HR!Day405 - Over 350,000 farmers in India have committed suicide since 1995. Why?

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--- Humanity Rising Day 405 - Thursday February 3, 2022      (GoTo Bottom)
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Farmers in India are committing suicide at alarming rates and are in open revolt against the Indian Government. To understand why we will dialogue with Vandana Shiva, social and environmental activist.

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India reported a total 296,438 Indian farmers suicides between 1995 and 2015. In 2019, 10,281 people who work in the farming sector committed suicide. That is 28 people a day. Some 5,579 Indian farmers died by suicide in 2020. The figures are according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The expressed reasons in order of importance behind farmer suicides were – debt, alcohol addiction, environment, low produce prices, stress and family responsibilities, apathy, poor irrigation, increased cost of cultivation, private money lenders, use of chemical fertilizers and crop failure.

The increased cost of cultivation, inadequate irrigation, drought, flood and crop failure all contribute to the lack of viability in the farming profession and debt of farmers. Additionally, difficulty in selling within the market can make or break the income of a farmer. Average farm size, poor infrastructure, low use of farm technologies and best farming techniques, decrease of soil fertility due to over fertilization and sustained pesticide use, are leading contributors to low agricultural productivity. The related factors responsible for the crisis include dependence on rainfall and climate, import of agricultural products, reduction in agricultural subsidies, lack of easy credit to agriculture and dependence on money lenders, and decline in government investment in the agricultural sector.

In 2021, the Modhi Government sought to pass new legislation that infuriated the already distressed farmers and major protests broke out. The Modhi Government finally backed down.

  • Vandana Shiva will help us understand what is happening. She has been on the forefront of social activism both in India and globally for decades.
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