Mysuru: While farmers in the state are heading towards suicide, these three farmers who have not even crossed the level of school, and are ordinary people too, are leading successful humble lives with a little planning, adopting some changes in their farm practices and by sheer hard work. However, as long as farmers don’t get proper rates for their agriculture produce, based on their expenditure and investment, the farmers’ suicides will not drop, they will worsen, progressive farmers warn.
“Farmers depend on comprehensive agriculture practices and the government should implement the Agriculture Price Policy effectively. The farmers don’t get suitable rates for their crops based on their expenditure, and unless the prices for their produce remain constant, incidences of suicides cannot be reduced and the situation may worsen,” says progressive farmer 66-year-old Puttaiah and a Deveeramma couple.
Puttaiah from Mallara of HD Kote taluk, who inherited four acres of land from his father, along with his four brothers has today expanded his land to 40 acres in fifty years. He has a joint family of 40 members. He has studied till Class VIII.
Puttaiah has planned his agriculture practice in such a way that he gets income throughout the year. He gets a daily income from 50 litres of milk yielded by five cows, a weekly income of Rs 25,000 from vegetables including Brinjal, Tomato, Green Chillies and Cabbage which he has cultivated in two acres. He gets a monthly income of Rs 25,000 from Sericulture as he has taken it in two batches. He gets Rs one lakh in three months from Coconut from eight acres. And he cultivates Groundnut, Til, Horsegram and other pulses in ten acres from which he gets an income every six months. He gets an annual income from Sugarcane, Turmeric and Banana which he has cultivated in two acres each. So far he has not taken any loan. He doesn’t depend on laborers but on the latest technology which includes a tiller and a tractor and his family members manage the land.
“Yes, farmers need to get a price based on their expenditure which is not happening and that is the basic reason why farmers are in a crisis. But it is time the farmers adopt changes and plan a little and grow crops which require minimum expenditure from which they can get maximum benefit,” says, farmers Mukunda and Renuka, a couple from Tippur village in KR Nagar taluk.
Chitradurga: Unable to repay his loan and dejected over his crop loss, a 55-year-old farmer hanged himself at his field in Kaaluvehalli village in Challakere taluk of the district, on Sunday. The deceased has been identified as Mallayya. He had grown groundnut in his field and was also dejected over successive crop losses owing to lack of rainfall. He had borrowed a ‘hand’ loan besides loan from a cooperative society, to grow crops. Dejected, Mallayya committed suicide by hanging himself at his field. The Parashurampura police have registered a case.
