[Reader-list] HRF statement on drought/farmers suicides

[Nagraj Adve]

Am forwarding the HRF press release.
Naga





*Press Release*

*8-1-2012*

*Hyderabad*

The Human Rights Forum (HRF) calls upon the government to bring about a
comprehensive ‘Drought Relief Code’. It should encompass measures that must
be implemented towards effective drought relief and mitigation. The duties
of the State to the people affected by drought and the rights and
entitlements of those who suffer from drought must be codified in this law.
Such a code is imperative because governments continue to exhibit adhocism
and tokenism in the matter of relief towards the drought-hit.

Over the past several weeks HRF teams visited 47 villages in 9 drought-hit
districts of the State where farmers have committed suicide. While exact
figures are difficult to obtain, it is our estimate that not less than 290
farmers have ended their lives in AP over the past three months, over 90
per cent of them from the rain-fed districts of Telangana and Rayalseema.
Most are small, marginal farmers and tenant farmers. Cotton farmers in
Telangana and groundnut farmers in Rayalseema account for the maximum farm
suicides.

Farmers are taking their own lives principally because of the appalling
state of institutional credit leading to excessive reliance on private
moneylenders resulting in high indebtedness. The drying up of public credit
because of the ‘banking reforms’ is the single most important contributing
cause of farmers’ suicides. Farmers also lack access to reliable and
reasonably priced inputs and a remunerative price for their output. It is
clear that the government has failed in its obligations on all these fronts
thereby rendering farmers helpless when the rains were either delayed or
failed like in 2011. Though the government knew of the impending crisis
given subsequent crop failures, it did virtually nothing to avert it.

Apart from notching up the number of drought-hit mandals at periodic
intervals, the government is doing precious little by way of concrete
relief. Measures taken up so far are extremely inadequate. Even
implementation of G.O 421, which provides for an economic and
rehabilitation package to the family members of farmers who have ended
their lives, is pathetic. The RDO-headed verification and certification
committee is barely visiting the villages where suicides have taken place
and going about its job. It must be remembered that for every farmer who
has committed suicide, there are many others facing extreme despair.

The present onslaught on the lives of the peasantry has come about because
the government has jettisoned its responsibility to the farmers. The
government must at least now stop underplaying the extent of the agrarian
crisis and initiate concrete steps to alleviate the situation. All
cultivators, including tenant farmers, must be brought into the ambit of
institutional credit. If these and other such concrete pro-small farmer
measures are not forthcoming, there might be a suicide epidemic in the
coming year.



     VS Krishna
     Md. Anwar

(HRF State general secretary)                                           (HRF
State secretary)