what is the primary reason farmer suicides are not coming down?
Farmers take loan from local sharks at astronomical rates to cultivate their land. This means the probability of getting stuck in a debt cycle is extremely high.
Our agriculture is still labour intensive and not technology intensive. So labour cost is high and yield is low. Add to this unpredictable weather and a farmer is in trouble.
Also green revolution while it led to increase in production also brought in unsustainable (environment, health, economics) agriculture practises.
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yeah thats what i think too, its not the crop yield or aggressive stance by middlemen. It should be the debt that forces them to give up.
there is a good outlay in the current budget
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1895533
other pointers
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free hand given to increase fertilizer prices and then give a cash subsidy to offset that
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MSP
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ban on exports as a regulation to control domestic prices
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high cost of diesel impacting sowing, harvesting and transportation
This is such a naive take on farmer’s issues.
Go to villages, nobody is willing to loan to farmers. Lenders know that giving loan to a farmer is a risky gamble.
Because, Interest on load is directly tied to not only yield, but also to price of produce.
Also, if the farmer commits suicide, it becomes a political issue (lot of political candidates uses a farmer’s death to rally their minions) and build political capital, and lender will never see the money again.
Governments are bipolar (not just center, state too), when it comes to farmers issues. they do lot of good (mandated capital, fertilizer subsidy, minimum price gaurantee, emergency grants during cyclones or failed crop) but also does a lot of things which limit their financial future (cap on building new frozen storage facilities, not curbing middle men, not encouraging other industries)
Top issues when it comes to farmers distress are
. lack of access to quality seeds
. unpredictable weather
. no pricing power
. Agri commodities are difficult to produce consistent quality at scale. this moves pricing power to middlemen & not farmers.
. lack of access to capital. private lenders stopped lending long long ago. govt banks in rural branches are mandated to give some %age of loan to farmers, and all banks know & write off these loans.
. not enough godowns to store crop when price crashes because of over production. (this is the time farmers just dumpe the crops on road).
. Middlemen backed by politicians. even when price of tomato’es were 1 rupee per kilo (as per farmer), retail buyers never see this price because of cost & greediness of supply chains. Please note middle men are not just greedy businessmen, but also lot of poor people who set up stalls in every street. so they also form considerable voter base, and politicians will not go against them.
. Politicians see farmers as jawans, a necessary sacrifice. that is the only thing i could conclude from this bipolar laws. the laws are made to keep them alive, feed the society at low cost, make sure they depend on politicians for everything, so they form a reliable voter base.
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Long term solutions are there, but govts have no vested interest in encouring them.
. access to quality seeds
. climate controlled farming
. agri co-ops will give some sort of pricing power (eg: hopcom, amul etc.,)
. let farmers operate direct to consumer facilities (Andhra successfully experiemented with this, but subsequent govt gutted this)
. scientific advancements in ensuring consistent quality of produce (hybrid crops helped this to some extent)
. convince farmers in same region to not produce same crop. Tamilnadu farmers in cavery basin allways lean to sugarcane, andhra farmers allways sow rice, telangana farmers allways choose cotton or tobacco, because either that is the only crop they know or that is highest paid crop. this eventually result in price crash.
. Train farmers in organic farming or costly crops. (which are better priced).
Consumers buy Kiwi or California almonds or organic grains branded by MNCs, farmers are losing out on lot of revenue because, nobody is interested in empowering them.
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step 1:- Find a bussiness
step 2 :- Have no idea wtf you are doing?
step 3:- Have culture mixing with bussiness, giving away money bussiness including dowry, keep shrinking your cultivable land. Also have so many family members squander your farming land before you die. Duh!
step 4:- learn no money management, asset management. Learn to sell cultivable land during crisis. Don’t spend money on infrastructure cuz that’s for losers
Step 5:- be close to your community that treats you like trash based on your background. Borrow money local money lender at astronomical interest rates because community trust.
Step 6:- don’t trust big corporates , startups that are legit , rather trust local agent for selling produce cuz they are honest due to same community
Step 7:- accept you f***ed up that local agent bought your goods for dirty cheap price and sold for 10 times the price in city.
The thing is farming is the easiest bussiness to get in and to f*** up. Not only farmers commit Suicide even bussiness man who follows above steps too!
Source:- my coworker who’s dad is farmer in a village
@raoawesome @gsecgsec - nice to know more variables are in consideration.
also note that people dont select farming as a career option, most of them end up in this field as no other alternatives.