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Risks, Farmers’ Suicides and Agrarian Crisis in India: Is There a Way Out?

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  • Mishra, Srijit

Abstract

Poor returns to cultivation and absence of non-farm opportunities are indicative of the larger socio-economic malaise in rural India. This is accentuated by the multiple risks that the farmer faces - yield, price, input, technology and credit among others. The increasing incidence of farmers' suicides is symptomatic of a larger crisis, which is much more widespread. Risk mitigation strategies should go beyond credit. Long term strategies requires more stable income from agriculture, and more importantly, from non-farm sources. Private credit and input markets need to be regulated. A challenge for the technological and financial gurus is to provide innovative products that reduce costs while increasing returns. The institutional vacuum of organising farmers needs to be addressed through a federation of self-help groups (SHGs) or alternative structures.
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  • Mishra, Srijit, 2008. "Risks, Farmers’ Suicides and Agrarian Crisis in India: Is There a Way Out?," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 63(1), pages 1-17.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:inijae:204559
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.204559
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    1. Srijit Mishra, 2007. "Agrarian Scenario in Post-reform India:A Story of Distress, Despair and Death," Working Papers id:1019, eSocialSciences.
    2. V.M. Rao, 2007. "Sustainability of Indian Agriculture: Towards an Assessment," Working Papers id:1163, eSocialSciences.
    3. Rosenzweig, Mark R & Wolpin, Kenneth I, 1993. "Credit Market Constraints, Consumption Smoothing, and the Accumulation of Durable Production Assets in Low-Income Countries: Investment in Bullocks in India," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(2), pages 223-244, April.
    4. Singh, J.P., 2006. "Changing Agrarian Relationships in Rural India," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 61(1), pages 1-29.
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    1. U. Vindhya & Sunayana Swain & Praful Kapse & Nachiket Sule, 2022. "Farmers’ Suicides and Psychosocial Intervention," Psychology and Developing Societies, , vol. 34(1), pages 104-124, March.
    2. Gaurav, Sarthak, 2015. "Are Rainfed Agricultural Households Insured? Evidence from Five Villages in Vidarbha, India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 719-736.
    3. Sunil Mitra Kumar, 2016. "Why does caste still influence access to agricultural credit?," WIDER Working Paper Series 086, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Varun Kumar Das & A. Ganesh Kumar, 2017. "Drivers of Farmers' Income: The Role of Farm Size and Diversification," Working Papers id:12104, eSocialSciences.
    5. Jing Li & Tsun Se Cheong & Wenyang Huang & Wai Yan Shum, 2022. "Examining the Regional Disparity of Agricultural Development: A Distribution Dynamics Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-22, October.
    6. Raman, Rakesh & Kumari, Reena, 2012. "Regional Disparity In Agricultural Development: A District-Level Analysis For Uttar Pradesh," Journal of Regional Development and Planning, Rajarshi Majumder, vol. 1(2), pages 71-90.
    7. Nalini Bikkina & Rama Mohana R. Turaga & Vaibhav Bhamoriya, 2018. "Farmer producer organizations as farmer collectives: A case study from India," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 36(6), pages 669-687, October.
    8. Rajan Sudesh Ratna & Murali Kallummal, 2013. "ASEAN–India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its Impact on India," Foreign Trade Review, , vol. 48(4), pages 481-497, November.
    9. Arora, Saurabh & Romijn, Henny, 2009. "Innovation for the base of the pyramid: Critical perspectives from development studies on heterogeneity and participation," MERIT Working Papers 2009-036, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    10. Kurup, Suresh A. & Reddy, A. Amarender & Singh, Dharm Raj & Praveen, K.V, 2021. "Risks in Rainfed Agriculture and Adaptation Strategies in India: Profile and Socio-Economic Correlates," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315127, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. Sowmya Dhanaraj & Vidya Mahambare & Pragati, 2021. "Are India’s farm debt waivers a political tool that impacts government finances?," Working Papers 2021-211, Madras School of Economics,Chennai,India.
    12. Bikkina,Nalini & Turaga, Rama Mohana & Bhamoriya, Vaibhav, 2015. "Farmer Producer Organizations as Farmer Collectives: A Case Study from India," IIMA Working Papers WP2015-01-05, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
    13. Mukherjee, Subhankar & Pal, Parthapratim, 2019. "On Improving Awareness about Crop Insurance in India," Review of Agrarian Studies, Foundation for Agrarian Studies, vol. 9(1), July.
    14. Serra, Teresa & Poli, Elena, 2015. "Shadow prices of social capital in rural India, a nonparametric approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 240(3), pages 892-903.
    15. Dalwai, Ashok, 2012. "Dynamics of Agricultural Growth in India," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 67(1), pages 1-19.
    16. Kakarlapudi, Kiran Kumar, 2012. "Agricultural Growth Deceleration In India: An Enquiry Into Possible Explanations," Journal of Regional Development and Planning, Rajarshi Majumder, vol. 1(1), pages 25-40.
    17. Sunil Kumar & Ashutosh Verma, 2020. "Empowering Farmers of Madhya Pradesh: An Initiative of Madhya Bharat Consortium of Farmers Producer Company Limited," South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, , vol. 9(1), pages 148-158, April.
    18. Varun Kumar Das & A. Ganesh-Kumar, 2018. "Farm size, livelihood diversification and farmer’s income in India," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 45(2), pages 185-201, June.
    19. Deepak K. Mishra, 2020. "Seasonal Migration and Unfree Labour in Globalising India: Insights from Field Surveys in Odisha," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(4), pages 1087-1106, December.
    20. Kakarlapudi, Kiran Kumar, 2010. "Agricultural Growth Deceleration in India: A Review of Explanations," MPRA Paper 35865, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Jan 2012.
    21. Sreenivasulu, Y., 2023. "Forced Tenancy as a Trajectory of Tenant Farmers’ Suicides: A Study of Two Mandals in Nalgonda District (Telangana)," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 0(Number 2), June.
    22. Sunil Mitra Kumar, 2016. "Why does caste still influence access to agricultural credit?," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-86, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    23. Mizinksa Daimari & Rajshree Bedamatta, 2021. "The State of Bodo Peasantry in Modern-Day Assam: Evidence from Majrabari Village in the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 64(3), pages 705-730, September.
    24. Ali Sher & Saman Mazhar & Hossein Azadi & Guanghua Lin, 2020. "Smallholder Commercialization and Urban-Rural Linkages: Effect of Interest-Free Agriculture Credit on Market Participation of Rice Growers in Pakistan," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-24, December.
    25. Kumar, Ranjit & Kumar, Sanjiv & Yashavanth, B.S. & Meena, P.C., 2019. "Natural Farming Practices in India: Its Adoption and Impact on Crop Yield and Farmers’ Income," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 74(03), July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Farm Management; Risk and Uncertainty;

    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products

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