Unlike their counterparts in Andhra or Maharashtra, farmers of Kerala district are not politically organised and often find that ending their lives is the only solution
Congress president Rahul Gandhi offered prayers at the Thirunelli temple in Wayanad district last week, ahead of his public address here. Pic/PTI
While farmer suicides in Maharashtra's Vidarbha are quite an infamous affair, the ones in Wayanad, however, mostly go unnoticed. And, this makes the situation worse for the district that is otherwise abundant in natural resources. Ruling governments and political parties have, year after year, ignored the farmers and their families.
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A large number of farmers have committed suicide in the region over the years but most of these have been treated as isolated cases by the government. Six farmers chose death in the last one year. Krishna Kumar from Kattikulam, Wayanad became the latest victim of debt on March 28. He was found hanging in a coffee plantation near his house. Kumar had borrowed over R5.50 lakh from a cooperative bank and his friends, which he could not repay due to crop loss, it was later learnt.
Another framer, Ramdas, 58, from Pulpally killed himself by consuming poison last year. He too had borrowed R4 lakh from banks and private money lenders and was unable to pay it back. He was cultivating bananas among other crops on leased land but it didn't earn him expected profits. Villagers in Wayanad say that farmers' woes are downplayed by the administration and no political parties or government have extended any support. Tribals and farmers are remembered only during the election period, they alleged.
A farmer showing a crop damaged in last year's floods in Kerala
Farmers lack support
A first-of-its-kind study on farmer suicides was recently undertaken in Wayanad by a five-member team of experts from different fields. A detailed report with possible solutions was prepared in 2010 with help from local NGOs. Advocate George Pulikuthiyil, executive director, Jananeethi, which has carried out an extensive study in this regard, said, "Tribals and farmers in Wayanad district are fighting a lonely battle with mother nature, with no support from either the local administration or the ruling governments, irrespective of the political party or ideology that rules the state of Kerala or the Centre."
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"Wayanad does not have any other source of employment, with nearly 95 per cent of the population practising agriculture as their main occupation. A meagre five per cent of the population works in the government sector or private offices. There are no industries for large scale employment here," explained Pulikuthiyl.
The floods that hit Kerala in August 2018 have made matter worse for the farmers. All crops including paddy, coffee, banana etc were damaged "but neither the state agricultural department nor the state government even bothered to ascertain the losses due to flood and no assessment meant no compensation." Pulikuthiyl's brother too, he said, is reeling under R4 lakh debt owing to the flood, that has also impacted the soil quality. Production is now limited to self-consumption and the little that is sold in the markets gets low returns.
Families in debt
The NGO's study had covered 1,690 farmer suicides between January 1, 2000 and March 31, 2008 and found that nearly 314 families were still in dept of up to R50,000, while 321 families owed more than R50,000 to lenders. An unhealthy competition amongst people was observed with regard to outrageous and wasteful expenditure on marriage and lifestyle, along with indiscreet alcoholic addiction. Around 398 people, the study found, had not killed themselves over debt but for some other reasons. Advocate Stephen Mathew, director of Neethivedhi, another NGO working for farmers in Wayanad, said, "The problem is that the district has only three assembly constituencies of which two are reserved for tribal leaders and no political parties have ever given any serious thought about farmers' issues here. Moreover, the elected representatives from here do not have much of a say in the state assembly."
The district is also known for its coffee and tea plantations apart from pepper farming. Farmers, however, had to incur heavy losses due to the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed as part of the ASEAN treaty in 2010. "Prices of exports have drastically come down after the FTA. A farmer who would otherwise earn around R700-800, now earns a little over R250 per kilogram and most of the produce remains limited to self-consumption or local markets," Pulikuthiyl said, adding that farmers, like the tribals, are also divided politically unlike those in Maharashtra or Andhra Pradesh. "They have no say over their produce nor can exert any pressure on their leaders regarding financial assistance. Politicians merely encash on their vote banks by wooing poor tribals and farmers with liquor before the elections."
RaGa's promise
What about Rahul Gandhi's promise of a loan waiver to farmers? "He is the first outsider to have come to Wayanad and taken up farmers' issues, which no political party or leader in the state has raised publicly so far. Also, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan have both acknowledged his statement regarding payment of R72,000 per annum being workable. we believe in him, unlike the R15 lakh jumla Modi had promised in 2014," Pulikuthiyl insisted.
95%
Percentage of people in Wayanad practising agricultureMathew, however, said that only time would tell if Gandhi keeps his word. "It will otherwise become another reason for some more farmers to take the extreme step."
398
No. of people who committed suicide for reasons other than debts
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1,690
No. of farmer suicides the NGO studied
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