Does distributing rice or wheat at Rs 2 per kg through PDS stop and prevent farmers suicide?

Question

I hope

1. This will create demand for agricultural products and will prevent farmers suicide.
2. This will have a cascading effect on remaining food items and will help in reducing the inflation.
3. This will stop 300 million people starving every day for 2nd meal.

Please suggest any alternative solutions you might want to.

Answer 1

Well, Tamilnadu state does give, through PDS shops. But, I doubt, by giving Rice/Wheat at Rs.2/- a Kilogram, have the effects, you have mentioned or stop suicides by farmers.
Actually, the main suicide problems were in pockets of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. In fact, their problems have not been properly studied and addressed, by politicians. Where ever they have taken steps to alleviate their problem, it has been very less and that too, major portions, have been, eaten away by middle-men.

Answer 2

By distributing rice through a Public Distribution (PDS) system at Rs 2 helps only in putting cheap food in the hands of people -in no way does it adress the farmer suicide problem. Farmers are committing suicide not due to lack of food but because they find the farming livelihood totally unviable and burdened with unserviceable debt. By buying rice/wheat from farmers at relatively higher prices you are probably benefitting the already rich rice/wheat farmers of Punjab than adressing the problems of the farmers who are driven to suicide.

Farmer suicides are happening because farmers are being driven into debt because post green revolution farming has become a high cost activity and the returns from agriculture are almost negative in most cases. If farmer suicides are to be stopped then the crisis in agriculture has to be adressed. The immediate solution would be to a) give more liberal credit b) assure better returns to the farmer by giving better prices. The first -giving more and better credit is easy. Assuring higher returns to the farmer by buying his produce at a higher rate is a tough proposition in an economy that is opening up rapidly to to the global economy through a liberalisation process,reforms and globalisation. A clear example on how difficult it is to see how when agricultural produce prices went up - government because of fears of inflation took measures that keeps prices down like allowing of imports, envisaging the banning of forward markets in agricultural commodities among others.

The real long term solution is to make agriculture more attractive by a) providing proper rural infrastructure (roads, irrigation supply chains like refrigerated warehouses b) advanced technology that can improve yield many times like what Israel does c) Move people away from agriculture into manufacturing d) Allow for rationalisation of holding through co-operative farming etc.

Peculiarly the real long term solution for the farmer suicides would be to remove people from agriculture into other industries. A recent study by CRISIL, India has shown that the current retail revolution can improve returns to the farmer by almost 40%. But this is at the cost of the mandis and small retailer -who form a very powerful vote bank. But the real question is who do you want to benefit? The millions of farmers and the population of India which can benefit through lower retail prices and higher farm gate prices for the farmer or as in the current system where it is the middle man is able to seize all the profits exploiting the farmers and the consumer simultaneously.

ddressing this problem will address the farmer suicides in the long term

Answer 3

It is true that farmers are committing suicide mainly because they are awefully trapped in debts. What is the reason for this debt? Go to any village in Karnataka. You find that farmers visit almost evry day nearby town/city with or without valid reason. Think that they spend a minimum of Rs.100 per visit the amount so spent will be Rs.30000 per year. The main source of money is debt. They are caught in debt trap. Go to any village in Maharashtra. The wives donot allow their husbands to visit towns so often and they have control over their husbands. There are no cases of suicides in Maharashtra.
Make the village women educated and make them aware of their responsibilities. Bring legislation to ban alcoholism. The problem is solved.
Give reservation to farmers' children in education and jobs @ 25% and remove present caste based reservation policy. Lessen the burden on land.
Open at least one Kendriya Vidyalalya in every Taluka (specially in northern Karnatak which is very backward) so that farmers children get good education.

Answer 4

YES.Definitely.
The scheme is aimed to alleviate the suffering of poor people below powerty line. It is a good scheme.

Answer 5

NO on no account.somewhat monetary STEPS AND movements / rules which will MAKE each INDIAN EARN SUFFICIENTLY for his or her LIVELIHOOD.stands out as the sole LASTING answer FOR OUR TEEMING UNDERFED & UNFED thousands and thousands.