Vidarbha farmers widows to protest during Barack Obama visit to Mumbai-Six vidarbha farmers suicide on the eve of “Diwali”

Vidarbha farmers widows to protest during Barack Obama visit to Mumbai-Six vidarbha farmers suicide on the eve of “Diwali”

US President Barack Obama’s attention, on his visit to Maharashtra from remote place of vidarbha by the candle light protest of starving farm widows drawing towards the fact related to the most serious issue of Agrarian crisis resulting more than 2,16,000 cotton farmers suicides in Indian since USA started giving huge subsidy to American cotton and American Bt.cotton seed popularly known as ‘killer seed company’ which has ruined complete rural economy of cotton growing vidarbha region and turned it to the dying field after the commercial permission in year 2006 claiming more than 10000 cotton farmers suicides mostly the cotton farmer swho opted American Bt. Cotton seed.

“Our aim to inform US President Barack Obama that this vidarbha cotton farmers mass genocide is the result of American policies to protest their cotton farmers and wild claim of bumper success claimed of GMO MNCs Monsanto that Bt. Cotton has brought genetic revolution in agriculture is hoax when 80% of 3 million cotton farmers families are in deep distress and debt and one farmers is committing suicide @ 8 hours then one can understand ground reality. our protest is to bring the truth before the world so that somebody will come forward to stop this on going cotton farmers suicide spiral” Kishor Tiwari of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) which has been documenting farmers' suicide in Vidarbha informed in press release today .

When the country is celebrating ‘Diwali’ the main festival of Indian Hindu community dying field of vidarbha has reported another six farmers suicides taking toll to 645 in year 2010 ,the recent victims of vidarbha agrarian crisis are

Five more vidarbha farmers in 48 hours that include the farm widow

1. Harishchandra Pawar of Village Ramnagar(Yawali) in Yavatmal

2.Vithal Zade of Viallge Wadhona in Yavatmal

3.Sheikh mushtak of Matharjun In Yavatmal

4.Chandrakar Chaturkar of Pathri in Wardha

5.Satish Banker of Nandora in Wardha

6 Nagesh Bhage of Bellora in Chandrapur

According to Kishor Tiwari of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) which has been documenting farmers' suicide in Vidarbha, attributed the extreme step taken by the farmers to the heavy crop loss and 'failure' of Bt cotton in over six million acres. vidarbha suicide spiral is slow spreading towards paddy growing region of vidarbha from cotton growing west vidarbha as now more suicide s are paying reported from east vidarbha too .Tiwari added.

The cause for the farmers' despondency is the crisis arising out of the delay in cotton procurement and forceful loan recoveries by banks and private micro finance agencies operated illegally as Govt. owned banks failed to provide fresh credit to dying distressed farmers even after intervention of administration, Tiwari alleged.

‘The news of a bumper cotton crop and skyrocketing prices was far different from the ground reality as the Central government was under pressure from textile lobby to bring down the raw cotton prices whereas the high international rates and hence was not opening cotton procurement centers in Vidarbha is adding fuel in the hardshipd of farming community of vidarbha as on an average, a cotton farmer spends about Rs 30,000 per acre and may get a maximum yield of about four quintal that doesn't even puts him in a position to break even and hence the farmers are under perennial economic strain’ Tiwari said

“Cotton farmers are demanding that C.C.I (Cotton Croprn. of India) should start procurement at the rate of Rs.5000/- per quintal Open market prices are already ruling over Rs 5000 a quintal. While there are clear indications that prices may firm up in international market mainly because crops in China and Pakistan have been ruined by floods, the Indian farmer could take advantage of the situation and export to the countries like China, Bangladesh, where there is high demand for short staple cotton that we produce” said Kishore Tiwari of the VJAS