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Pestilence drives Andhra farmers to suicide

M S Shanker in Hyderabad

It was a black Sankranti for many cotton farmers in Andhra Pradesh, with ladde purugu (or spodoptera litura) -- the pest that rocked the fertile coastal Prakasam district a decade ago -- re-emerging to ruin the lives of cotton growers in the backward Telangana and parts of Rayalaseema districts.

So far the pest has destroyed crop spread over 370,000 hectares, leading to 44 suicides, 24 of them in the drought-prone Warangal district.

With the back-breaking debt driving farmers to the wall, the trend of suicides has spread to other parts of the state. Cotton crop destroyed by the pest accounts for over 70,000 hectares.

The unusual phenomenon struck the 29-month-old Nara Chandrababu Naidu government only a little over a fortnight ago, that too on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections.

The situation is alarming, admits state Agriculture Minister K Vidyadhar Rao. However, he assured the farmers that the government was fully behind them. This reassurance comes in the wake of the Centre releasing Rs 120 million of the Rs 500 million promised from the Calamities Relief Fund, for paying compensation to the affected cotton farmers.

That the Telugu Desam government has failed again to protect the farmers's interests, is evident from former MP and agriculture expert Yelamanchali Shivaji's blistering attack. Blaming the government for failing to educate the farmers, he alleged, "The agriculture department has not been doing any extensive work to educate farmers on crop rotation, pest control, proper use of fertiliser and pesticides."

According to him, the problem was aggravated in Warangal district because all its three major crops -- cotton, chillies and redgram -- were attacked by pests and the yields fell by 50 per cent. Farmers who owned two or three acres took more land on lease and raised the crops on 10 to 15 acres and suffered losses on account of their failure. For small farmers, who found no way to recoup the loss, suicide was the last and, often, only resort.

But District Collector Shalini Misra attributes the suicidal trend to other factors, like family and social problems. She argued, "No, I don't think all the deaths are due to crop loss or borrowings or penury." To strengthen her argument, she cited the example of farmers like Nellutla Ravi of Venkatapur, a grower of chillies and maize, figuring in the list of the dead.

But despite official disclaimers, the toll is mounting fast. With crop loss, cotton growers are resorting to the extreme step.

In 1988, too, the state had witnessed a similar scenario when cotton farmers in the paddy and tobacco-rich coastal Prakasam and Guntur districts suffered pest attacks during N T Rama Rao's tenure, and about 23 consumed a fatal dose of pesticides or hanged themselves.

The condition of Telangana is pathetic, as the government's aid has not reached its farmers. A case in point is 27-year-old Badavat Mangia of Mandanayak tanda, Warangal district. Apparently fearing inability to repay private money-lenders, he consumed pesticide and died on December 28. A police inquest confirmed that he had indeed committed suicide.

But to his family's amazement, the district administrators changed their assurance, given earlier, to pay a Rs 100,000 compensation to his relatives, obviously on instructions from above, and are trying to paint Mangia's death as an accident.

The Geeskonda mandal revenue officer's amended report claims that Mangia inhaled poisonous pesticide gas and collapsed in the farm and did not commit suicide, as reported. Amazing as it may be, it has set off Mangia's widow running from pillar to post to justify her husband's suicide.

Geeskonda mandal sarpanch Hema Nayak, too, is at a loss to understand how the MRO dared to challenge the inquest. "Perhaps the government's promise has turned out to be an empty one. Successive governments have cheated us and Naidu's Telugu Desam is no exception."

As a matter of fact, pesticides have become expensive. Each farmer ends up spending over Rs 6000 to Rs 7000 an acre on inputs, and loan dealers are said to have given Rs 30 million as credit to farmers.

Undoubtedly, excess use of pesticides has landed farmers in deep distress because the extra yield is not commensurate with the huge investment. The normal yield ranges from 10-12 quintals an acre. (But Hema Nayak claims that they enjoyed a yield of 18-20 quintals an acre last year). If the market price is Rs 2,000 a quintal, his produce should fetch Rs 15,000 - Rs 25,000 an acre in the market, depending on the yield. But his net return is only Rs 7,000 to Rs 12,000 after the investment on inputs (Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000)

Realising the gravity of the situation and ever-increasing criticism from the opposition, including the Left parties, Naidu not only announced Rs 100,000 as ex-gratia, but also other economic packages. Later, the government announced Rs 1,200 as compensation per acre.

The opposition wants the government to be more magnanimous by paying Rs 6000 per acre. In a bid to encash on the issue, several Congress leaders want the government to pay Rs 10 million as compensation to each suicide victim's family.

Interestingly, agricultural scientists are throwing the blame squarely on overenthusiastic farmers for excessive use of pesticides.

A similar scenario prevails in other Telangana districts like Khammam, Karimnagar, Adilabad, Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda, besides Anantapur (Rayalaseema) and parts of West Godavari district, which presents an embarrassing situation for the media-savvy and hi-tech chief minister.

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