By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal: Nine more farmers of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra have committed suicides in last three days taking the toll of farm suicides to 255 this year.
Those who committed suicides include: Pandurang Surpam, Santosh Gopawar & Surshabhan Rathode (all three in Yavatmal);
Udhhao Siraskar, Ramdas Chincholkar & Rajesh Tekade (all three in Akola); Arun Namdeo Hade & Suresh Lonagare (both in Buldhana) and Dhyanaba Borkar in Washim.
Kishor Tiwari, president of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, (VJAS), in a press note said today that the announcement of Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambram to provide loan waiver up to 2 hectares has brought despondency and gloom in Vidarbha cotton region as most debt trapped 90 per cent farm families are not being covered in loan waiver package due to 2 hectares limit cap. The average land holding on record in rain-fed and dry-land farming area of west Vidarbha is 2.4 hectare which debars the farmers to avail the loan waiver scheme.
Vidarbha agrarian crisis has reported around 36,600 cotton farmers suicides since 1995 after the free trade era started. VJAS has opposed the condition of 2 hectares limit in loan waiver package and urged to give loan waiver to all farmers without any limit of land or crop loan limit as this will cover all the debt-trapped distressed farmers.
VJAS has also demanded that only loan waiver will not address the issue unless and until fresh five credit cycle is given to all the farmers and income base package to farmers. Hence cost of cotton is as important as debt crisis and the issue is too important to address the agrarian crisis, Tiwari stated.
Tiwari claimed that recently it was announced by UPA chairperson Mrs. Sonia Gandhi that loan waiver limit of 2 hectares will be increased up to 5 hectares for Vidarbha cotton farmers. However, he said that now it is learnt that Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Finance Minister Chidambram and Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia have been trying their level best not to make any changes in the declared loan waiver scheme. The government is finding it difficult to fulfill the announcement made by it and hence the main demand of distressed cotton farmers for complete loan waiver in rain-fed suicide prone districts of west Vidarbha alongwith food security, health security, rural employment, value addition project and market facility with government intervention on price front are likely to be shown the exit door, Tiwari added.
It may be mentioned here that VJAS has been demanding since 2006 that cotton belt of Vidarbha should be declared “GM free” organic zone as recommended by National Commission of Farmer, (NCF). VJAS in a letter to Indian Finance Minister Chidambram asked to provide special budgetary allocation to redress hardship of dying farmers and provide solution to agrarian crisis in the light of new national farmer policy. Issue of prevailing distress in the agrarian community is very serious as year 2007 has reported much more farm suicides in other regions of Maharashtra too, Tiwari mentioned in the press note.
VJAS has urged Finance Minister Chidambram of providing credit and cost cover to dying cotton farmers. These are vital due to increase in higher subsidies and instability in cost. Hence price stabilization fund is needed along with complete loan waiver and regulated credit supply from state controlled banks. The step to reduce the input cost of cultivation the regulator for seed and pesticide is must, Tiwari stressed.
The provision to provide insurance cover to cash crop on village level, the direct food security, health care security and rural employment growth in agrarian crisis prone areas should be given special budgetary allocation in order to stop ongoing farmers’ suicides.
VJAS has opposed administration’s another formula to giving interest waiver and short loan waiver to small marginal farmers land holding up to 2 hectare or so. “This will be a mockery of loan waiver demand of debt-trapped distressed cotton farmers as this loan waiver will not cover more than 60,000 farmers out of 12,80,000 lacs suicide prone farmers,” Tiwari informed in press note.
VJAS has requested the Finance Minister to start NFSM, (National Food Security Mission), and special outlay of RKVY (Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana) along with a comprehensive policy for land rights to landless, marginal farmers and tribals cultivating barren land for Vidarbha. To concede the demand to allocate dedicated funds on the lines of AIBP for farm ponds, community tanks and giving incentives to farmers / villages who / which harness water. However, nobody in the administration is serious over the Vidarbha agrarian crisis, Tiwari lamented. ([email protected])