B.J. Vijayakumar, who conducted an inter-disciplinary study to look into the anthropological dimensions of farmers’ suicide in Karnataka during 2004-05 as part of his research for doctorate degree from the University of Mysore, has urged the government to implement his recommendations. He claimed that his recommendations would go a long way in alleviating the problems of the farmers and prevent them from committing suicide.
Mr. Vijaykumar, in his Ph.D. thesis, suggested setting up of a separate agricultural board to protect the interests of farmers. The proposed board should be set up on the lines of the Coffee Board, he said, adding that the proposed board should educate farmers about scientific cultivation, help the government fix minimum power charges for IP sets and suggest minimum support price for each crop. The board should also help farmers get a fair price for agricultural produce, and the board should ensure that farmers are not exploited by middlemen or commission agents.
He had also suggested that loan facilities should also be extended to those cultivating on leased land. Mr. Vijayakumar had visited over 108 villages of north Karnataka to study the ground realities leading to farmers’ suicide. He had suggested that all crops must be insured so that farmers would not sustain losses even in case of failure of crops owing to different reasons.
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Government should also regulate the transactions of moneylenders, probably by a legislation, so that farmers do not fall into debt trap. The thesis also laid emphasis on the need to protect the ecosystem by planting different varieties of saplings round-the-year according to the climatic and soil conditions. Mr. Vijayakumar’s yet another suggestion was to establish farmers’ welfare fund to help farmers in distress, and to provide old-age pension to all farmers. He said that he had submitted a copy of his study and recommendations to both the Union and State government in the year 2006 but unfortunately both the governments failed to implement his recommendations. He urged the State government to implement his recommendations at least now to prevent the farmer suicides. Mr. Vijaykumar incidentally is engaged in farming activities in Mysuru district.
‘The board should help government stop exploitation of farmers by middlemen’