Farmer suicides on the rise in Adilabad

interacting with Kalabai, wife of deceased farmer Lachanna 

Farmer suicides have been rising in the last two months in the district. Farmers, affected by the prolonged dry spell, untimely rains and resultant poor yields were the ones who took the extreme step. 

As many as 14 farmers have committed suicide in the last two months in the district. Some of them were young, bellow 30 years of age.

According to sources, six farmers committed suicide in July and another six in August. Two farmers have ended their life this month in the district. the majority of these suicides took place due to mounted debt and lack of germination of seeds.

As many as 50 farmers have committed suicide till now from January, 2016.

A many as 224 farmers- 73 in 2014, 101 in 2015 and 50 in 2016 have committed suicide in the Adilabad district in Telangana state. The state government has issued GO: 173 enhancing the compensation to Rs 6 lakh from Rs 1.5 lakh.

Famers had taken loans from the private moneylenders at exorbitant interest rates  and in the second round of sowing, incurred a huge loss in the process. The distressed farmers went for second sowing and incurred a huge loss in terms of investment cost. Unwanted rains and subsequent floods caused some damage to the standing crops.

Among those who committed suicide were Mekala Lachanna,52, of Dhanora village and Gajjeri Gajananad, 24, of Karanji village in both in Tamsi; Bhanoth Maruthi,30, of  Khairiguda in Rebbena mandal.

Tenant farmer Mekala Lachanna of Dhanora and Adivasi farmer Atram Mutta,38, of  Kakarbuddi of Sirpur(U) committed suicide on September1.

Lachanna took the 14 acres of land on lease and cultivated cotton in eight acres, turmeric in three acres and soya in two acres but lost cotton due to prolonged dry spell. He incurred a huge loss due to second sowing.

His wife Kalabai said they had borrowed Rs 3 lakh from private moneylenders and intermediaries for agriculture and her husband took the extreme step because of disappointment over the poor germination of seeds and mounting debt.               

Rythu Athmahatyala Nivarana Committee district president Sangepu Borranna said farmer suicides were on the rise since two months due to floods and prolonged dry spell and added that the weather conditions had played spoilsport.

He said the three-men committee at mandal and division level were not considering these suicides as related to agriculture distress.

There was prolonged dry spell in August when plants need moisture in the soil to grow. There was unwanted heavy rain in July and floods inundated the standing crops in some part of the district.

According to sources, the average district actual rainfall was 915.3 mm from June1 to September 12. As many as 42 mandals received normal rainfall, six mandals  got excessive rainfall while there was rain deficit in four mandals in the district.

The huge delay in banks giving crop loans and low scale of finance forced farmers to approach private moneylenders. Most of the tenant farmers did not get crop loans from the banks for Kharif.

State fails to rescue tenant farmers

Adivasi farmers tilling the land 

The State government has failed to issue loan eligibility cards (LEC) to the tenant farmers enabling them to get crop loans from banks for Kharif-2016. 

Most of the tribal tenant farmers have failed to get the crop loans, as they do not have an agreement as evidence of taking the land on lease from the landowner. 

The state government promised to ensure Rs 25,000 bank crop loan to each tenant farmer for Kharif season.   

The move was initiated following the reports that landowners getting the benefit of the compensation for the crop damage and bank loans and subsidies instead tenant farmers who actually cultivated land taking the land on lease.

Village revenue officers (VROs) entrusted with the assignment of conducting a survey to identify the tenant farmers.

The state government has issued LEC cards to more than 3,000 tenant farmers but bank crop loans total Rs 10 lakh given only to 243 tenant farmers in the year 2015 in the Adilabad district.

Efforts are being made to increase the scale of finance to the tenant farmers and to give loaning to a number of tenant farmers.

Kiran Vissa, the representative of Rythu Swarajya Vedika, said tenant farmers would get befit of crop loans only when they get loans before the sowing but most of them did not get, as they were not issued Loan Eligibility Cards (LEC) by the state government.

He said, 70 percent are tenant farmers among the total farmers who were committed suicide in the Telangana and issuing LEC would be the first step towards  preventing farmers suicides especially cotton farmers.

It is learned that there are more than 10 lakh tenant farmers in the Telangana but among them, the state government was promised to issue LEC to only 4.15 lakh tenant farmers for this Kharif in the state. But, the state government not even issued 50,000 LEC so far to the tenant farmers this season in the state.    

Tenant farmers were more prone to committing suicide if they had incurred crop loss as they fully depend on rain-fed crops and take loans from moneylenders as most of them did not get institutional support.            

There are more than 1 lakh tenant farmers and total farmers are nearly 4 lakh in the district. It is found even the tenant farmers is cultivating cotton though the risk was  high in the cultivation of cotton and also investment cost when compared to other traditional crops.

Raymond Peter, Commissioner of Survey settlements and land records issued orders to the Agriculture and revenue departments Loan Eligibility Cards (LEC) to the tenant farmers and ensure each tenant farmer get more than Rs 25,000 bank loan.