Plight of Indian Farmers 5-18-2001

18, May 2001             Plight of Indian Farmers

Global economic liberalization has wrought havoc to Indian farmers. 250,000 farmers have committed suicide in the past 16 years – a staggering one suicide every 30 minutes.

Government statistics understate the number of suicides by ignoring whole categories such as Dalits, the so called lower cast farmers, Adivasi’s, tribal community farmers and still others that do not hold land titles.

Sadly, the much touted green revolution has largely disappeared. Indian farmers are no longer protected by agricultural subsidies but must compete with giant foreign agri-businesses who enjoy heavy government subsidies in their own countries. Genetically modified (GM) seed suppliers, such as Monsanto, are systematically eroding Indian farmer’s ability to survive. The GM seeds are genetically programmed to die at the end of each harvest season and must be constantly replenished. Thus, Indian farmers are forever beholden to the monopolistic price demands of their suppliers. The cottonseed industry is a classic example of the predatory practices of multinational corporations. Organic, sustainable farming has been abandoned in favor of more modern farming methods.  Water, the life blood of farming, is becoming scarcer forcing farmers to dig deeper and deeper tube wells at increasing costs.

Smita Narula, faculty director of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at NYU, has rightfully stated that the basic human rights of farmers must be honored by providing them with the basic commodities of their trade at reasonable costs. 

One can only imagine the uproar in the US and other western countries if their farmers were subjected to cheaper imported agricultural products. Most western countries, Japan and China have tight controls and offer heavy subsidies to protect their farmers.

The absence of affordable rural credit exposes the farmers to the clutches of loan sharks who exact crippling interest rates which can never be repaid. Desperate farmers have turned to growing cash rich drought resistant poppy to survive. Many have fallen victim to drug abuse while others have ingested pesticides to end their lives. This is national outrage and must be remedied.