SowingTheFuture

India holds 2nd positions in rice exports in the world.

No. 2 in wheat production throughout the world

India No. 1 in Export Growth rate in past decade

No. 2 in cotton production

India as a large net exporter in the past decades

The Credit for India’s Growing Rank in Exports

Goes to………

The Indian Farmer…

A Farmer’s suicide leads to loss of more than one life.

It takes away aspirations of the next generation as well.

It puts the children in the same vicious cycle as the parents.

SowingTheFuture- An initiative taken by FarmFreedom NGO in Karnataka.

Farmer suicide – A baker story!A baker happily all set to open his bakery today!!Taken loan to buy all the needy raw material and a rented place.

The basic thing to run his bakery is the FLOUR. The only seller in the city is not selling it.What will happen to the raw material he bought for the day?They all will perish!

Thinking in mind for the next day profit he takes a loan again for the next day.

Buys the material again and the flour is still not available.

In a vision of profit and positivity, he continues to take loan and runs his bakery for next 7 days.

Still no flour.The baker is under high debt.Electricity bills on his head.Sued by landlordMoneylenders knocking doors.How will he survive?Family?Education of children?Expenditure?

Moneylender

Bills

No money

baker Farmer

rainflour

1. Middlemen2. Illiteracy3. Monopoly of corporative.4. Unapproachable.5. Property disputes6. Illness7. Family problems the list goes on…………..

Causes of farmer’s suicide.

Children at times lose both father and mother to the vicious cycle of debt .

Emotionally unstable and volatile due to lack of financial support and emotional guidance

Uneducated and unskilled, they start working thus enlarging the ambit of poverty and Child labor

The farmer who takes his own life, also ends up taking the right to a preferred livelihood of his child. The aspirations and potential of the next generation gets stifled.

The Inheritors of Malady

After getting a sense of the gravity of the situation, now we need to trace the

various stakeholders and formulate the

message to approach them with.

Should the issue be covered by media?Is the youth of India worried?

Who is a happy farmer?What exactly is the dream of a happy farmer.

We need to take interview of

Farmer’s and analyze the

situation from their

perspective

Who are interested in this?Whom can we approach?How can they help us?

Stakeholders

Corporates like MonsantoSugarMills

Banks

State Govt

Central Govt

Moneylenders

Co-operative Institutions (SHGs)

Media

Panchayats

NGOs

General Public Farmers and their families

Low

Medium

High

Low Medium High

FARMER SUICIDES

power

interest

Message to Stakeholde

rs

Sugar Mills

Nearly 60% of the farmers who committed suicide were from the sugarcane belt.

What we suggest :• Sugar Mills to pay the farmers according to the FRP ( Fair and Remunerative Price)

• Sugar Mills have no reason to withhold the pay after having received Rs. 800 crore loanfrom the Central Government and Rs. 1520 crore from the state Government.

• Effective readressal by imposing ultimatum on sugar mills to pay their dues to the farmers.

• Ensure uniformity in compensation to farmers’ family( which ranges from Rs. 2 lakhs to Rs. 20,000)

•Ensure compensation to landless farmers as well

• Proper counseling sessions to the families and especially children in the family.

•Stricter regulations on corporate like Monsanto

State Government

Lends money to farmer at very high rate and pressurize them to repay.

They can be approached for reducing the rates which will make the repayment more probable.

Panchayats

•Provision of bore wells and wells•Awareness about rainwater harvesting•Look out for exploitation by moneylenders•Encouraging and educating farmers about need for multi cropping patterns, sustainable agriculture.

Moneylenders

Bank

What we suggest

• Reduce the interest rate on loans provided to farmers.• Instead of compound interest, they should give simple

interest rates.• Instead of short term loans, they need to give long term

loans.• For agricultural loans, an insurance should be provided,

so that it will be useful during natural calamities.

• Have a talk with a farmers and bring them together to form a group like a Farmers group.

• Make them aware of the banks role in helping them.• Register the farmers group in the bank.

Monsanto

Working together with farmers

Monsanto’s seed monopolies

the destruction of alternatives,

the collection of super profits in the form of royalties, and the increasing vulnerability of monocultures

Self – Help Group

Group of farmers with identified common objectives, tasks, group identities and neighbourhood.

We can approach them to work together to help each other as SHG has got many advantages as follows :

Empower their co-farmer members with the provision of knowledge, skills and motivation.

They can counsel each other. It will increase the social interaction Can negotiate together for the low interest rate Micro financial help

Central Government

Schemes like Pradhan Mantri Krishi yojana, Sinchayee Yojana , soil health card schemes should be made easily approachable by every farmer in the country.

