Farmers in bottomless debt commits suicide still in India.Agricultural economic crisis threatens the country’s food security
A majority of farmers in India own less than 10 acres. It is these small farmers to supply 1.2 billion people with enough food. many of them have a lot of debt and some stuff, the combination of high costs and declining crop. Some of them commit suicide. – It is often those who have a lot of debt that has taken her life, says anthropologist Anna Marie Nicolaysen. Critics believe that the men who stand between the producer and forbukerne take more profits and that the Indian agriculture should have been reformed . Feels hopelessDespite India’s strong economic growth over two decades, many small farmers the situation as hopeless. In a public opinion poll from 2004, based on a representative sample of farmers, many replied that they would give up their profession if they had nothing else to go to. A significant majority said that they would advise their children to be farmers, and situation is hardly better today. A symptom of the crisis which received great attention in the 1990s, farmers are committing suicide after taking up debt they can not repay. many of them took their own lives by drinking pesticide. Continued registered tens of thousands of deaths annually. Official figures say that more than a quarter of a million Indian farmers have committed suicide since 1992. figures from India’s National Crime Records Bureau show that 14,027 farmers committed suicide in 2011, writes the English-language newspaper .
-MuchDebt
anthropologist Anna Marie Nicolaysen has done field studies in the northwestern state of Punjab in connection with his PhD at the University of Connecticut, USA. Nicolaysen said that it is often those who have a lot of debt that has taken their life. It is not necessarily the most poorest who find themselves in such a disability, but often the farmers who have little more land and chosen or felt pressured into taking out loans to invest in a more commercially oriented agriculture. The tragic deaths have been much debated in India and farmers say although there may be various reasons for suicide.Nicolaysen said that some of the people she talked to have pointed to personal family problems, health problems or problems with alcohol, drugs or medication. Knip same time it is obvious that many of the suicides are linked a hopeless economic situation when the crops fail and the individual’s sense of honor. – Some are in a difficult situation when they can not pay back the debt to private money lenders, says Nicolaysen the forskning.no. She says that many farmers claimed that the Indian government’s policy bar indirectly responsible for many of the suicides. They believed that there must be something wrong with an agricultural system in which those who produce the food must go into debt just to do their job. Some farmers also complained that esteem for farmer had been lost, especially among the younger generations.
Green Revolution
The so-called green revolution, modern agriculture based on knowledge of agricultural research, has long been a success in India.New types of seeds, new farming techniques and the development of irrigation systems in large scale ga growth. According to figures from the Indian central bank increased production of wheat by 5.1 percent annually through 1970 – and 1980’s. The production of rice increased by 4 percent annually over the same period. During the 1990s and 2000s slowed, however, growth aft and was unable to keep pace with population growth. This was the decade when India after critics opinion turned his back to the countryside, liberalized economy and the a major power in the world IT industry. Maybe it was not the potential for further growth in the methods and technologies associated with the Green Revolution. Following China Stronger investment in agriculture related to the current five-year plan has contributed to the production again has increased in recent years. But in spite of record high rice crops in 2011, India is still looking at many scales. Following the London Olympics in the summer compared to Indians its modest medals with China. In other areas, it is natural to compare the two Asian giants. A survey of the Indian central bank shows that the yield per cultivated area is higher in China than in India for staples such as wheat and rice. – Not right price
To be able to meet the expected population growth until 2050 to India’s production of cereals like rice and wheat will increase by 5 million tonnes a year. It requires that farmers experiencing situation secure enough to invest.One of the challenges is that farmers have no market power and must take the price they are offered. Middlemen have great power. Purchasers alleged cartel activity and to determine the rates themselves. – Our farmers are not getting the right price for their products, says Bipul Chatterjee of the Indian organization Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS). CUTS, which has a broad cooperation with Norwegian authorities and research institutions, advocating for comprehensive reforms in Indian agriculture. Malnutrition – In one way or another we need to reduce the gap between farmers and the market, says Chatterjee to forskning.no. organization sees glitch in the distribution of food and points out that much spoilage during storage and distribution. appears often that India’s agriculture has managed to keep the country self-sufficient in food and production has kept pace with population growth. However, this is only half the story. There are still many people’s calorie needs are not fully covered. Agricultural production has not increased in line with the rest of the economy. – The increase in production is not sufficient. More than fifty percent of India’s population does not have safe access to food, says Chatterjee
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