Three more Vidarbha Farmers Suicide in a day as Union Agri. Minister Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra CM Prathviran Chavan visits to Vidarbha

Three more Vidarbha Farmers Suicide in a day as Union Agri. Minister Sharad Pawar  and Maharashtra CM  Prathviran Chavan visits to Vidarbha

Nagpur -May 15, 2013

When Union Agri. Minister Sharad Pawar  and Maharashtra CM  Prathviran Chavan was putting foundation stone on Rs.500 crore power plant equipments manufacturing plant of BHEL in village Mundipar of Bhandara of vidrabha were announcing another Rs.2000 crore packages to project effected farmers of 25year old Gosikhurd irrigation project now in news due Rs72,000 crore irrigation scam same time as per report published in Union Agri. Minister Sharad Pawar  family owned news paper ‘SAKAL’ that three more farmers were committing suicide due debt and prevailing crop failure losses as media reports they are

1.Gajanan Gowardhan of village Hirapur in Yavatmal

2.Devendra khandare of village Mmanjari in Akola

and

3.Dayarath khakare of village Talked in Buldhana

These are debt trapped cotton farmers of west vidarbha region where farmers are committing suicide @ one in every 8 hours since June 2005 even PM-CM packages to the tune of Rs.5000 crore and mega loan waiver of Rs.70,000 crore  failed to address agrarian crisis as larger issues of crop, credit and input and output cost   has not been addressed and distress of debt trapped vidarbha farmers forcing them to commit suicide ,taking toll to 265 in this year ,informed kishore Tiwari of Vidrabha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS)  ,farmers advocacy group working for rights of 5 million farmers of vidrabha region.

‘The vidrabha are trapped in wrong agrarian practices and cash crop pattern which is high risk much volatile to open market hence the urgent need to stop these cash crop like Bt.cotton sugarcane which has been reason of  Poor farmers and a permanent recession and MSP and bank credit is vital issue ignored by state as even west vidrabha agri. Crop loan target is set Rs.5200 crore ,abkers are not ready to give more than 50% of targeted value forcing majority of farmers to take crop loan from private moneylenders and in MSP of cotton ,soya and pluses,  It is CACP wants farmers to live in a state of permanent recession’ Tiwari added.

The Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) declares MSP of agriculture commodities every May. It first makes a recommendation in April, then each state government sends its recommendations, and based on a set process to derive average country-wide production costs it announces the support prices, as a mechanism to ensure that the prices don't fall below this level.This year the CACP recommends to increase barely Rs 100 on a quintal of cotton MSP from Rs 3900 to rs 4000; ditto for soybean and pulses and cereals.The recommended hike is not commensurate with the constant inflation over the last few years, the volatility in fuel and power prices, and steep increase in fertiliser costs, among other inputs. Also, the minimum wages across the country too are slated to increase. In Maharashtra minimum wages have just been increased. the cotton MSP, the current MSP levels won't even recover a part of the increased production cost. In Maharashtra for instance, the government says teh production cost per quintal of cotton stands at around Rs 5900, up from last year's Rs 5268/quintal. Rs 4000 a quintal of cotton means a loss already hence   we demand that to protect vidrabha cotton  farming community ,Maharashtra Govt. and Agri. Minister Sharad Pawar ask CACP raise cotton MSP to Rs.6000/-, Tiwari urged.

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