Category: Farmer

Dairy Farming is developing in the locale consistently. Different emergency clinics are working here to give the veterinary administrations, medicine, and dispensary administrations. A large portion of the creatures in the area are of indigenous/ neighborhoods breed whose milk is subjectively great yet have lower business esteems. There is immense interest in the region to improve the cows breed. Be that as it may, because of precipitous landscape; there are innumerable issues and difficulties related with the Dairy Business. Some of them are talked about here underneath are as per the following:

1. Feed Problem:

Dairy creatures are for the most part feed the harvest lingering and related outside house in the towns. Fundamentally ranchers and individuals with little size of land holding are engaged with dairy business. Awkwardness diet and absence of appropriate supplements in creatures feed which at last outcomes in weakness, ineffective and poor measure of milk by creatures. Individuals are not progressively worried about the feed crops development as they ideally rely upon grasses accessible locally and timberlands for grub to their creatures which stay accessible for just couple of months of the year. Individuals gather grass after demonstrate to be adequate for the year. Grass accessible close by territories additionally can’t support the dairy business appropriately as a result of gigantic interest for business dairy cultivating.

2. Lack of Standard Pricing System:

Without milk accumulation focus in the close by regions, standard estimating framework for the most part misshaped by go betweens in this condition and absence of standard valuing dairy ranchers face a monetary misfortune.

3. Absence of Marketing System:

Dairy ranchers don’t approach prepared market in this manner they need to sell their milk and milk items at very lower costs as before become futile and they don’t need to access to urban market so ranchers are overwhelming financial misfortune.

4. Absence of Storage and Processing Facilities:

There is all out nonappearance of cold stockpiling and other preparing focus in the rustic region of Rajapalayam, therefore dairy ranchers endure financial misfortune because of decrease in nature of milk and milk item with taking a break.

5. Lack of Animal Hospitals and Veterinary Amenities:

For the expanded generation of milk creatures are of good welfare, yet there is an absence of adequate veterinary administrations in the area. Government is giving animal administrations and medical clinics per square including consistently visits of veterinary specialists to yet all such endeavors are just on papers which constrain the dairy ranchers to treat their animals by private specialists. Poor assessment, execution and coordination are serious issues in such manner. Along these lines, it will be compelling to give wellbeing administrations to the creatures.

6. Exploitation by Middlemen:

Major extent of milk delivered by the milk makers and ranchers in the Almora is acquired at a lot of lower costs by the agents however they sell it in urban market at more significant expense which result is substantial financial misfortune to the real dairy ranchers.

7. Absence of Credit and Loan offices in the Study Area:

Most of the ranchers need monetary help. They can’t get advances and credit from government organizations, banks and so forth because of dread and absence of mindfulness. They take advances from landowners; they misuse them in different ways. Most dairy laborers need more cash to buy animals and present day instruments required for business dairy cultivating.

8. Lack of Technological Adoption:

Dairy Farming in Rajapalayam is of the conventional nature and rehearsed in customary manners. All the dairy ranchers in the examination province are occupied with dairy cultivating are customary is their insight. Innovative appropriation is practically missing in the area; they have inactive demeanour towards present day systems utilized in dairy business. Absence of mindfulness and ability is likewise at substantial about such present day strategies.

9. Lack of Information and Awareness:

Dairy labourers don’t have solid data about dairy and dairy advancement projects started by the administration. Ineffectual Dairy improvement program, low degree of business instruction and proficiency of the dairy rancher are significant boundaries in such manner. In this way, they not appropriately utilize and develop advantages of dairy business manageability projects, plans and arrangements.

10. Migration Problem:

Relocation is a major issue in the region of Rajapalayam region and massive number of populaces move each year outward of the region making lobour issues. Therefore, farming exercises are diminishing and making feed issues. Dairy business when all is said in done need extraordinary work power.

11. Water Crises:

Water is a fundamental necessity in dairy business through drinking water, water for cleaning creatures and so forth. Dairy cultivating requires a huge measure of water. Accessibility of water in the area is in danger. Nature of water is likewise a significant worry because of expanding compound and manures use in horticultural exercises. In the event that legitimate water would be overseen dairy business in locale can thrive in manifolds. Furthermore, populace can be effectively spurred towards dairy cultivating.

12. Problem of Hybrid Animal:

Mountain milch creatures give per creature lower milk. Neighborhood creatures are not reasonable for business generation of milk regardless of good quality milk as they produce lower measure of milk per creature when contrasted with half breed milk creatures. Be that as it may, mixture creatures need more care and modern devices and innovation for raising to them. Poor ranchers can’t put enormous in such innovation and bear the cost of exorbitant half and half animals without government support.

13. Poor Interest of Population towards Dairy Business:

Provincial populace of the area is moving towards urban areas inside and outside of the state looking for work; they are not keen on to embrace dairy as a methods for occupation. Instruction is another reason because of which taught youthful age feel disgrace in doing dairy business disregarding enormous business benefits rather doing some work in plants and so forth a long way from the home. In our general public horticulture has still not pick up its notoriety. Society feels horticulture and dairy business as a work of disgrace. We need to break this shame.

Being a farmer means that you will have the responsibility of completing many tasks. On larger farms, workers can be expected to know how to operate machinery such as tractors, how to tend to livestock, basic maintenance and repair work to fences, vehicles, gates etc. Farmers need to know how to plant, fertilize and harvest crops, as well as how to affectively market their produce. On small farms, the workers are generally the owners of the farm and do all its maintenance on their own. Farmers must

Primarily, farmers are trained on the job through hands-on experience and usually a degree is not required. However, for those aspiring to be farm managers, a degree in agriculture, agronomy, animal science or dairy science is recommended. New farmers can be trained through apprenticeships or through other experienced farmers.

The majority of farmers (56%) reported to the Farm Journal Pulse that they worked about 10-14 hours a day. Farmers spend most of their time outdoors doing labor intensive work, during all types of weather: rain, heat, humidity and cold. Dairy farmers or farmers with livestock must always take care of their animals and make sure they have proper shelter, are in good health and have all that they need. Farmers- especially small farmers- rarely, if ever get vacation or days off. Having a farm is not just a job, but a lifestyle as well.

The lower 10% of farmers make less than $35,020 annually, while the top 10 receive earnings of over $126,000. Overall, their salary depends on how well crops and products do. Some seasons can bare more fruit than others and therefore impact income as a result. For example, during an especially cold winter where crops may die, farmers may have less income for that year; however, some owners have insurance that covers incidents such as this. On the contrary, farmers that have specific products that are only available during certain seasons (for example, pumpkins in the fall), may also have an income that fluctuates.

