‘This Is How Farmers Are Forced To Commit Suicide In Bundelkhand’

On February 10, at around 2 pm in the afternoon, Atarra Tehsil’s sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Arvind Kumar Tiwari signed and stamped a piece of paper with details of 4,853 sacks of paddy procured and a list of private mill owners who have agreed to buy it. The document promised payment for crops to 50-odd farmers as per the minimum support price decided by the Uttar Pradesh government. Conventionally, the marketing wing of the Uttar Pradesh government’s Food and Civil Supplies Department (FCS) should buy paddy from the farmers, but it had refused to do so. Instead, the farmers claimed it directed them to private parties who pay less than the government rates. Since then, the farmers reached out to the SDM and the district collector, pleading for help. They wrote letters to the Prime Minister and the UP Governor. There was no response. A little more than a week ago, the desperate farmers began a hunger strike. On February 4, in the evening, three of them – Dinesh Shukla, 55; Raja Verma, 28; and Pramod Kumar Srivastava, 40 – began fasting. It was a tragic reminder of how hard it is for farmers to be heard.

Recently, Bundelkhand has been crippled by a series of natural disasters. Debt-ridden farmers faced three consecutive droughts, which was followed by excess rainfall during last year’s monsoon. The late monsoon finally brought a good harvest. It was with these crops that Dhaniram Prajapati, 62, left for Atarra Mandi with hopes of selling 358 bori (sacks) of crops to the FCS — marketing and making some much-needed money. Instead, he met with administrative apathy.  

In 2016, the Uttar Pradesh government’s paddy procurement policy fixed the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,470. Private mill owners not only buy the crops at a lower price — approximately Rs 1,200 per quintal – but also deduct 10 kilogram paddy per quintal (as an average husk), which the government does not do. The government issued the list of ten procurement agencies, including the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and FCS-marketing, that would buy paddy from 2,600 centers across the state. Notably, it also said nodal officials of these agencies could increase the procurement amount and extend the last date, if needed by the farming community.  

Farmers allege that this year, January, FCS, instead of procuring the harvest as it is supposed to, suggested farmers sell their yield to private mill owners. This would have meant a loss of Rs 200 to Rs 300 per quintal along with an additional cost of transportation. This was more than enough to disrupt the fragile economics of the financially-strained Bundeli farmers.

The cost-ratio of farming in Bundelkhand works like this. Srivastava spent Rs 40,000 — from sowing to harvest and transportation of the crop — and expected an overall collection of Rs 58,000. When they reached the mandi, the farmers instead found a situation in which they would be making losses that few could absorb.

“Pehle January 31 tak ki date thi, bichauliya ka kharab dhaan kharid liya aur humara acha dhaan rakha hai. Fir adhikariyon ne bola ki dhan utha kar mill walon ko bech aao (First they said the last date was January 31 and kept buying the middlemen’s poor quality paddy while better harvests were not even weighed. Finally, when the last date crossed, they asked us to take our sacks to the private mill owners),” 55-year-old Shukla told Newslaundry.

A resident of Oraha village and owner of 25 bighas of land, Srivastava said “Through January, there were hundreds of us protesting here. Many of them were not patient enough to wait. Eventually they were influenced by middlemen.” He claimed that by the end January, several farmers, in order to get rid of the crops, left their sacks with middlemen for prices as low as Rs 900 for a quintal. He added, “Kaam kar kar kum arte hain aur bichauliye malai kah rahe hain (It’s the farmers who work hard but the middlemen make all the profit).”

Dhaniram Prajapati at Atarra Mandi.

Deputy regional manager of FCS – marketing, Govind Upadhyay, told Newslaundry, “January 31 was the last deadline and we didn’t have permission to procure the paddy after that.” When asked about the UP government procurement policy that clearly states the procurement date can be extended, Upadhyay said, “We had written to the higher authorities but didn’t get any reply on the issue.” Responding to the allegation that the agency has bought paddy from middlemen instead of striking farmers, Upadhyay said, “Such farmers should bring the middlemen in front of me. If anyone is found guilty, we will take action against him.”    

Despite the fact that all this happened in the month before the presently-ongoing assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, no political party reached out to the protesting farmers. “Neta log yahan aate hi kahan hai,” said Vikash Singh Chauhan, a resident of Takoli village. Chauhan said that he will vote NOTA (None Of The Above) in the polls. Many of the farmers told Newslaundry they would vote for the candidate whose party would help resolve this crisis.

Ultimately, however, the resolution didn’t come from the political establishment. It was coverage by the local media that embarrassed the administration into action. Hindi Daily Amar Ujala carried a report with headline —Taul ke liye pada hai 1500 quintal dhan (1500 quintal paddy is yet to get weighed ) That there was a reporter from New Delhi asking about the strike and the state of the farmers added to this pressure. The situation became even more grim when Shukla had to be admitted to hospital by a team of government doctors.

This finally prompted the administration to not only initiate, but hasten the procurement process from February 8.“I went out of the way to ensure their crops are weighed. While the majority of 5000 sacks were procured on 8 February,” SDM Tiwari told Newslaundry. He said there was no deliberate delay by the two agencies (the FCI and FCS-marketing) regarding the procurement of the crops. “The marketing was overwhelmed by the amount of paddy which reached the Mandi suddenly,” Tiwari said. Regarding the payments, he said farmers would be paid Rs 1,470 per quintal.

On February 10, Shukla, Verma and Srivastava eventually broke their hunger strike on the seventh day. “We broke our hunger strike only once the paper was signed by the SDM and was marked with official stamps,” said Shukla, his caution showing the importance of government authority and the farmers’ dependence upon local administration.

Reports indicate that nine out of ten Bundeli farmers are debt-ridden and these farmers are no exception. Both Shukla and Prajapati have loans totalling over Rs 1 lakh, taken on the Kisaan Credit Card. Even though SDM Tiwari “ensured” the initiation of procurement process after seven days of their hunger strike, the fact is that it took a hunger strike and a sympathetic media to pressure the government into honouring the agreement it has made with the region’s farmers. Shukla, who is waiting for clearance of the payments, told Newslaundry, “This is how farmers are forced to commit suicide in Bundelkhand.”

The author can be contacted on Twitter @amit_bhardwaz