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The Vidharbha region, which forms the northeastern
part of Maharashtra, has been facing the
problem of farmers’ distress for the
past 4-5 years. This issue of farmers’
distress has become so intense, that till
date about 3,000 farmers have committed
suicide and the number is increasing daily.
The key reasons for the suicides as assessed
through various studies are:
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high
input cost of cultivation and reduction
in crop production (cotton and soybean) |
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high indebtness
to banks and moneylenders |
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heavy investments
in social ceremonies, thereby increasing
debts |
Various measures are being initiated by
the central and state governments towards
reducing the farmers’ distress in the
region. To name a few, the Prime Minister’s
package, NABARD watershed programme, loan
waiver schemes are being promoted in the
six distress districts (Yavatmal, Wardha,
Washim, Buldhana, Akola and Amravati).However,
the actual implementation is very slow and
leaves a lot to be desired, as the farmers
in the region are still committing suicides.
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| Geographical
spread of projects |
The Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust, and Sir
Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) have been jointly
involved in promoting a holistic livelihood
promotion strategy for the region with the
key objective of reducing distress among
the farming community and enhancing livelihoods.
The strategy would revolve around promoting
better livelihood options for the rural
communities in the region, through various
thematic focus interventions. The focus
would in all the six distress districts,
where there have been maximum distress suicides
and also in the remaining districts, which
could have the potential threat of expansion
of the farmers’ distress issues.
The overall goal of the SBI is development
of sustainable and diversified livelihoods
for the households/families to reduce agrarian
distress and allowing households to face
production and market risks without falling
back into poverty. The overall goal of the
initiative is to cover 25,000 households/families
of 300 villages in the six distressed districts
namely Yavatmal, Wardha, Washim, Buldhana,
Akola and Amravati.
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