Farmer suicides the symptom
The Hindu
NEW DELHI: The crisis in the farm sector is a national one and not restricted to some States. The suicides are just the symptom not the disease, said Magsaysay awardee and Rural Affairs Editor of The Hindu P. Sainath while deliverin g a lecture on 'Farm Crisis; Why have over one lakh farmers killed themselves in the last decade?' in Parliament House More....
Empty fields stare at farm widows
India Together
In Vidarbha, widowed women farmers have been hit hard by lack of viable farm credit. Quite a lot of women find themselves unable to carry out farm work in the absence of credit. Caught between fear and despair, their options are limited. More..
In Yavatmal, life goes on
India Together, by P.Sainath
In Pisgaon village of the same district Varsha Rasse grabs any work she gets, no matter how poorly paid it is. For two seasons her husband Maruti had leased out their eight acres - throwing in his own labour as part of the deal. "He had to get his sisters married," neighbours told us, "and farming was collapsing." Then, with his own cultivation hit by excessive rains, Rasse committed suicide in 2004. His debt remains a problem for Varsha and their son and daughter are both under five years of age. More...