Name Roll No.

Pooja Gupta B046

Anuradha Shah B065
Pinky Vishwakarma B018
Nazima Sota B030
Mayuri Jatale B060

Std – FY.BCBI-1st Sem

Subject – EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Topic – FARMER SUICIDES IN MAHARASHTRA

Farmer Suicides in
Maharashtra
An Overview
History
 In the 1990s India woke up to a spate of farmer
suicides.
 The first state where suicides were reported was
Maharashtra. Soon newspapers began to report
similar occurrences from Andhra Pradesh.
 In the beginning it was believed that most of the
suicides were happening among the cotton growers,
especially those from Vidarbha.
 A look at the figures given out by the State Crime
Records Bureau, however, was sufficient to indicate
that it was not just the cotton farmer but farmers as
a professional category were suffering.
Farmer Suicides - An issue of
great concern
In recent years, suicide has been spreading like an
epidemic amongst farmers in India suffering from
debt and crop failure. For example, in 2006 in the
Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, there were 1,044
reported suicides — one suicide every eight hours.
Increasing incidence of farmer suicides is an issue of
great concern to all. It cannot be solved without
knowing the various reasons behind it. Many
schemes and projects have been stated by the
government to control further suicides but it didn’t
help a lot. Deep study is required to control it.
REASONS
Other reasons for suicides
addiction, health
daughter/ 28% promblem
sister's s, 21%
marriage,
34% indebtedn
ess, 93%
dent in
social
status, economic
36% downfall,
74%
crop conflict
failure, in
41% family,
55%
Most of the suicides were because of combination of
more than one factor.
Reasons for Suicides in Six Districts
of Vidarbha in five years
Name of Crop Indebte Daughter’s Illness Family Addiction Other
dist. loss dness marriage Disputes reasons

Amravati
18 201 - 22 15 3 157
Akola
42 121 - 8 5 2 42
Yeotmal
- 341 2 82 110 54 20
Buldhana
20 101 13 29 26 26 112
Washim
13 134 - 3 4 4 20
Wardha
8 87 - 4 10 10 18
Total
101 985 15 148 99 99 369
 Crop Failure
Crop failure is another main reason for farmers to commit
suicide. Following are the various reasons of crop failure:-

Disruption in regular rainfall cycle since 2001. Long dry

spells, deficient monsoon.
Single crop a year.
Cotton the dominant crop.
Improper irrigation.
Yield limited by rain, but regular rise in cost of input
lowered margin of profit.
Volatility in market price further lowered return.
What happens to the families
after a farmer commits suicide?
Farms are confiscated due to
inability to pay back high
interest loans.
Harassment of the family by
corrupt moneylenders.
Widows burdened with the new
responsibility as the sole
breadwinner.
Children sometimes lose both
parents to suicide. Forcing their
education to a halt, especially if
they have to work in order to
provide for their needs.
FACTS AND
FIGURES
 Total number of suicide cases
and eligible cases

120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul

Cases of eligible suicides have slowly come Total

down in last four months.
Eligibility
The number of famers committing
suicide is staggering

More than 100,000 farmers

have taken their lives since
1997.
86.5 percent of farmers who
took their own lives were
financially indebted.
Their average debt was about
$835.
On average, there has been
one farmer’s suicide every 32
minutes since 2002.
Common features in
majority of suicides

91-94 % of suicides are by family heads.

91-97 % of those who committed suicide are males.

84 to 89 percent are married.

98 percent had no access to irrigation.

Vidarbha, State of Maharashtra

Home to 3.2 million cotton

farmers.
Over 1000 suicides in the year
2006.
In this state alone there are
almost 2 suicides a day.
According to a study by the
government of Maharashtra,
almost 6 in 10 of those who kill
themselves had debts between
$110 and $550.
GOVT. SCHEMES
 Shetkari Bazaar
The govt. of Maharashtra has decided to set up
shetkari bazaars in the state. Following are the
objectives of shetkari bazaar : -

To help farmers to get the

reasonable rates to their produce.
To benefit consumers by giving
them fresh produce at reasonable
prices.
Immediate value realization of
the produce to the farmers
without any deductions.
To provide produce in
appropriate weights and measures
to consumer.
To bring Producers and
Consumers together to avoid chain
of middlemen.
 Reasons for failure of Govt.
schemes
Farmers' demands were not taken into count while
preparing the relief package. Neither were civil society
organizations, local government bodies, panchayats etc
consulted.
The relief packages were mostly mixture of existing
schemes. Apart from the farmer helpline and the direct
financial assistance, there was scarcely anything new
being offered.
The farmer helpline did not give any substantial help to
farmers.
The basis for selection of beneficiaries under the
assistance scheme was not well-defined. Also, type of
assistance to be given led to problems like a farmer
needing a pair of bullocks getting a pump set and vice
versa.
Awareness regarding the package was also low.
AMMA – A HELPING
HAND TO FARMERS
IN DISTRESS
“ The problem cannot be solved through economic packages
alone. What is needed is social and spiritual interventions so
that the farmers realize that suicide is not the way out…they
should understand that they need to develop self confidence.
The future generation should have the mental strength to
face life's challenges.”
- Amma, March 2007

On 27 September 2007, the Ashram inaugurated two

programs aiming at fighting the problem: Vidyamritam
and Amrita SREE.
Amrita SREE (Self Reliance
Education and Employment)
Free vocational training
to 25,000 groups of
women from impoverished
agricultural families.
After completion of their
training, the women are
given the necessary start-
up capital to begin small,
home-based businesses.
Financial counseling
provided in order to
prepare.
Vidyamritam – Educational
Scholarships
Initially, MAM planned to
provide full scholarships to
30,000 children (ages 10 to
15) of farmers living below
the poverty line.
Due to the number of
unanticipated applications
received, the MAM pledged
to sponsor the education of
100,000 children all over
India.
Conducting awareness
campaigns, special advanced
education camps, and
symposius on environmental
prevention.
 Unity and compassion on a
world scale

“In truth, the situation is worse than a

third world war. If it were war, there
would be instant death—not this long,
drawn out suffering. Rectifying the
situation is a Himalayan task. Only if we
generate love and compassion in our
hearts and come together as one can we
hope to make a change.”
- Amma
Working together to solve the
crisis
Social support provides a buffering effect for stress.
The greater the support from friends, family, local
communities, national policies and society as a
whole, the less impact stress will have on individuals
and families.
Everyone who eats has a stake in small farmers'
well-being.
It is crucial for governments and NGOs to work
together, on a local, national and global level, to
address and solve this critical issue.
THANK
YOU