farmers suicide presentation

8/2/2019 Farmers Suicide Presentation

1/19


2/19

AcknowledgementAny accomplishment requires the effort ofmany people And this work is not different. I

Thank my whole group whose co ordinationand efforts was instrumental in accomplishing thispresentation.

Many examples,stories are the result of thecollection from various sources, such as Internet ,

internet has played a very important role in themaking of this presentation.Every effort has been made to give credit where it

is due for the material contained herein.


3/19

Farmers SuicideCrisis

The suicide rate for farmers

throughout the world is higher

Increasing Rate in farmers suicide


4/19

The Global Perspective

In the Midwest of the U.S. suicide rates among malefarmers are twice that of the general population.In Britain farmers are taking their own lives at a rate of oneaweek.In India, one farmer committed suicide every 32 minutesbetween 1997 and 2005.And it has been pushed down -often even below the cost ofproduction -the prices of inputs such as seed, fertilizersand pesticides have gone up.With limited resources, farmers depend on borrowedmoney to purchase seeds and other inputs and to farm

their land. A drop in their farm incomecould quickly lead tofarmers owin more than the own


5/19

Why Are Farmer Suicide Rates So High?

Financial Stress-constant financial pressure related to the Farm Crisis

An ongoing drought and flood which add to economic problems

Loss of independence and control: many of thissues are not within the farmers control disease, weather


6/19

After Every 30 Minutes An IndianFarmer Commit Suicide

Over the past 16 years,a quarter of a million farmers havecommited suicide.

On average every farmer commit suicide after every 30minutes

The agricultural sector in India has become more

vulnerable to global markets as a result of economicliberalization.

These reforms have led to increased costs, while reducingyields and profits for many farmers.


7/19

The Reason Behind Farmers commiting suicide

Indian agriculture has been going through aserious crisis since 1990s, driving farmers to thepoint of ending their lives the number of such

cases is disturbingly high.LETS SEE! WHAT COULD BE THE FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR IT

Poor returnsIndebtnessIncreased cultivation costInadequate institutional creditImperfect market condition


8/19

Vidarbha suicide spree continues

The 31st all India conference of the All India KisanSabha expresses its anguish at the unprecedentedwave of distress-induced suicides among farmers indifferent parts of India.

Suicide has come to represent in the publiceye the depredations of liberalisation andimperialist-led globalisation.


9/19

Vidarbha suicide spree continues

The 31st all India conference of the All India Kisan Sabhaexpresses its anguish at the unprecedented wave ofdistress-induced suicides among farmers in different partsof India. More perhaps than any other social phenomenon,

suicide has come to represent in the public eye thedepredations of liberalisation and imperialist-ledglobalisation in the countryside. Figures compiled by thehome ministry reveals that pushed to brink by mountingdebts, more than one lakh of farmers and their familymembers committed suicide between 1998 and 2003.These suicides have occurred mostly in prosperous regionsof India, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka andMaharashtra. The farmers committing suicides have come

not only from land owning strata but from the fold of thelandless too.


10/19

Farmer Compare To Total SuicideRate

Year Total suicide Rate Farmer Suicide Rate

2001 105.49 70.12

2002 105.61 76.39

2003 104.34 73.442004 105.36 78.62

2005 103.96 74.45

2006 106.20 74.83

2007 108.67 73.69

2008 109.21 72.56


11/19

Indian farmers Crisis History And Backround

66 per cent of rurallabourers depend onagriculture for their incomeIn the 1990s India woke up

to a spate of farmerssuicidesThe first state wheresuicides were reported ws

MaharashtraSoon there were reports innewspapers about thesimilar occurence inAndhra Pradesh


12/19

Why is it happening?

15 years of economic reformshave given farmers access toexpensive and promisingbiotechnology

These reforms have not ledto crop insurance, landirrigation, or enough bankloans

Reforms opened Indianfarmers to global competition,such as with the UnitedStates and UK who receiveover $18 billion a year insubsidies


13/19

THE BIGGEST REASON BEHIND FARMERS SUICIDE Farmers receive minimalfinancial support

Rise in Globalization &competition in the marketModified seeds cost nearly twice

as much as ordinary ones,necessitating larger loans.There has been minimal financial

support from the government forsmall farmers.Many small farmers dont qualifyfor bank credit, forcing farmers toturn to moneylenders, who charge

up to 20% interest on a four-month loan.


14/19

The number of farmers commiting suicide is staggering

is it happening?

PunjabHaryana

RajasthanKarnatakaKeralaMadhya PradeshMaharashtra


15/19

What happens to the families aftera farmer commits suicide?

Farms are confiscated due toinability to pay back highinterest loans.Harassment of the family bycorrupt moneylenders.Widows burdened with thenew responsibility as the solebreadwinner.Children sometimes lose bothparents to suicide. Forcingtheir education to a halt,

especially if they have to workin order to rovide for their


16/19

Although these farmingmethods worked for severalyears for many farmers, theybegan to show adverseeffects in the late 1980s.The overuse of chemicalfertilizers caused the soil tobecome infertile.This, coupled with a reductionin the genetic variety ofcrops, and three years ofdrought led to zero yield.Without crops to sell farmerswere unable to pay theirdebts


17/19

Working together to solve the crisis

The First step must be takenby the governmentGovernment should givefinancial support

The greater the support fromfriends, family, localcommunities, nationalpolicies and society as a

whole, the less impact stresswill have on individuals andfamiliesIt is crucial for governments

and NGOs to work together,on a local, national and global


18/19

Re erences Chand, R. (2004). Indias national agricultural policy: a critique. Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics , 64(2) 164-187.Gregoire, A.(2002). The mental health of farmers. Society of Occupational Medicine , 52.Manav, C. (2006). Debt drives Indian farmers to suicide. Inter PressService.Mishra, S. (2007). Risks, farmerssuicides and agrarian crisis in India:is there a way out? IndiraGandhi Institute of Development Research:Mumbai.

Mathew, B. (2004). Suicide for survival. Retrieved from:http://www.countercurrents.org/glo-shiva050404.htm on Oct. 14, 2007Robinson, S (2007,May). Seeds of despair. Time International, 169(20),34.Mohanty, B.B. (2005). We are like the living dead: Farmer suicides inMaharashtra, Western India. The Journal of Peasant


19/19

T H A N K Y

O

U

farmers suicide presentation

Documents