Projects to End Farmer Suicide

May 2008: Development reports and personal testimonies

Introduction:

For the past couple years, the Vidarbha Region of Maharashtra in central India, has attracted international attention due to a continuing epidemic of suicide amongst its farmers. In 2006, farmers in the region were committing suicide at a rate of one every eight hours. In fact, this problem is not limited to Vidarbha. The states of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and others are witnessing similar trends. The situation is complex but most analysts believe that the root cause lies in the play of worldwide economic forces which leave the small farmer unsupported in times of need.

Amma talks about farmer suicides

On February 24, 2008, Amma held a programme in Washim, an agricultural-based town in the Vidarbha Region of Maharashtra. During her programme, Amma gave darshan to thousands upon thousands of impoverished farmers who face the same economic turmoil that has driven many of their peers to suicide.

Amma listened to peoples' problems, consoled them and dried the tears of hundreds of widows and orphaned children. Her motherly embrace and words of encouragement brought them joy and new hope.

This programme was part of Amma's North India Tour when Amma travels with a fleet of buses carrying 400 or more ashram residents, many of whom are from foreign countries. On a roadside stop the day after the programme, one foreigner was prompted to ask Amma to give her view of the situation.

It was a rare opportunity when Amma was able to speak at length about the plight of India's farmers, as well as the details of the various relief programmes the Mata Amritanandamayi Math (MAM) has initiated.

Big Challenges - Straws Of Hope

After her programme in Vidarbha, during a roadside stop, Amma explained the plight of India's farmers to the ashram residents travelling with her

"The entire lives of these people revolve around agriculture," Amma said. "The government should support them. In some places it is doing so, but not effectively enough. In other places, it is not doing so at all. Some farmers own and cultivate very small plots of land-maybe only one to four acres. That is their sole source of income. If there is a problem with their harvest, if their crops fail, they go broke."

"Sometimes when the crops are planted, the price may be at 20 or 30 rupees per kilo, but by harvest time the value has plummeted to only 10 rupees or less. When this happens, they have no other means to continue farming other than to take loans, using their land as collateral. Often they cannot take loans from government institutions or proper banks, only from private money-loaners. These money-loaners charge extremely high interests rates-as much as 30 to 40 percent. Banks will not loan them money because they feel the risk of default is too high. These interest rates place such a financial burden upon the farmers that they end up unable to pay their field-hands. Furthermore, they may have additional expenses, like having daughters of marrying age for whom they need to raise dowry. The result is complete and total financial duress. The farmers feel utterly helpless and, seeing no other way out, they decide to commit suicide. They give their children poison and then drink it themselves."

Amma then said how, more often than not, the fields are maintained solely by the families themselves. In such situations, much of the responsibility of cultivation falls upon the shoulders of the children, forcing them to discontinue their educations at early ages.

Helping the Children and Mothers

Amma explained how MAM is providing 100,000 permanent scholarships for such children throughout India. "At least the children who are interested should be given the opportunity to study," Amma said. "If they receive at least a basic education more avenues of income will become available to them and their families.

"Amma feels the situation is due to how inextricably tied to agriculture these people's lives are traditionally. If we provide them with alternative means of income, it may help. The Ashram has started conducting vocational training for groups of women from such families. These groups are given some initial seed capital in order to start cottage-industry businesses. The Ashram is also coordinating these groups to avail themselves of loans from proper banks. This will help the families become less susceptible on the whims of Nature and the success of the harvest."

Give Hope to a Drowning Man

"When someone is drowning in a river, they will cling to even a single straw for dear life. Amma feels these programmes could be like that straw, providing them with at least some hope for the future."

Worse Than a Third World War

Amma then reflected on the larger problem: how the soil is losing fertility due to pollution, global warming and the additional demands placed upon the earth due to the ever-growing population. She stressed the need for India to conduct more research in the area of agriculture technology and rainwater harvesting. "We have to start thinking of means to conserve water," Amma said. "We have to learn how to produce more crops with less water, and how to get water from the lakes, ponds and rivers to farming areas."

Amma said she believed that artificial means of cultivation were a necessary evil. "These artificial means of producing greater crop yields are temporarily appeasing hunger, but ultimately they are causing further damage," she said. "It is like cross-breeding a donkey with a horse. The result is a mule, which has neither the good qualities of a horse nor of a donkey.

Similarly the new ways of cultivation are creating more crops, but are resulting in deterioration of health-physical and mental. Regardless, they are needed at this point in time. Such is our state. In this way we can continue for some time-like a cancer patient extending his life another six months through chemotherapy."

"In truth," Amma said, "the situation is worse than a third world war. If it were war, there would be instant death-not this long, drawn out suffering.

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Farmer Relief Project is announced

Farmer Relief Project expands

About Farmer Relief Project

Farmer Relief Project - updates

Amma's Visit to Washim, Vidharbha

Washim People Visit Amritapuri

A Visit of Farmers And Their Wives From Washim To Amritapuri