Employment opportunities depend on where you live. They can be plentiful in states/areas with suburbs, yet rare in states with many urban cities. Farmers can volunteer for experience, join organizations that support aspiring farmers and seek internships and jobs online. Farmers can expect advancement opportunities in organic farming and horticulture. Advancement opportunities can also be seen in moving to the position of a farm manager; or in smaller farms, expanding land, market and their farm in general over time is advancement.

The employment for agricultural managers is seen to stay relatively the same through 2019-2028. It can be estimated that more job opportunities will open with the retirement of older farmers. As of 2018, the employment was 975,400, and in 2028, the projected employment is 966,500.

I selected this occupation because I have always felt a calling to nature and animals. The lifestyle/job of a farmer is a unique occupation where I would be able to work closely with nature daily, while also helping others with my product, if even by a small amount. Being a farmer would allow me the freedom to build my own business and be independent in my decisions as to how I would run it.

Sources

1. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/mobile/farmers-ranchers-and-other-agricultural-managers.htm
2. https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=4222
3. https://www.agweb.com/article/farmers_clock_long_hours_NAA_Sara_Schafer
4. https://study.com/articles/How_to_Become_a_Farmer_Education_and_Career_Roadmap.html
5. https://work.chron.com/qualities-good-farmer-30935.html
6. https://www.beginningfarmers.org/internship-and-employment-opportunities/
7. https://work.chron.com/qualities-good-farmer-30935.html
8. https://study.com/articles/How_to_Become_a_Farmer_Education_and_Career_Roadmap.html
9. https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=4222
10. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/mobile/farmers-ranchers-and-other-agricultural-managers.htm

There are a lot of issues and controversies that our country faces right now. Some may be aware, but some are not. Even though I’m only seventeen years old, I could see the reality that the government is concealing from the public. One of the most recent controversies is the rice importation. First of all, why do we need to import rice in our country if our rice supply is sufficient enough? The government tells us that this would help our farmers but if you observe what’s really happening, our farmers are suffering. This action was supported by a law signed by the president and it states a greater amount of tax in exchange for the importation in our country instead of limiting the amount of rice that will enter our place. The government stated that the collected tariffs will be for the farmers, but they just went again onto the hands of the corrupt officials. Corruption, which just started from false promises, resulted into a greater suffering and sacrifice of the farmers. Lastly, the one being in a tight spot right now is Cynthia Villar, who works in the agricultural field for years already, is also the one who seems to be blind about the farmers that seek for help.

In rice importation, supplies of rice from foreign or external sources are being brought into a country. Just like what we are currently experiencing in the Philippines, we receive an influx of importers. Due to rice importation, we get the chance to have the diverse types of rice from other countries and it is also expected that the prices of our rice would go down and according to our government, our farmers will become more competitive. In contrary to those, the importation and its enlargement caused our farmers to suffer more because imported rice dominates until our local supplies are being left behind. More and more people are buying imported rice without noticing that we have sufficient local rice supplies in our country. Just like the expectations in the price rate of rice, it may have decreased but it still did not reach the targeted price. We still experience to buy rice at a little bit expensive rate because of the taxes that we, citizens, pay. In addition to this, the decrease in prices causes the farmers to become more worried and affected because the value of the local rice and income of the local agricultural workers will depreciate. If you look at it in a different angle, why do we have rice importation? What our administration states is that to have our rice shortage problem solved and also to help our farmers. Though the news about rice shortage was already widespread, I am not persuaded enough to believe it because we have a lot of agricultural lands in our country. I think the news about rice shortage was just a misconception. Rice is also our staple crop, meaning it is abundant in the Philippines. How could we have a rice shortage if that is our staple crop and we have a lot of agricultural lands? They could possibly use that reason to cover up their hidden agenda as they collect new taxes and some officials may use it for their own selves instead of giving it to the farmers.

Rice importation would not flourish that much in our country without a law that allows it to occur in our country. This already occurs in our country before it became more prevalent in the present year. Our current president, President Duterte just signed Republic Act No. 11203 on Thursday, February 14, 2019. Its formal name is ‘An Act liberalizing the importation, exportation, and trading of rice, lifting for the purpose the quantitative import restriction on rice’. The purpose of this law is to amend Republic Act (RA) No. 8178 or the Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996 and replace the Quantitative Restriction (QR) on rice imports. Instead of setting a limitation on how much rice will enter our country, the importers will just be needing to pay a tax in order to bring their rice supply in our country. According to the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Trade in Goods Agreement, rice from Southeast Asian countries will pay a 35% tariff or the import duty rate commitment of the Philippines for rice importation. While for the Non-ASEAN members, the tariff would be a 50% or the tariff equivalent calculated in accordance with the agreement of World Trade Organization on agriculture. Here, the tariffs that will be collected will serve as the fund for the farmers to support them in the agricultural field. In my opinion, I do not agree with the Rice Tariffication Law because I would still prefer the Quantitative Restriction (QR) on rice imports because our country is being left behind in the agricultural field in which we truly deserve to be known at. In terms of rice production, our country is flourishing and even in other crop production. This law also liberalized the other countries that may cause some threat or take advantage to make their supplies more available and more patronized than our own local rice production.

From the promise that the taxes that will be collected will go to the fund for supporting the farmers, these agricultural heroes still don’t feel the ease and support that the administration has promised to them. If you check the different point of views of the interviewed farmers, they would ask where did those funds go and even question the government why do they experience to suffer the most if they are ones who work hard for the rice supply. How can this Rice Tariffication Law trigger corruption? It can hugely trigger corruption because of the selfish acts of other officials. Since this law has an increased amount of tax to the different foreign importers, the more tempting it would become to the sinister officials that crave for money like they had never earned even a single penny in their whole lives. It could also be possible that the reason why they implemented this law is to make their hidden agenda happen by filching funds and save them in their dummy bank accounts. These selfish acts of some officials cause our farmers to suffer some more. These double the pain that they are feeling because aside from the physical pain that they experience in farming, they also feel least important to the leaders that they expect to save them and their rights. Though they are the main producers of rice supplies, they still feel disregarded and these wrongdoings of our officials also add to their burdens. Their families also sacrifice and suffer because of the small amount they earn which they do not deserve because they should be earning a higher amount. I hope this somehow reminds you of how important to finish what is on our plate because of the farmers who work hard and also, not all people experience to eat within a day.

Are you familiar with the current issue that includes Cynthia Villar? If you do not know her, she is the wife of Manny Villar and both of them are known in different businesses and also became senators. We know that Cynthia Villar works currently as a senator in an agricultural field of the government and had held some positions in the agricultural committees in the past years, but did you know that she just recently rejected the request of the farmers to at least increase the amount of rice grain per kilogram? She said that it was already too much for the farmers to ask for the amount of rice grain per kilogram to be sold at 21 pesos.

