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Risks, farmers' suicides and agrarian crisis in India: Is there a way out?

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  • Srijit Mishra

    (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Srijit Mishra, 2007. "Risks, farmers' suicides and agrarian crisis in India: Is there a way out?," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2007-014, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    • Handle: RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2007-014
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    References listed on IDEAS

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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. 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.
    3. Singh, J.P., 2006. "Changing Agrarian Relationships in Rural India," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 61(01), pages 1-29.
    4. V.M. Rao, 2007. "Sustainability of Indian Agriculture: Towards an Assessment," Working Papers id:1163, eSocialSciences.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gaurav, Sarthak, 2015. "Are Rainfed Agricultural Households Insured? Evidence from Five Villages in Vidarbha, India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 719-736.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    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. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. Dalwai, Ashok, 2012. "Dynamics of Agricultural Growth in India," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 67(01), pages 1-19.
    11. Mukherjee, Subhankar & Pal, Parthapratim, 2019. "On Improving Awareness about Crop Insurance in India," Review of Agrarian Studies, Foundation for Agrarian Studies, vol. 9(01), July.
    12. 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.
    13. 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).
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. 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.
    18. 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).
    19. 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.
    20. 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.
    21. 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.
    22. 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.
    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. 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).
    25. 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.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Credit burden; Crop loss/yield uncertainty; Market vulnerabilities (price shocks and increasing input costs); Returns to cultivation; Suicide Mortality Rate (SMR);
    All these keywords.

    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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