Agriculture scenario and farmers suicide in Bundelkhand region[1]

Bundelkhand region is known for its abundance of natural resources but today this is one of the poorest regions of the country. The total amount of current outstanding rural bank debts in Bundelkhand is Rs 4,370.32 crore. This is 21% more than 2010 when the total bank debts stood at Rs 3,613.22 crore. As many as 519 suicides have been reported from the seven districts of the parched and extremely backward region in the five months of this year. In the year 2009, 568 farmers and in 2010, 583 farmers have committed suicide due to various reasons in Bundelkhand as per official records. Taking suo moto action on the reports of farmer's suicide and distress in Bundelkhand region, Allahabad High Court tasked Uttar Pradesh and Central Government to submit report. Since 2002, three years have been declared drought-affected: in 2002, 2004 and 2009. Bundelkhand region covers seven districts of Uttar Pradesh (Banda, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalipur and Mahoba) and six districts of Madhya Pradesh (Chhatarpur, Damoh, Datia, Panna, Sagar and Tikamgarh). Rivers like Ken, Betwa, Yamuna, Mandakini and many other seasonal rivers flow through Bundelkhand but the area is yet rain fed.

A Study conducted by Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune reveal that rural indebtedness is acting only as a "trigger" for a complex range of socio-economic factors that lead to suicides. Analysis of 30 farmer suicide cases revealed that among small farmers while 36.37% committed suicide "due to loss of agricultural income and indebtedness.  40% of farmers would want to quit agriculture and take up some other career. The SAS data and its analysis indicated that the increased cost of cultivation and the sharp deceleration in the growth of prices of many agricultural commodities were among factors that had led to high indebtedness among farmers, 42% of the farmers borrowed from money-lenders.

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[1] www.bundelkhand.in