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There were at least 16,196 farmers’ suicides in India in 2008, bringing the total since 1997 to 199,132, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The national average for farm suicides since 2003 stays at roughly one every 30 minutes.
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The share of the Big 5 States or ‘suicide belt’ in 2008 — Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh — remained very high at 10,797, or 66.6 per cent of the total farm suicides in the country.
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“There is hardly any decline in the suicide belt, though individual States may show variations across 12 years. If this is the state for 2008, the year of the Rs. 70,000 crore loan waiver and multiple farm packages, then 2009, a drought year, could show very disturbing figures. The underlying agrarian problems seem as acute as ever.” Prof K. Nagaraj, Madras Institute of Development Studies: TH 220110
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NOTE:
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The surveys on farm suicides point to the trigger for suicides as inability to repay debts taken at exorbitant rates of interest from money lenders. The proximate cause is crop failures and/or unremunerative farm gate prices for produce. Remedial measures needed are improving yields, R&D and extension services, increasing substantially agri public investment, developing rural infrastructure (roads, storage &marketing facilities) , making available timely and adequate credit through banks and last, but not the least ensuring remunerative price for farm produce covering C2 cost plus 50%. KRSR |
Farmers in USA, EU and Japan get half of their income from subsidies
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The two-member committee on resource mobilisation formed by the Punjab government, on Tuesday ruled out withdrawal of subsidies
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| On the crucial issue of subsidies on agricultural inputs like free power and irrigation, the report categorically states, “Subsidies on agricultural inputs like free power and water will be rationalised and not withdrawn.” It quotes a report by Economist, London, to reinforce its argument in favour of subsidies. “52% of American farmer’s income, 46% in the European Union and 56% of the Japanese farmer’s income comes from government subsidies. In contrast, Punjab farmers get only 5% of their income in subsidies.” |
The committee has called for introduction of productivity bonus through a system of reimbursement of the power bills directly to the farmers (instead of compensating the PSEB) at rates which would be fixed at Rs 50 per BHP. FE 200110
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| “Banks were nationalised not to serve the people but to serve the politicians, and this they do very well”: MeghnadDesai |
“This weakening of the Indian banking industry has been a matter of policy. While India escaped the worst of the 2008-09 crisis, there has been a huge cost paid along the way over the last 40 years. The entire debate about financial exclusion is there because the PSU banks failed to implement the very purpose for which they were nationalised. The real reason for the nationalisation was, of course, that Indira Gandhi wanted to provoke the resignation of Morarji Desai and split the Congress. The evidence for this is in the memoirs of IG Patel who was in the finance ministry at the time and had to draft the legislation within 24 hours, as I have cited in The Rediscovery of India.”
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“Banks, I am told, manipulate their targets for agricultural lending by loaning to fertiliser corporations! The lack of credit for farmers and for small businesses has been shown by many reports. Farmer suicides in the middle of the last decade were caused by the high cost of credit, among other reasons. These farmers were still relying on moneylenders”. Excerpts from: PSU banks are smug but small, FE 19010 |
| Consumer price-based inflation rises to 17% in Dec |
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Inflation based on prices of products consumed by rural labourers rose to 16.99 per cent in December as rice, wheat, sugar and other food articles turned dearer. Consumer price-based index of products consumed by agricultural labourers rose to 17.21 per cent in December compared to 15.65 per cent in previous month. PTI / Jan20, 2010
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India GDP to grow by7.5% in 2010: World Bank
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| In its report ‘Global Economic Prospects 2010’ the World Bank has said: “Global GDP, which declined by 2.2 per cent in 2009, is expected to grow 2.7 per cent in 2010 and 3.2 per cent in 2011“. The GDP estimate for India is 7.5% for 2010 and 8% for 2011. |
| All India Agricultural Production down by 10% |
| The government’s chief statistician said that farm sector output is likely to dip by 6-7% in the third quarter. Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen said that the fall in farm output could be as steep as 7-10%. |
| Cotton output has been pegged to increase by 2.2% to 23.7 million bales. Sugarcane and jute-mesta production is likely to fall by 8.9% and 1.6% to 249.5 million tonnes and 10.2 million bales, respectively. 210110 |
| AP kharif grains output down by 30% |
| Estimate for the kharif season, final output for the season production of foodgrains to be 31% lower at 73 lakh tonnes than 106 lakh tonnes in the last season. The area fell to 36.14 lakh hectare from 42.42 lakh hectare last year. |
| The production of pulses is pegged at 2.70 lt (3.39 lt). Oilseed production is estimated at 6.49 lt against 7.90 lt as the area shrank to 14.52 lakh hectares from 19.33 lakh hectares in the 2008-09 kharif season. |
| Sugarcane production is pegged at 1.22 crore tonnes as against 1.53 crore tonnes last year. BL 200110 |
