Ambika Bhat K S & Jeffy Alice Jacob, Assistant Professors at Saveetha School of Law
India, historically, has been an agricultural country and continues to be so with almost 70% of the population engaged in agriculture directly or indirectly. But due to the involvement of middle men1, the farmers cannot reacquire the expenditures they make for producing the agricultural products. Hence, over the past few years there is an increase in the number of farmer’s suicide.
The researcher having a keen interest in the potential of law as a mechanism for social transformation undertook an empirical research to test the existing legislation and policies with the aid of data and identify the ambiguities. India is one among the countries which has rich historical background in the field of agriculture. The geographic structure of our country is such that it is best suited for agriculture with three seasons, abundant sunlight and water. This is best reflected in India as it is one among the largest exporters of agricultural produces in the world. But the increasing frequency of farmer’s distress in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and elsewhere, and the incidents of farmer’s suicides are symptoms of a deep malaise in rural India. The National Crime Records Bureau2 of India revealed in its 2012 yearly report, that 135,445 individuals committed suicide in India, of which 13,755 were farmers. The number of suicides by farmers and farm workers rose to 12,360 in 2014. The Indian government has not revealed the information on farmer’s suicide since 2015. The urban India has barely noticed it. Moreover, though agriculture now accounts for less than 15% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it is still the main source of livelihood for nearly half of Indian population. In light of the drastic environmental degradation and climate change that pose a great threat to the continuance of life in Planet Earth, the need of the hour is not smart cities but smart villages. And for this the primary step is to support the agricultural sector. With proper guidance and support, agriculture not only is the best solution for the increasing unemployment among youth but also can help the fight against climate change.
The legislature in India has time and again framed legislation and policies to alleviate the problems of framers. India is one among the few nations that passed a legislation which provided Rights to Farmers. Our country has also brought various policies and schemes to regulate the price fluctuations and to save the farmers from the severe fall in farm produce prices. Few such examples are explained below.
Comments