In an attempt to provide a ‘fall-back system’ to the farmers in Maharashtra — which has the highest number of suicides by them among all States, particularly in Vidarbha, the State Government, assisted by the Centre, is working towards starting a skill development and resource institute at Sevagram from June this year to provide farmers employability during the non-cropping season. The aim is that it eventually culminates as a full-fledged University at Wardha by 2019 coinciding with the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
The training on the skill-development would help farmers gain employment who would not think of leaving farming in the event of a crop failure or take “any extreme steps”, said BJP vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, heading a committee to develop the concept of training centres for farmers and evolve alternate employment for them.
The committee, which was constituted by the State Government in August, last year, will submit its report by this month end.
The BJP leader said, “from June onwards, we would engage in mind-set creating exercise, meet, discuss and create awareness for about three weeks among farmers about the concept”. The farmers would be engaged in the skill development during the non-crop season and generate non-farming jobs for the jobs intended to be create for farmers would be in the sectors relating in village and cottage industries in line with what was advocated by Gandhi.
The areas for training and employment include bee keeping, bamboo handicraft, non-timber forest produce, using cotton tree for charcoal, solar equipment repair, carpentry and iron smith work.
Around 16 resource centres are already operational in the region with the help of Non-Governmental Organisations. “These would be converted into the training centres”, he said.
“After training, we would work for capital creation and marketing”, he said adding that “The idea is that the entire activity to help farmers may evolve as a university by 2019”, he said.
The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) has revealed that Maharashtra has the highest number of suicides by distressed farmers among all States, particularly in Vidarbha where the main crops include cotton, soya beans and oranges.
From 2012 to April 2015, a total of 3,145 farmers committed suicide in the six districts in Vidarbha region — Amravati, Yavatmal, Wardha, Washim, Akola and Buldhana.
According to Kisan Mitra, a farmers’ umbrella organisation, the conditions in which many farmers kill themselves - often over small loans. The study found that more than 900 of these farmers, or nearly one in three, had outstanding debts ranging between `10,000 and `15,000. The cycle of crop damage, losses and debt is largely the cause of farmer’s desperations.
Absence of formal credit system(banks etc) in the region and thereby farmer’s dependence on ‘easy money’ on a high interest rates from village ‘Sahukars’ leads to the inevitable debt trap in the event their crop failure. The training centres in Sevagram may be a “ small step” to mitigate the rising trend of suicide in the region.