Why India’s cotton farmers are killing themselves

Yogita Kanhaiya is expecting a baby soon. She already has a two-year-old son.

Her husband, Moreshwor, a cotton farmer, won’t be around to see his children grown up. He committed suicide early in the pregnancy. Eight years back, Yogita’s father-in-law, also a cotton farmer, took his own life.

“He was in so much debt,” 25-year-old Yogita said of her late husband. “He wasn’t getting any money from cotton. He chose death over distress.”

It’s a familiar story in families across Western India’s cotton production belt, where, a cotton lobbyist group claims, one cotton farmer commits suicide every eight hours.

“We get reports of two to three farmer suicides every day,” said Kishor Tiwari, leader of the farmers advocacy group, Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS).

Vidarbha, in the eastern region of the state of Maharashtra, is known as the epicenter of the suicide crisis. According to VJAS data, some 2,900 farmers from the area have taken their lives since 2013; more than 500 have died since the start of this year.

There are a number of reasons for the hopelessness among Vidarbha farmers. Unseasonal rain and hail destroyed many crops earlier this year.

But they’ve also had to contend with the flipside: a plentiful harvest in 2014 drove prices down while production costs rose, leaving many farmers either lacking income or burdened with debt from loans taken out to help keep them afloat.

Yogita Kanhaiya's husband committed suicide in December. She said he used to tell her he had a lot of debt that he was unable to pay back because he wasn't earning enough as a cotton farmer. She never imagined he would take such a drastic step and take his own life. Her father-in-law, also a cotton farmer, killed himself in 2007.

Yogita Kanhaiya feeds her son. He has no idea where his father has gone. She had imagined a very different future for herself and her young family.

Baby Kanhaiya looks at an album containing photographs of his father. His mother says he often wonders where his father is. When he sees his pictures, he calls out for his father and cries for him. It feels terrible, Yogita says.

Yogita is eight months pregnant. After her husband died, his debts transferred to her. Once her baby is born, she will have to find work to repay the loans her husband took. She has received some compensation from the government but she says it's not enough.

Murali Dhidkar is a cotton farmer in Akhuli village in Maharashtra. He himself is in debt. He has taken a loan of Rs 150,000 ($2,500). He says his input costs -- the costs of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides have gone up. The price of cotton is the only thing that's gone down. He says farmers in the area are very stressed about how they will make ends meet.

A cotton field in Vidarbha. Last year, India produced a record amount of cotton. This year, cotton cultivation is expected to fall as low prices force farmers to consider growing other crops or turn or find other ways of earning a livelihood.

There is a glut of cotton in the global marketplace. This is pushing the price of cotton down. In India's cotton growing belt of Vidarbha in Maharashtra state, farmers say they are getting around Rs 3,000 ($50) for a quintal of cotton. Just a year ago, they were getting twice that amount.

Manda Shastrakar sits with her family on the steps of her home in Vidarbha. Her husband committed suicide on January 14 this year. He doused himself with kerosene and set himself alight. He died near the steps where the family now sits. His family says he was was under pressure to repay hefty debts.

Manda Shastrakar with her oldest daughter. She has to feed her family and keep paying for them to go to school. All the children must now work in the cotton fields to help make ends meet. Manda will also face a heavy expense in years to come -- getting all her children married and paying for their weddings.

Tragedy in India's cotton fields as farmers choose death over debt

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A bumper year

Last year was a record year for cotton production, resulting in a glut of cotton on the world market. India produced 40 million bales of the fiber in 2013/14 crop year, and is the second largest global cotton grower, after China.

The record surplus of cotton in the global market pushed down prices hurting farmers, particularly in Vidarbha, which is becoming increasingly reliant on cotton.

“Our land mostly supports only two crops: cotton and soybean. But for the past few years, soybean yield has consistently been decreasing. So we mostly depend on cotton,” said Murali Dhidkar, a local cotton farmer.

He said in the past year, cotton prices had halved.

“I’m getting around 50 dollars per quintal. Just a year ago it was 100 dollars. I’ve never seen such a low price. The costs of pesticides, fertilizers and seeds are increasing but the cotton price is falling down.”

He points out the dismal condition of debt-ridden farmers like himself in Vidarbha, many of whom are forced to take out loans or give up farming.

“Government officials do not come to the village and listen to our plight. Just a few days ago, my neighbor burnt himself alive,” Dhidkar said.

Tiwari, from the farmers advocacy group, said many farmers in Vidarbha had lost hope that the situation would improve.

“It is an epidemic. How many more farmers need to commit suicide before the government steps in to find a solution to this problem?”

A national problem

More than 50% of India’s population is involved in the agricultural and allied sector, which contributes 18% of the country’s GDP. Government data shows 11,772 farmers committed suicide in 2013 across India. That is 44 deaths every day.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the amount of compensation paid for damaged crops, and lowered the threshold for farmers to claim payouts.