She is also the principal author of the Rice Tariffication Law that I mentioned and explained in the third paragraph. She said it was for the good of the farmers, but why are they still suffering? Is there a hidden agendum why she proposed it? What I can visualize here, since she is a real estate developer and a businesswoman, it is possible for her to use this law to coerce the farmers sell their agricultural lands to real estate developers. In return, the farmers have no choice but to accept the money offered in exchange for their agricultural land that they own just to survive and provide for their families. The real estate developers will soon turn these agricultural lands into residential areas which they can use in their business.

In conclusion, rice importation is not that much needed in our country because we just need to pay attention to our local rice supplies. We need to save our local workers and our local source of rice before it totally gets dominated by foreign rice sources. This does not help much our farmers because it causes them to fear the decrease in the prices and value of local rice which would make them suffer in selling every rice grain. In order to support our local farmers, Rice Tariffication Law replaced the Quantitative Restriction (QR) in rice imports that would set higher amount of tax to the foreign importers. The tariffs that will be collected will go to the funds supporting the farmers. For the good of all, the taxes collected should be fairly distributed though the target amount of found was not yet reached. Our agricultural heroes would be given a huge relief if our officials would not be filching anything from the funds. Corruption doubles the pain that the farmers experience. Political officials should stop using flowery statements that would make people set high hopes on what we say because mostly, they are the ones who suffer the most making them regret the decision to trust the leaders they have chosen. Cynthia Villar, as the principal author of the Rice Tariffication Law, should be open and considerate enough to the rights that our local farmers really deserve. Though she is businesswoman, she should remind herself that it is part of being someone who works in the government to consider and fight for what your fellowmen are asking for help. All in all, I may not be an expert in this field but I know I can see and contribute in my own small ways as an individual. Let us not be foolish to find outside what is obviously abundant on the inside.

Land is the most important source in food production. It is the most efficient wealth-generating asset for farmers. However, due to the economic progress, the agricultural sector is facing danger in many ways. One of the main reasons was the conversion of agricultural land in non-agricultural land uses like commercial, industrial and residential areas. This causes the agricultural land to decrease and threatens the food supply. The conversion of land to non-agricultural land is one of the most irreversible anthropological impacts in global biosphere. It drives the loss of farmland, affects local climate, destroy habitats, and threatens biodiversity.

In Philippines about 50,000 hectares of agricultural lands are illegally converted into industrial and residential companies annually. According to the Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, you need to wait for the three year reglementary period required by law to lapse before applying for conversion. Since the local Government unit have the authority to reclassify land within their political boundaries, some investors used with the LGU and proceed to the conversion without getting clearance from the committee that handles land conversion. (Simeon, 2018)

The 9.7 million of roughly 30 million hectare of land are considered agricultural.

According to DAR, when the Comprehensive Agrarian Reperm Law (CARL) took effect between 1988 and 2016, there is a total of 97,592.5 hectares of agricultural land—the size of Metro Manila and Cebu City were permitted for conversion to nonagricultural purposes. Pending applications for conversion, agricultural land reclassified by local government units and illegally converted land are not included in the figure. It has led to conflicting land uses the extensive conversion of prime agricultural land, partly driven by rapid urbanization, population growth, and speculation. Over the past 28 years of the approved conversion applications in DAR regional offices, in Luzon there is 80.6 percent of the land with the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon (Calabarzon) that lie on the borders of Metro Manila, taking up more than a quarter of the total. While Visayas accounted for 7.8 percent and Mindanao, 11.6 percent. DAR regional offices approved a total of 40,308.8 ha while the national office approved 57,283.7 ha. In regional offices, they handle conversion applications involving 5 ha and below, while the national office handles applications concerning more than 5 ha. Calabarzon and Central Luzon produce big volumes of palay and other crops, lending credence to fears that conversion of prime agricultural lands could undermine food security (Jinky Cabildo, Krixia Subingsubing, Matthew Reysio-Cruz, 2017)

I am interested with the topic because I’m one of the families of farmers and we are not in favor in land conversion. Here in Bataan, many agricultural lands are now converted in residential area and industrial use. The farm near our residential address “Balsik, Hermosa, Bataan” has also converted into industrial use, a metal factory/plant that will soon be established. In addition, the big portion of the agricultural land in front of National Grid Power Corporation that was previously used in rice and corn farming was also converted to use for the expansion of power plant. Many crops had been destroyed during the process. Land conversion abuses agricultural land. If it can’t stop and continue the same, sooner or later there will be no agricultural land left for the youth. We, my family, experienced this when the golf course near our farm wants an expansion, but the land owners/farmers refuse to sell their farm/agricultural land. It caught my interest because I want to know how climate contribute in the land conversion and what will happen in the food production, how the population affect the conversion, and its impact in the economy. Lastly, how the government will implement a law to stop illegal conversion of agricultural land.

II. Discussion

The Philippines is an agricultural country. It is made up of 4 sub-sectors: farming, fisheries, livestock, and forestry. Our main agricultural crops are rice, corn coconut, sugarcane, bananas, pineapple, coffee, mangoes tobacco, and abaca. We exported these agricultural products around the world but the rampant conversion of the agricultural land is a threat to our food industry. Listed below are some of the factors that lead to land conversion.

Climate and production cost

Climate is one of the important to consider in agricultural products but because of climate change El Niño and La Niña, it will be harder. Rice farmers are suffering because of the rise of the temperature as they lost sacks of rice per harvest. Farmers also lost huge amount of their crops during rainy season as heavy rains also results in flooding and massive erosion to their farmlands. This is one of the reasons why the farmers either sell or pawned their land for them to survive (Cortez, 2019). If the temperature rise, the need of water pump irrigation is higher. It means additional expenses of production cost. While during heavy rains the crops may decrease or worst, damage because not all the farmers have the capital to start a new, some are just borrowing money in a lending company.

Tony Salubre of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) in Southern Mindanao stated that losing the farmers and their farmland would reflect on poor government assistance for the farmers to survive. (Cortez, 2019). The Philippines have a high demand of food consumption because of its growing population. The farmers suffer the most because the fertilizers, pesticides, and oil that they use have a higher cost. Then when harvesting time, especially during rainy season, the buyer buys rice (palay) at the amount of 14php only. The farmers have no choice but to sell their product. Their earnings are just enough to pay for their debt and then borrow again.