•Increase the literacy rate of farmers by providing the compulsory education or any type of institutional help.

•If the loan taking procedure is simplified and interest rates are lowered then farmers will take loan from government rather than the private moneylenders

MediaNGOsFarmer and their familiesThe general publicMany more..

There are so many other stakeholders whom we can approach and ask for their respective help.

INTERVIEW – FARMER’S PERSPECTIVE Q: What were the difficulties you faced while

growing crops ?A: Due to decrease in rainfall, it has become difficult to

grow crops. From past 2 or 3 years we are growing RAIN dependent crops. We grew Sugarcane crop, as laborers were not available to work in the field. When it was harvest time, we gave the crops to the surrounding Sugar factory, but didn’t get any support price. Few farmers who had availed the facility of loan, committed suicide as they couldn’t repay the debt.

Q: What was the scenario during the drought which happened last year ?

A: We cultivated rain based crops like Toor dal. But rainfall wasn’t sufficient and our crops were wasted . We claimed for compensation for the crops. They promised that compensation would be given and we pledged our house paper in order avail the facility.

Q: Do you think that Government Schemes for farmers will help to overcome the problems you are facing ?

A : All Government come to power, refrain from helping farmers and its all about vote-bank politics. The schemes are sometimes caste oriented. The Government waives off the Loan only for few castes like SC,ST and OBC. But for other castes the loan was still to be repaid and this led to a migration of few farmers. The scheme has loopholes and doesn’t reach the farmers on time. Hence they have sold their farmlands and migrated to Goa- Bombay. Farmers prefer to work outside the farmland have lost interest in Farming due to the Government schemes.

Q: It would be nice, if you would give an example of Government’s loophole in assisting farmer.A : 3 years back when the present Government came to power, it promised that it would provide all the benefits to the farmers. But after an year there was a farmers protest which took place in Hubli, Belgavi and Dharwad. Support Prices were announced by the Government. For one tonne they would get a support price of Rs.2,800 and 2 tonnes it would be Rs.3200. Once, the session ended, CM announced that the SP would be Rs.1800. It came as a shock to farmers and protests happened but with no gain. So Government don’t help us to get rid of our difficulties.

Q: There are various schemes like Health card scheme, Pradhana Mantri Krishi Yojana. Do you think that all the farmers are aware of these schemes and are they benefited due to these policies ?

A: 80% of the farmers don’t know about these schemes. Only 10-20 % of them who are literates or capable of availing know about these schemes. Poor Farmers cannot get an access to this schemes. Banks also don’t treat them well, when farmers approach them. Hence they don’t get benefited form these schemes.

Q: What are your views on After suicide effect on children and family ?

A: No one will help them. Maximum they can get a help of Rs.20,000. they have to work hard in others land. They will become Labourers in other land than their own farmland. Children will sacrifice their education. They are also compelled to work on the fields. They are burdened with the responsibility of the family at a very tender age. It becomes difficult for their family members to lead a peaceful life.

Awareness among youth is a big challenge. We can channelize the media to make the next generation more empathetic towards farmer suicide by setting up social media platforms where people can discuss and lay their own suggestions.

YOUTH`S VIEW-Social media

What is the single word that comes to your mind when You hear the word “Farmer”?

Most of the answers were- “FOOD”.

Some say : if farmers are not there who will give us food.

Sad part is they had no idea about farmer suicides happening at exorbitant rate.

They were so ignorant about their situation.

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A dream of a farmer from hell to heaven

Smile on a face doesn’t cost much!!

My Dream will come true soon..

I dream of a fertile land, so that crops grow well

I dream of a night with no sorrows, full of food and a happy sleep

I dream of a tractor that works,of rain that falls gently.Of bright sunny days so grass can grow.

I dream that my dream come true someday………. A farmer of dreams knows how to pretend.

A farmer of dreams knows what it means to be patient.

Life without food,Is like a tree without root.Life without food,Is like a bad dream come true Food comes from farm,These farms make our country charm,Our country’s pride is hidden in farms,But the growing population rings an alarm

Farmers try their best to cultivate more,For lost ships to become a sea shore,These efforts will not be in vain,One day the dry land will also have rain!

THANKS to farmers for growing food!THANKS to farmers for giving our life tree roots!

Sending their children to town to study.Their children speaking English.

A dream to provide education to their children .

A dream to enjoy their work without worries

The end!

It’s the beginning!