Farmer suicides have been a major issue in Maharashtra since the 1990s. Some key points: - The state with the highest number of farmer suicides is Maharashtra, with over 1,000 reported in 2006 alone in the Vidarbha region. - Common reasons for suicide include crop failure due to changing weather/rainfall patterns, high costs of farming inputs, debt, and crop price volatility. Widows and children are often left in difficult financial situations. - The government of Maharashtra has implemented some schemes to help farmers, but they have had limited success due to lack of farmer input and awareness. - Amma and her organization have initiated programs to provide vocational training

2. NameRoll No. Pooja Gupta B046AnuradhaShah B065Pinky Vishwakarma B018Nazima Sota B030Mayuri Jatale B060Std – FY.BCBI-1st SemSubject – EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONTopic – FARMER SUICIDES IN MAHARASHTRA

3. Farmer Suicides in Maharashtra An Overview

4. HistoryIn the 1990s India woke up to a spate of farmer suicides.

5. The first state where suicides were reported was Maharashtra. Soon newspapers began to report similar occurrences from Andhra Pradesh.

6. In the beginning it was believed that most of the suicides were happening among the cotton growers, especially those from Vidarbha.

7. 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 concernIn 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.

8. Reasons

9. Other reasons for suicidesMost of the suicides were because of combination of more than one factor.

10. Reasons for Suicides in Six Districts of Vidarbha in five years

11. Crop FailureCrop 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.

12. Single crop a year.

13. Cotton the dominant crop.

14. Improper irrigation.

15. Yield limited by rain, but regular rise in cost of input lowered margin of profit.

16. 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.

17. Harassment of the family by corrupt moneylenders.

18. Widows burdened with the new responsibility as the sole breadwinner.

19. 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

20. Total number of suicide cases and eligible cases

21. The number of famers committing suicide is staggeringMore than 100,000 farmers have taken their lives since 1997.

22. 86.5 percent of farmers who took their own lives were financially indebted.

23. Their average debt was about $835.

24. On average, there has been one farmer’s suicide every 32 minutes since 2002. Common features in majority of suicides91-94 % of suicides are by family heads.

25. 91-97 % of those who committed suicide are males.