This is one of the saddest realities, the farmers’ plant crops to sustain the food supply yet they are the one who suffers the most. The government has no support for the sustainable agriculture in our country. Instead, they are busy in investments and converting non agriculture land “economic growth”. The farmers have no choice but to sell their land and will think of a new business with the money or apply in the industrial businesses to have a better income. If the conversion of agricultural land continues the food production will be affected in the future, it will decrease. Food shortage will become a problem and importation of agricultural product will start.

As a solution to keep the farming industry, Noel Provido, the communications chief of the Department of Agriculture in Davao Region (DA-11) said the government has made interventions. One of this is the allocation of the huge amount of budget to push farm mechanization to attract the new generations of farmer. The DA sees these as a way of lowering the cost of production of rice and corn and the means of keeping younger farmers in the workplace. (Cortez, 2019). If all the DA officials implement this, then younger generations will see farming as a source of income. Giving seed of rice is also a good solution, like what is happening in our community, although not all the farmers have the privileges.

If the government’s infrastructure focus on program that prioritize the needs of the agricultural sector like building dams to ensure water reliability, expanding the irrigation networks, constructing more roads from farms to the market, windmills for power supply, and strengthening research and development in seeds and farming technologies (Gamboa, 2018). The government should give focus to the agricultural since they are the one who are producing our food. It will also a great help if they will reduce the cost of materials in the agriculture. And also, a training program for farmers on how to improve their crop production.

Population growth and urbanization

Urbanization is the most irreversible and human-dominated form of land use on the field of anthropogenic activities. It results changes in land-cover hydrological systems, biogeochemistry, climate, and biodiversity. Urban expansion is one of the primary drivers of habitat loss, and species extinction worldwide. It is taking place on prime agricultural land in many developing countries like the Philippines. Housing development is also a major threat because of the increasing population rate, there is a need of expansion.

According to Agrarian Undersecretary Luis Pañgulayan, the major drivers of land conversion are the rapid urbanization and population growth. Because of the necessity for housing and employment as well as the need to offshoot economic growth and investments, these have led the state to accept massive conversion of agricultural lands into other uses outside Metro Manila. The rapid urbanization across the country could pose major challenges to land management and economic growth if not properly address. (Jinky Cabildo, Krixia Subingsubing, Matthew Reysio-Cruz, 2017)

The population of our country is growing every day. This means the need of residential and/or housing increases. One of the reasons why the investors buy a farm land was because they see it as a good investment. They will start building houses and convert it into subdivision, a residential area. They just have to wait for three years so the land can be converted into industrial or residential use. In order to attain economic progress, they build industrial, commercial, tourism, and transportation infrastructure. These will result of increase in job opportunities and contribute in the country’s gross domestic productivity.

One example of this is the development of the land to a state-initiated New Clark City (NCC) – said to be the Philippines’ first smart and green metropolis. When they start the development, a productive rice field was abruptly flattened to make way for concrete roads in Sitio Kamatis, Tarlac. The rice crops that is nearly ripe for harvest was paddies when the backhoe came. Nearly hectares of palay were wasted because of this. Then they just pay 300,000php for the land but the lost crops would have equivalent to 150 cavans. The land will become a part of the Capas-SCTex highway link to the metropolis. The saddest part about this was the farmers and tribespeople living there were in the development area are still ignorant of the project’s extent even as bulldozers have leveled their crops, according to a research led by the University of Glasgow (UG) in the United Kingdom and the University of the Philippines. (Krixia Subingsubing, Mariejo S. Ramos, 2019). Not all the farmer or land owner want to sell their land but left with no choice when the government want to use their land for the development, others are illiterate about the law and afraid that something might happen to them if they refuse to sell their land. Not only the government but also the investors, especially foreign investors are taking these weaknesses as an advantage.

Almost 80 percent of farms are less than three hectares in size today. Many farmers are having a difficulty in surviving with their income on their farms and have fallen deeper into debt; they will give up parts of their land to encroaching urbanization. (Gamboa, 2018). Small land owner think that it is more profitable to sell their land or part of it to the developer or investor in exchange of cash and they will use it for capital, buying fertilizers, pesticides, and use as wages for the workers who plant and harvest the crops. If there will be a government agency who lends money with a little interest on the small time farmers, then they don’t opt to sell their land for capital use.

Politics

According to a study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) published last December 2017, over 4.8 million hectares of private and non-private agricultural land were already given out to around 2.8 million beneficiaries. the agency has distributed 89% of the total land reform area while some 600,000 hectares more are left to be distributed. “Implement land reform now” this was written in the paper of Galbert Gamora when he marched together with his fellow farmer to hold a protest in front of DAR office. He is just one of the 1,200 farmers who have been granted with a certificate of land ownership award (CLOA) under. CARP. He want the land to give back to them as Danding Cojuangco didn’t fulfill his promise. (Rivas, 2018). Many farmers are entered an agreement with some business tycoon hoping that they will also benefitted. Others are forced to let companies rent their land for plantation use.

To ensure food security President Rodrigo Duterte has decided to enact a two-year moratorium on the conversion of 4.7 million of agricultural lands distributed under various agrarian reform programs since 1972 into subdivisions and industrial parks in a bid. He set an executive order to cover the moratorium. According to Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano, the said executive order was to temporarily disallow the processing and the approval of all applications for land use conversion of agricultural lands to nonagricultural uses was being drafted and would take effect once signed by the President. This is to ensure that land intended for the country’s crops would not be sold off and turned into nonagricultural land. This order also protect the are the 4.7 million agricultural lands distributed or awarded to more than 2.7 million agrarian reform beneficiaries (Salaverria, 2016)

Last February 15 President Duterte signed an executive Order 75 that ordered all agencies to identify government-owned lands that can be distributed to land reform beneficiaries. He also said that the 1987 Constitution declared it a policy of the state to undertake the just distribution of all agricultural lands subject to priorities and retention limits prescribed by Congress. Under Republic Act 6657, the government-owned lands that are devoted to or suitable for agriculture are covered under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and are to be planned and programmed for acquisition and distribution by Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). He ordered DAR to obtain all government-owned lands (GOLs) that are suitable for agriculture and did not use for the purpose they have been reserved and distributed it to the qualified beneficiaries. They were given 30 days to identified and submit a copy of list of lands that can be covered by the land reform program. This will award to the farmers for free and do not need to pay for (Romero, 2019). The DAR and DOJ signed the implementing rules and regulation n(IRR) of EO No. 75 series of 2019. The IRR are the responsible for identification, transfer, and distribution of all GOLs suitable for agriculture and did not use for the purpose they have been reserved and distributed. (Cudis, 2019)T. his will be a great solution to the decreasing number of agricultural land and lower rate of agricultural production. It will also be good news to those farmers who don’t own a farmland and just renting it. In addition, it will be a great help because the money that they use for renting will add to their capital, the more their capital is the more they can be productive.

