The Hindu Business Line : `Indebtedness main reason for farmer suicides'

Almost 30-35 per cent of the agri-seed business is in the hands of multinational companies, which propagate the use of hybrid seeds that have single breeding cycles, a major factor leading to farmer suicides, said Mr Pushp Bhargava, Vice-Chairperson of National Knowledge Commission.

"Multinational corporations own a substantial chunk of the agri-seeds business that support the use of hybrid variety of seeds, having single breeding cycles. This compels farmers to buy fresh batches of seeds every season, thereby increasing their indebtedness leading to increasing number of suicides," said Mr Bhargava, while speaking on the issue of rural farmer suicides at a two-day `Summit of the Powerless' held here. He also said that if MNCs were allowed to control or increase their stake in the seed business, the issue of farmer deaths would never be solved.

During the seminar, various reasons leading to farmers committing suicides as well as remedies to the current situation were discussed, with most zeroing in on indebtedness as the root cause. The other reasons cited were lack of public or private sector investment in agriculture, inappropriate credit policies and the lack of subsidies to cash crops like cotton.

Mr Kishore Tiwari, leader of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti said, "Almost 80 per cent of the deaths are from those cultivating cash crops, which have low subsidy levels."

He said that almost 1,280 farmers had committed suicides in six districts of Vidarbha, even after the Prime Minister wavered off the entire debt in the region.

Mr H.S. Narula, Head of the DS Group, said the corporate sector needed to take more responsibility, even while creating Special Economic Zones. Mr Narula said, "Right now the corporate sector is not doing anything to help out."

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