed cited indebtedness as an important reason behind their relative’s suicide.

87%

Because of the high seed and pesticide costs, Ganesh had to borrow a loan from the local bank by mortgaging his house..

In Andhra Pradesh, private moneylenders are the main source of loans (53.4 %), while cooperative societies (48.5 %) are the main source in Maharashtra. Until recently, the government contributed only a minimal amount toward farm loans in both states. The increasing dependence on local moneylenders & other private sources for crop, equipment and marriage loans means that the rate of interest is high thus resulting in greater indebtedness with crop failures.

Being illiterate he couldn’t completely understand the terms of the loan. Thus the credit facilities he has & the uncertainty of his harvest makes this move a gamble with his life’s earnings.

Let’s try to look at the flow of

Causes, Triggers & Effects that lead to suicide

Spurious Seeds

Overspraying pesticides

High cost of Hybrid seeds

High pest pressure

High Cost of BT varieties

Leads to

High Seed & Chemical Costs

1

Low market prices

Other low yield varieties

Drought or Climatic issues

Unsuccessful BT Cotton Yields

Uninformed decisions

Leads to

Leads to

Low Output Prices

Low Yields

2

3

1

2

3

High Seed & Chemical Costs

Low output Prices

Low Yields

Leads to

Leads to

High Costs of Production

Low Farming Revenues

Results in

Negative Net Income

4

4

Negative Net Income

Risky Credit System

Lack of NonFarm Income

Lack of Credit Safety Net

Other Expenses

Leads to

High Indebtedness

Causes

Pressure from Creditors

Sale of Assets

Pressure from Creditors

Sale of Assets

Creates

Social/Personal Pressures

Availability of Toxic Pesticides

Govt. offered Incentives

Act as triggers to

Suicide

In Conclusion the tragic issue of farmer suicides is a complex and multifaceted issue. This is demonstrated by the fact that while BT Cotton turned out to be a disaster in the deccan states, it proved to be a boon in other states like Gujarat and Punjab.

Researchers themselves have been unable to come to a solid and unanimous conclusion but the key areas that need improvement have been recognised.

While we as urban citizens can’t directly help the cause, being aware of the issue and maintaining it in the public zeitgeist is in itself a valuable step towards becoming drivers of change.

Since 1995, nearly

farmers have committed suicide because of the agrarian crisis in India. In Maharashtra alone, farmers have ended their lives in the last two decades.

According to the census, almost farmers are giving up on agriculture every day and migrating to the cities or taking up odd jobs to escape the uncertain risks posed by the farming conditions in our country today. Their lives is what powers two of our very basic needs; food & clothing. It is therefore the need of the hour to raise awareness and sensitivity in order to combat

The state of Maharashtra has been facing its

This agrarian AND humanitarian crisis

Three Lakh 60,000

worst drought in a hundred years. The average number of deaths in the parched state amounts to

9 every day. farmers dying

2,000

REFERENCES Mitra, Siddhartha, and Sangeeta Shroff. “Farmers’ Suicides in Maharashtra”. Economic and Political Weekly 42.49 (2007): 73–77. Web...

Srijit Mishra. “Farmers’ Suicides in Maharashtra”. Economic and Political Weekly 41.16 (2006): 1538–1545. Web...

Vaidyanathan, A.. “Farmers’ Suicides and the Agrarian Crisis”.

Economic and Political Weekly 41.38 (2006): 4009–4013.

Web...

Kennedy and King: The political economy of farmers’ suicides in India: indebted cash-crop farmers with marginal landholdings explain state-level variation in suicide rates. Globalization and Health 2014 10:16.

Guillaume P. Gruère Purvi Mehta-Bhatt Debdatta Sengupta, BT Cotton and Farmer Suicides, International Food Policy Research Institute, Journal of Development Studies, 2011 http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/jCb78Lk71nSrmJiNnFXWGL/Bharat-has-transformed-but.html http://scroll.in/article/805421/three-charts-that-show-howmonsanto-seeds-changed-cotton-farming-in-india http://www.indiatimes.com/news/amid-drought-running-riot-and-farmers-committing-suicides-government-plays-spectator-253269.html http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/Farmer-SuicidesAveraged-9-a-Day-in-Parched-Maharashtra/2016/04/06/ article3366563.ece http://www.firstpost.com/india/maharashtra-faces-worstdrought-in-100-years-as-states-water-plan-falters-2596202. html