Also Senate President Ralph Recto filed a bill seeking to write off the debts of farmers under the CARP. These include the unpaid amortization, interests, penalties, and surcharges on loans will be forgiven, and “the agrarian reform beneficiaries shall be deemed rightful owners of the lands awarded to them. He also added that if the government condones debts of billionaires and big institutions all the time then why not extended the same consideration to the poor farmers. Loans of the land reform is small compared to the hundreds of billions in private sectors loans that had written off over the past 40 years. This was not only serve as social justice but it can potentially improve land reform as a whole. (Recto files bill to write off farmers’ debts from CARP, 2019). Debt is one factor that the poor farmers’ facing. It is a good news for them, especially to the landless farmer whose renting land for farming.

III. Conclusion

The land conversion has a great impact not only to the local farmers but also to most of Filipino people. If these conversion will not stop, then in the near future there are no land can that can be used for agricultural purposes. The food production will be affected, there will be no land to plant crops. The same as the economy as it will stop the food exportation. The massive conversion can also contribute to the climate change and can caused calamities like extreme flooding because the natural flow of rain water going to rivers will be stop due to passageways that have been blocks due to construction of expressways and buildings. The balance in the ecosystem will be destroy as the river and bodies of water are affected too. If the government will focus only in the industrialization and economic progress, then sooner or later the agriculture will die. Industrialization and urbanization are a good idea but we shouldn’t sacrifice our natural resources like the land. We should also think of the future generations, for them to have a sustainable resource.

The government should also implement law on land conversion and review all the application before approval of such project. They are the one who plays an important role in the conversion as they are the one who will decide in the conversion of land. They should think not only the economic growth but also care about the environment and the welfare of the people who are affected in the conversion. They should think what the possible result of the land conversion are in the environment and health of the people. They should think also on how to improve the crops/agricultural products like in other countries who have invested modernized equipment. They should also implement a law protecting the rights of the landowner. I have witness a scenario were a corn rice fields where being destroy by the bulldozer and the saddest part or the most heartbreaking part was the farmers cannot stop this they cannot do anything about it. Even though they do not want to sell their land, they’ll leave them no choice because it is needed for the expansion of the power plant as a simple land owner for a long period of time still they can’t protect their rights because the sad reality of life is the government was not on their side to protect their rights.

As for me, I am not against in the progressive economic growth but we can be progressive without sacrificing the land and other resources. We just have to think of ways to improve the production of agriculture so that we don’t have to choose or sacrifice our available resources we just have to modernize or innovate what we used to do. Change for the better.

Abstract

Agriculture sector plays an important role in the growth of a developing nation like India. It is well known that economies of developing countries are based on agriculture sector. In India, every year the farmers have to suffer huge losses either due to droughts, floods or damage by pests and diseases. In our country farmers commit suicides after getting upset by economic exploitation at the hands of land lords and money lenders. This phenomenon of farmer’s suicides linked to agrarian crisis. The present study was conducted in mahabubnagar district of Telangana state with 30 respondents. The respondents were suicide committed farmers. Simple random sampling method was followed in this study. From the study It was concluded that majority of the suicide committed respondent’s age was 42 to 46 years, were from OBC category, having own farming as occupation, with illiterate education, family type as nuclear and family size is low, less than 1-2 ha as land holding, having thatched house with low mass media exposure, extension contact, social participation and market facility. While majority of the respondents had indebtedness over 2 lakhs.

Introduction

In India, it is estimated that 16,000 farmers die by suicide each year, and at rates far above those of the general population. The phenomenon of farmer’s suicide is considered of the most tragic events in the history of India. India is an agrarian country with about 48.90 percent of its population directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture. Sainath (2015) reported that according to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 3,02,116 Indian farmers have taken their lives between 1995 and 2014 concentrated in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh. This occurred at an average of 46 farmer’s suicides a day. Higher level of farmer suicides is ascribed to cotton cultivation and continuous drought. The Hindu news paper, 26.10.2015 stated that out of the total farmer suicides in Telangana, 70 to 75 per cent were tenant farmers.

In India, every year the farmers have to suffer huge losses either due to droughts, or floods or damage by pests and diseases. Whatever may be the reason so far for the loss of their crops, they end-up empty handed and many times fail to repay their debt as they borrow huge amount from money lenders or from landlords for their farming occupation coupled with their rising interest on the loan. In such a situation they suffer from humiliation and in such a condition their persisting psychological agony forces them to commit suicide.

In Telangana, about 55.49 percent of the population is dependent on Agriculture farming related activities for the livelihood (Statistical year book, 2015). Now a days the problem of farmers’ distresss is one of the vital concerns that need to be addressed by the government. According to data of National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB), 2014 Telangana was ranked second among the states in suicides rate in the country.

There is evidence that, worldwide, farming is an occupation with a higher risk for suicide than other occupations, So, Indian farmers’ higher rates may simply fit this pattern and warrant little explanation. However, evidence suggests that a substantial investigation into the causes of this crisis is an imperative, as along with the increasing rates of farmer suicides, research suggests that these suicides are not occurring from more organic processes such as mental health problems, but from socioeconomic, psychosocial and cultural circumstances. These circumstances are making the life of the Indian farmer much more precarious, leading many of them to such a desperate situation that they take their own lives (Milner et al, 2013).

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 898 farmers committed suicides in Telangana during 2014, which account for 11.10 percent of all suicides in India. Activists and scholars have offered a number of conflicting reasons for farmer suicides, such as monsoon failure, high debt burdens, genetically modified crops, government policies, public mental health, personal issues and family problems. There are no consensuses what the main causes might be but studies show suicide victims are motivated by more than one cause, on average three or more causes lead to committing suicide. Present study was conducted to study some selected profile characteristics of suicide committed farmers.

Methodology

To study the profile characteristics of the suicide committed farmers 30 respondents were selected by the simple random sampling method. Respondents were suicide committed farmer family members or neighbours, of different villages of Mahabubnagar district of Telangana state. The mandals were selected on basis of secondary data collected from the State Department of Agriculture. The selected mandals were having the highest number of suicide committed farmers due to drought proneness. i.e, Bhoothpur, Ghanpur, Midgil, Peddamandadi and Veldanda. The data was collected from the respondents by the investigator himself approaching each and every respondent personally and interviewed with the help of interview schedule. The collected data were coded, tabulated, analyzed and presented.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Selected profile characters of suicide committed farmers:

1. Age:

It is referred to the chronological age of the respondents in completed years at the time of investigation. Most (43.33%) of the respondents age was 42 to 46 years, followed by 33.34 percent were of 37 to 41 years and 23.33 percent of the respondents belonged to 32 to 36 years of age. One of the reasons for above findings might be due to the fact that, at that age the increased respondent family pressures, responsibilities and their inability according to caste to cope up with immense stress. This is in conformity with the results of Kale (2008), Vandana and Kunwar (2009), Shrishail et al. (2011) and Bharat (2017).

