1. Relation between farmer’s suicide, food security, livelihood,
global market, Agrarian crisis and sustainability
30/09/2016
Agrarian concerns, Food security and Sustainability in modern India

2. Farmer’s ???
 A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture for
sustaining their life.
 Doing some combination of activities for raising
field crops, orchards, poultry, fisheries and
livestock.
 A farmer might own land or work as labor on land
owned by others.
 A farmer is usually a farm owner, which employees
of the farm are known as farm worker.
Suicide???
 The word suicide originates from Latin word
‘suicidium’ which means ‘to kill oneself’.
 It is act of intentionally causing one’s own death.
 Common methods are hanging, pesticide, poisoning
and firearms.
 The cause is frequently attributed to mental
disorder such as depression, alcoholism and rape
etc.
INTRODUCTION
Livelihood
• A livelihood comprises the capabilities
assets (including both material and social)
and activities require for a means of living.
• A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope
with and recover from stresses and shocks,
maintain or enhance its capabilities and
assets, while not undermining the natural
resource-base.
Sustainability
 Satisfy human food and fiber needs from
livelihood.
 Enhance environmental quality and the natural
 Sustain the economic viability of farm operations
 Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society
as a whole.

3.  India ‘s population is 1.21 billion in 2011. 67%
are rural.
 Marginal and small farmers dominated.
 Importance of agriculture in Indian economy.
Although it contributes only 15% of GDP, the
share of workers is about 55%.
 60% of cultivated area is rainfed as only 40% of
area is under irrigation.
 Indian agri. is the home of small farmers
(80%).
 Therefore, the future of sustainable
agriculture growth, food security and
livelihoods in India depends on the
performance of small and marginal
farmers.
 Agricultural Census data shows that
there were about 121 million agricultural
holdings in India in 2000-01. Around 99
million were small and marginal farmers.
 Small and marginal farmers account for
more than 80% of total farm HHs. But
their share in area is around 44%.
BACKGROUND

4. Reason Behind the Farmer’s Suicide
Drought
Monsoon
Lack of
irrigation
Ground water
Lack of power
supply
Expensive
technology
Girl Marriage
Indebtedness
Crop failure
* Economic survey 2014-15
small farmer,
44.50%
Marginal
farmer,
27.90%
Medium
farmer,
25.20%
Large Farmer,
2.30%
FARMER SUICIDE BY LAND
HOLDING 2014
Indebted
ness,
20.60%
Farming
related
issue,
17.20%
Illness,
13.20%
Family
Problem,
20.10%
Alcohol,
4.40%
Other
cause,
24.50%
CAUSE OF FARMER SUICIDE 2014

5. Case study Andhra Pradesh 2006
Why Do Farmers Commit Suicide? The Case of Andhra Pradesh
By
V. Sridhar
• Crisis from the drought,
Indebtedness, soil degradation,
rise of input cost and
inappropriate agricultural
practice.
• Withdraw from institutional
support and depend in
moneylenders.
Background
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 41, No. 16 (Apr. 22-28, 2006), pp. 1559-1565 Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4418115
• Shift from traditional rainfed cereal crop
to non food cash crop and taking borrow
for production.
• Declining growth rate of agricultural
output.
• Returns from agriculture are decline for
many crops.

6. Impact of liberalization
 State has steeped back from its role as a
promoter of agriculture.
 Adverse impact of 1991 liberal regime in AP.
 High cost debt is the cause for suicide.
 AP systematically reduced the role of public
investment, intervention and regulation.
 Scarce of irrigation resources due to fiscal
squeeze.
• Heavy losses due to erratic power,
low voltage and burned motors.
• Field of agricultural research and
extension had been under
prolonged.
• In 1997-98, more suicide due to
cotton seeds provided by private
companies.
• High production cost for crops.
(Paddy 16 % by Punjab)
• Burden of agrarian crises has
obviously fallen on the small and
marginal farmers.

7. Suicide phenomenon
 Field are fallow for 8-9 month.
 Migrating to escape from extreme
distress.
 Lack of access to credit from
institutional source.
 Input price is highest in AP among all
states.
 Tenants are unable to cope with
production due to commercialization
and high rent.
Response of state
 Relief measure will work for
peasants life.
 Recognize the magnitude of
agrarian crisis.
 Relief measure is based on
farm related cause.
 Difficult to prove farm related
cause for suicide.
• Suicide is cause of socio-
economic condition.
• Increasing with the policy
of economic liberalization
1990s.
• Necessary to explore the
dimension of distress in AP
– with field based
explanation.
• Suicide is serious threat of
farmers, erupting the
whole country.
Key point

8. WHY SHOULD TALK ABOUT FARMER’S
SUICIDE?
Agricultural sector has a pivotal
role in Indian economy.
Farmers provide principal means
of livelihood for over 60 %
population.
Increase unemployment.
Effect on the food availability.
Problem of food security.
Farming is delinked from the
earth, soil, environment and
biodiversity.
The policy of trade liberalization
and globalization is rooted for rise
price and input cost.
 Who will do Organic Farming?
 Who will produce for us?
 Who will maintain
biodiversity?
 What about our rest farmers?
 What happened with nature
imbalance?
 How will agribusiness
function?
 What about indirect
agricultural sector?
Some Question related with
farmer’s suicide

9. How to overcome from farmer’s suicide???
 Adopt traditional and organic agricultural practice.
 No subsidy in the fertilizers.
 To ensure the credit facilities from the credit
institution.
 Extension of agriculture research and training.
 To improve marketing channel.
 To provide irrigation or rainfed agriculture facilities.
 To strengthen the non-farm activities.
 To explore agribusiness and new innovation.
Farmer’s should feel proud to be farmer not
burden.