IF there is one burning issue that emerges from Maharashtra in the run-up to the elections, it is the agrarian crisis in the cotton belt of Vidarbha. The region has the worlds highest suicide rate among the farming communities. From 1997 to 2006, the region witnessed 36,428 cases of suicide, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. In 2006 alone, approximately 4,453 farmers committed suicide for debt-related reasons.
In 2006, a Rs.11-crore package was announced after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the region. Of this, Rs.1 lakh each was given to the families of farmers who had committed suicide. The Union Budget waived some of their outstanding loans. But no long-term solution was found and the crisis continued.
Some of the problems before the cotton farmer were crop failures due to consecutive years of low rainfall, unavailability of bank loans because farmers had defaulted on previous loans, a low Minimum Support Price (MSP), low import duties on cotton and inflation. Furthermore, the use of chemicals and genetically modified seeds were not as successful as was touted by the companies that sold them.
This year, in order to cushion the farmer against losses, the Central government declared an increase in the MSP from Rs.2,500 a quintal to Rs.3,000 a quintal. Although farmers went through the worst harvest in a decade this year, they came out relatively unscathed thanks to the MSP. Moreover, government agencies bought the entire yield. This simple yet smart move has done much more than any loan waiver. The Congress, which was routed in Vidarbha in the last Lok Sabha elections, can use this to its advantage.
Unfortunately, the Congress is not making use of this, says Vijay Jawandhia of the Shetkari Sanghatana in Wardha. Meanwhile, BJP leaders here have been promising to keep the MSP high and also order complete loan waivers.
This correspondent travelled to some of the areas affected by the drought and suicide deaths to understand the popular sentiment.
The MSP came as a lifeline this year, says Bhimraj Khode, a farmer from Saptefal village in Yavatmal. But we need more sustainable solutions. There has to be alternatives. We need to develop poultry, dairy or even horticulture in this area.
About 16.9 per cent of Maharashtras net sown area is under cotton, which is a means of livelihood for over 30 lakh farmers.
Cotton is too dependent on the monsoon, says Manoj Chandurkar, a farmer from Wardha. Yet without irrigation, there are again few other options. A consistent demand by Vidarbha farmers is to improve irrigation facilities.
The Vidarbha region has 10 of the total 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in the State. It was a Congress stronghold until the 2004 elections, when the BJP captured it.
The caste factor plays a crucial role in the outcome. Most often, what matters is the community of the candidate, not his party. The BJP and the BSP play this game well. The BSP has not gained enough support here to win seats, so it will only split the vote. We may see a Congress-NCP win this time, says Avinash Shirke from the Savitri Jyotirao Mahavidhyala in Yavatmal.
Anupama Katakam in Wardha and YavatmalCOMMents
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