2. Caste:

The respondents were divided into five categories. Majority (60.00%) of the respondents belonged to OBC evident that more than half of the respondents belonged to OBC category, it might be due to fact category followed by ST 20.00 percent, SC 10 percent and General 10.00 percent. From the findings it was that majority of the OBC category people were having lower economic status in the village. This is in conformity with the results of Kale (2008), Gedela (2008) and Dandekar et al. (2005)

3. Occupation

It was observed that majority (53.33%) of the suicide committed farmers were having own farming as a occupation followed by 46.67 percent respondents belonged to Agril. Labour. None of the respondents followed caste occupation, business, service and land lease as their occupation. The reason might be that most of the farmers of Telangana were dependent on agriculture for their living in some are the other way This is in conformity with the results of Gedela (2008), Deshmukh et al. (2007).

4. Education

Under this variable both education level of suicide committed and suicide committed’s wife was considered under the study.

Majority (73.33%) of farmers were illiterate or never went to school followed by 20.00 percent respondents had primary education and 6.67 percent of the respondents had Middle school. The main reason might be that as they are illiterate they are not having the scientific knowledge in agriculture and modern methods and they were following traditional methods.

Majority (93.33%) suicide committed’s wife’s been illiterate or never went to school followed by 6.67 percent wife’s had primary education. The reason might be that most of the suicide committed wife’s were married at an early age and have to look after home and farming related activities. This is in conformity with the results of Shrishail et al. (2011) and Bharat (2017).

5. Family Type

It was observed that majority (73.33%) of respondents belonged to nuclear family category followed by 26.67 percent of the respondents had joint family. The main reasons for above findings are with low existing income of the family, respondents were unable to meet the family expenditures. This is in conformity with the results of Kale (2008), Gedela (2008) and Parande (2011).

6. Family size

Majority (60.00%) of the respondents belonged to small size followed by 26.67 percent were of medium and 13.33 percent of the respondents belonged to large family size category. In general most of the Indian families are nuclear type. Fom the above findings it was revealed that most of the suicide committed farmers have low family size which means, they have planned their families to be small in contrary to the traditional families. Generally in small families, most of the times the family members are in lonely situation and someone not there to talk with them. In small families, the persons will not get protection from their family members, when they were depressed and they won’t share their feelings, this situation might motivate them to commit suicide. This is in conformity with the results of Sreenivasulu (2010) Parande (2011) Naseem (2017), Bharat (2017).

7. Land holding

It was evident that majority (43.33%) respondents were small farmers followed by 30.00 percent were land less, 20.00 percent were marginal farmers and 6.67 percent of the respondents belonged to medium category. The main reason might be that with less existing land holding size farming may not be profitable. so they were unable to meet family expenses. This is in conformity with the results of Kale (2008), Shridhar (2006) Deshmukh et al. (2007), Rao and Suri (2006).

8. Home

It was inferred that majority (43.33%) were having thatched houses followed by 30.00 percent had katcha houses and 26.67 percent respondents had pucca houses. None of the farmers were having house made up of RCC and hired. The main reason might be that with less source of income from agriculture, respondents were not able to build the houses with good materials. This is in conformity with the results of Rao and Suri (2006).

9. Exposure to mass media

Majority (70.00%) of the respondents received low level of mass media exposure followed by 23.33 percent respondents had medium mass exposure and 6.67 percent respondents had high exposure to mass media sources. This trend might be due to the fact that majority of the respondents were illiterate and having education only upto primary level. They are not keen on reading newspaper. Though almost farmers possessed mobile, but not using for agriculture information. This is in conformity with the results of Sahoo (2010).

10. Extension contact

It was evident that majority (76.67%) of the respondents had low level of extension contact followed by 16.67 percent had medium level and 6.67 percent of the respondents had high level of extension contact. The reason might be that as majority of suicide committed farmers were small, medium farmers and illiterates. They have no frequent contact with officials due to fear and inhibition. Inadequate extension staff in the rural areas might be another reason for this result. Hence recruitment of adequate extension staff and providing quality extension services in rural areas will improve the situation. This is in conformity with the results of Parande (2011) Sahoo (2010) and Rajani (2018)

11. Social Participation

It was observed that majority (76.67%) of the respondents were having low social participation followed by 20.00 percent had medium participation and 3.33 percent respondents had high level of social participation. The reason might be that most of the suicide committed farmers were having low social status in their village and they feel inferior to participate with other farmers who possess high social status. This is in conformity with the results of Nadre (2000), Parande (2011) and Lohar (2018)

12. Market facility

It was inferred that majority (80.00%) of the respondents were having low market facilities followed by 20.00 percent had medium market facilities. This trend might be due to the fact that marketing of agriculture products were through middlemen and wholesalers, thus majority of the farmers sell their produce directly to the middlemen from the field to avoid the problem of long distance travel, poor connectivity and lack of transportation facilities. Therefore due to poor marketing facilities the respondents were having low access to market. This is in conformity with the results of Nadre (2000), Parande (2011).

13. Indebtness

It was evident that (43.33%) of the respondents were having loan amount of 2,18,000 to 3,02,000. While 36.67 percent had loan from 1,34,000 to 2,18,000 followed by 20.00 percent had loan amount from 50,000 to 1,34,000. The main reason for indebtness was due to incurring losses of crop due to drought, damage by pests and increasing cost of cultivation. Farmers were taking loans for giving dowry and to spend on marriages. This is in conformity with the results of Kale et al. (2010) Parande (2011), Bharat (2017).

Conclusions

It was concluded from the study that majority of the respondent’s age was 42 to 46 years, were from OBC category, having own farming as occupation, with illiterate education, family type as nuclear and family size is low, less than 1-2 ha as land holding, having thatched house with low mass media exposure, extension contact, social participation and market facility. While majority of the respondents had indebtedness over 2 lakhs. Establishment of counselling centres in each village, providing easy, timely, adequate institutional farm loans, remunerative price to farm produce, provision/creation of irrigation facilities, ground water finding & arranging bore wells, effective Crop Insurance to cover all crops and all farmers, developing good quality seed, strict vigilance on quality of inputs, corpus fund raising, creating non-farm employment opportunities, linking of MGNREGS with farming, regulatory market system for all crops at village level to eliminate middle men, warehouse facilities in the market yards, establishment of post-harvest processing units.

References

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Introduction

India is an agrarian economy. The Economic survey of India, 2019 suggests that agriculture and related activities employ 42% of the population but only accounts for 14% of the Gross Domestic Product of the nation (Economic Survey of India, 2019) This discrepancy can be attributed to a variety of factors, viz., dependence on precipitation, lack of technological development in the field of agriculture, dependence of primitive forms of irrigation and cropping, etc. the consequence being low productivity in terms of quality and quantity, consumer and producer dissatisfaction and in extreme cases farmer suicides.

The present paper shall view all the causes of farmer suicide and analyse the role and extent of mental illness in this global phenomenon. Recommendations and road ahead shall also be discussed towards the end.

Farmer suicide

Farmer suicide is a global phenomenon. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data suggests that a minimum of 2,70,940 farmers have committed suicides in India since 1995. The frequency of instances of farmer suicide are alarmingly high in other countries, namely France, the United States of America (US), Australia (“Farmer Suicide: A global phenomenon,” 2015)

Research by Mohanty (2013) posits that the nature of farmer suicide is ego-anomic, which is characterised by a mix of agitation, apathy of revery and action.

Characteristics

Based on an all India Study by AV Manjunathan & KB Ramappa commissioned by Department of Agriculture, cooperation and farmer welfare, Government of India, 2017 the following characteristics were observed in an ex post facto study done on families od farmers who committed suicide. (Manjunathan & Ramappa, 2017)

Socioeconomic Characteristic

• Economic status. The research suggests that rates of suicides by farmers who possess Below Poverty Line (BPL) & Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) cards are significantly higher as compared to those Above Poverty Line (APL).
• Gender. Statistics reveal that some states such as Telangana have high levelsof female farmer suicide rates at about 36%. Regional disparity exists wheren Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have lower rates of female farmer suicide rates.
• Social-status. One-fourth of the farmer suicides in 13 states are committed by SC (16%) and STs (9%). The rates are the highest for people belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) i.e. 46% and 29% for general category individuals.
• Age. The authors on the basis of the data collected suggest that 70% of the farmers committed suicide were between the age group of 31-60 years. 13% were above 60 whereas 17% below 30.
• Educational status. Education can be speculated as being a protective factor against suicide due to more awareness about the functioning of the system, importance of crop rotation and other sustainable agricultural practices. However, contrary to the expectation, research statistics suggest that 56% of the farmers who committed suicide had a matriculation or equivalent qualification.
• Religion. 90% of the suicides are committed by Hindus, 2% Christians and 1.6% by Muslims. Rest 6% by people belonging to other religions. This can be attributed to the relative population from each communities. 79.8% of Indians are Hindus, 2.3% are Christians and 14.2% are Muslims (Census, 2011).
• Family dynamics. 96% of the farmers were married. Mostly, belonging to nuclear families with an average family size of 4.3 members. Again, with a scope of regional disparity.

Characteristics of Operational holdings

• Size of operational holdings. The average land holdings is 3.4 acres. However the large farmers who constitute only 7.3% of the total population of the farmers own 1607% of the land holdings. On the other extreme end are marginal farmers who constitute 49.8% of the farmer population own only 28.2% of the land holdings.
• Source of irrigation. The crops are primarily irrigated using ground water and rains. Due to the climate change and over exploitation of ground water, the aquifers are running dry. Transitory spike in levels of poverty has been correlated with poor or lack of rainfall which increases suicide prevalence among male and decrease female suicides in farm and farm-based households (Hebous & Klonner, 2014).
• Cropping pattern. Kharif crop cover 62% of the cultivated land whereas Rabi crops use 28% of the land holdings. The cultivation of such crops are contingent on the irrigation patterns and availability of water. Cereals constitutes 57.3% of the total cropped area. This is followed by commercial crops including, cotton, tobacco, sugarcane, coffee, constitute 22% and oilseeds 10%. Remaining 11% constitute the pulses, fodder, fruits and vegetable, etc.
• Nature of credit. Research suggest that large, small and marginal farmers borrow relatively greater proportions of money from informal or non-institutional sources as compared to formal financial aids and sectors (Anneshi & Gowda. 2015; Macharia, 2015, Singh et al., 2014; Chikkara & Kodan, 2014).

Causes of Suicide

The causes of farmer suicide are multifactorial, repetitive, cumulative and progressive, which leads to creation of a vicious cycle of hopelessness, helplessness and worthlessness, which are influenced by social supper, coping repertoire and mental health of the individual in question (Behere & Behere, 2008).

The causes of suicide can be broadly categorised in terms of 3 factors:

1. Economic factors

o Indebtedness. Indebtedness is one of the most prevalent cause for farmer suicide ((Dandekar and Bhattacharya, 2017; Merriott, 2017, Suri, 2006) owing to (Shiva & Jalees, n.d):

• i. Failure of institutional credits for small and marginal farmers.
• ii. Withdrawal of government intervention from safety nets such as fair price shops (FPS), and the exclusion of poor and indebted from the food distribution system.
• iii. Increasing cost of agriculture inputs like seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, etc.
• iv. Reduced price of agriculture produces

Government Economic policy. Research by Patnaik and colleagues posits that the macro-economic policy changes favouring liberalisation, privatisation, globalisation, green revolution, etc.

• i. Liberalisation. Several researchers suggest that a significant reduction in the completeness of Indian cotton was observed post opening of the markets to foreign goods and producers as part of the LPG (Liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation) reforms in the mid 1990s (Mitra & Shroff, 2011; Kennedy & King, 2014; Deshpande, 2002; Reddy & Mishra, 2009; Mishra, 2008)
• ii. Green revolution focussed at achieving self-sufficiency in terms of production of grains, has had adverse impact on the quality of soil, availability and quality of water resources, thereby contributing to an overall reduced output in the longer run, thereby increasing instances of dissatisfaction and an overall increase in farmer suicide.

o Poverty, Rising costs of agricultural inputs and non-availability of non-farm income. The process of poverty pushing farmers towards suicide can also be the result of declining crop income and the non-availability of nonfarm income (Mishra , 2008, 2014). This can be pictorially represented as: Gender differences with greater prevalence of male farmer suicide could be attributed to the socially accepted norm of male farmers being responsible for the economic sustainability of the family (Mishra, 2014).

o Misdirection of government subsidies and funds. Issues such as hoarding by middlemen, corruption and red tape, lack of financial inclusion, lack of paper work for the purpose of establishing identity has led to a complex and mismanaged system of distribution of resources and subsidies.

Furthermore, policies such as minimum support price (MSP) sometimes also add to the misery of farmers for three reasons:

• It forces farmers aiming at a stable income to produce only particular type of crops, thereby reducing their autonomy to produce crops they wish to and adapt practices such as cop rotation.
• It may not cover the cost of production (Rao et. al, 2017)
• It restricts the open market system to function independently and freely, thereby reducing the probability of the farmers to make larger profits for their yield.

2. Socio-political factors. Farmers in India experience different stresses as farmers elsewhere, due to illiteracy, the bonded labour system, large families, government corruption and debts from local moneylenders (Aggarwal, 37. Poverty, alcoholism, violence, patriarchy, caste systems and class divisions in the society are some more social factors that make the populations more vulnerable to suicides (Malone 31

3. Tangible (Physical factors)

• Drought. 79.5% of the farmland in the Indian subcontinent is dependent on flooding during rainfall. Inadequate rainfall, leading to drought and therefore may lead to crop failure (Abid, 2013; Ghosh, 2013).
• Weather and climate. Global warming is resulting in change of weather conditions at a very fast pace and unpredictable rainfall (Basha, 2018). It affects the farmers life cycle directly by means of impacting the crop quality, yield, etc.
• Inadequate Storage Facilities. According to ASSOCHAM estimates, about 30-40% of the agricultural produce in the country is damaged or becomes unfit for consumption due to lack of cold storages (Basha, 2018). This creates an immediacy to sell the crop, which in turn forces the farmers to sell their produce at lower rates due to increase in supply and constant demand.
• Type of crop and cropping pattern. Research by Hebous and Klonner (2014) reveals that a shift from subsistence to cash crops has been associated with a reduction in the rates of suicides in case of male farmers. No such relationship was associated in case of female farmers.
• Genetically modified crops. Correlations have been found between the prevalence of farmer suicides and the use of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cotton (Sengupta, 2006).
• Studies have shown that crop failure (Mohanty, 2005; Parthasarathy & Shameem, 1998), investment failure (Vaidyanathan, 2006) also leads to farmer suicide.

4. Psychological factors.

One school of thought has suggested the primacy of an impaired mental health state, implying that the psychosocial needs of farmers have been neglected, and that caring community professionals need to address farmer distress.

• Mental Illness. Another school of thought focuses on the need of early psychiatric intervention as a primary preventive measure. In this connection, reports on the lack of psychiatrists offering to help the vulnerable population has been gauged by many researchers.
• Suicidal Ideation. Bhise & Behere (2016) reveals that approximately 33% of the survivors had suicidal ideations in the month prior to their assessment (Bhise & Behere, 2016).

Also, cultural acceptance of suicidal ideation may also contribute to larger prevalence in those regions. Example, south Indian states have a higher prevalence of farmer suicide may be attributed to suicidal ideations being culturally accepted (Patel el al, 2012).

Mental Health and Farmers Suicide

Increased risk of suicide amongst farmers was not merely due to elevated rate of mental health problems. Individual personality, gender and community attitudes that colour a person’s ability to express mental health problems and seek help may be additional risk factors. (19) There is some evidence on the low rate of psychiatric morbidity in farmers as compared to the general population (Thomas et al., 2003).

However, there is evidence from studies in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and other states in India that the role of socioeconomic stress in farmer suicide may be greater than the role of mental disorders (Gruere & Sengupta, 2011). Studies have not discovered conclusive evidence of psychiatric morbidity behind farmer suicides; rather these studies and other statistical data point toward severe socioeconomic adversity as the primary trigger.

Recommendations and Road ahead

The issue of farmer suicide is a systemic issue and needs to be dealt with a multi-pronged approach addressing each and every factor that affects it. The following recommendations have been made keeping in mind the severity and complexity of the problem.

1. Increasing Productivity

• a. Awareness about crop diversification and crop rotation. It will ensure the soil retaining its fertility and sustainable use of the resources, thereby increasing the output to input ratio.
• b. Better irrigation practices to minimise wastage and ensure optimal utilisation of available resources.
• c. Scope for research and development in the field so as to improve quality of food grains produced and ensure appropriate yield.

2. Middlemen and intermediaries need to be eliminated. Some strategies or policies to link the subsidies, minimum support prise, bank accounts (financial inclusion) and access to markets need to be implemented.

3. Proactive role in creation and maintenance of a stable irrigation source and provison of agricultural infrastructure is of absolute importance (Golait, 2007).

4. Employing mental health professionals aided with financial solutions on ground to deal with farmers in distress in suicide prone areas.

• a. Addressing concerns and venting emotions by means of talk therapy
• b. Behavioural change: Hopelessness, learnt helplessness needs to be dealt with.
• c. Dealing with issues such as alcoholism by means of de-addiction problems.

5. Targeting the most vulnerable population based on the socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers who committed suicide and their operational holdings.

District wise list of indebted farmers need to be made and de-stressing efforts through financial and psychological counselling.

6. Setting up institutions that provide reliable advice (Meeta & Rajivlochan, 2006), appropriate soil and water quality testing, post which the farmers are provided with a appropriate list of crops that can be grown, amount of pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, weedicides, fertilizers; appropriate irrigation pattern to be followed as well as information pertaining to the credit options available.

7. Documentation of land holdings and identity proof. Provision of an official document that specifies farming or agriculture as a profession, thereby facilitating the process of gaining credit from formal sources.

8. Imparting knowledges about institutional mechanisms such as Minimum Support Price (MSP), Kishor shakti yojna, kishor Mudra Yojana, Kishor Bachat Yojana, etc.

9. Community led awareness about climate-tailored agricultural practices need to be employed.

10. Crop insurance schemes such as PM Krisgi Sinchayi Yojana must be promoted. Strict and timely settlement of insurance claims is a must.

11. Distressed farmers must be helped on humanitarian grounds by means of crowdfunding by the civil society or cooperate social responsibility (CSR) by organisations.

12. Research must be carried out for the purpose of leveraging advancements in technology focussing on development of new genotypes at subsidised rates, sensitisation to adverse weather conditions and precision farming techniques.

Conclusion

The above aforementioned discussion suggests that farmer suicide is a multifaceted, cumulative and progressive epidemic. A sense of urgency needs to be created in order to effectively deal with this problem that is deep-rooted in the agrarian society.

Dominic Merriott (2017) pointed out that socioeconomic factors play an important role and are the cause to suicide rather than mental health illnesses. Hence, farmer suicides cannot be solely attributed to mental illness. The epidemic encompasses institutional and structural flaws of the economy and society, that needs to be rectified so as to improve the mental well being of individuals. That being said, as mental health professionals, it is our responsibility to design and implement community-led interventions, focussed at reducing the rates of suicides by means of psychoeducation: financial, social and psychological, build resilience and minimise learned helplessness, thereby ensuring optimal mental health.