Farmer suicides in America and Europe
by Sandhya Jain on 17 Oct 2012 9 Comments

In what is one of the Free World’s best kept secrets, farmer suicides – a phenomenon popularly associated with India – are rearing their heads in America and Europe, and are becoming difficult to push under the carpet. Though Big Media has largely dodged the story, local newspapers have carried occasional reports. The suicides have been happening for some years now; some states have set up hotlines to counsel farmers at the end of their tether as prices of farm produce fall and money problems rise.

 

In Colorado, USA, the Denver Post reported in June 2009 that in large parts of rural America, a growing number of farmers consider suicide and call the helpline with loaded guns in hand, complaining of cash problems. A dedicated network of hotlines for farm workers reported an increase of 20 per cent calls over the previous year.

 

Proper statistics are hard to come by because media reporting is scanty and does no justice to the unfolding tragedy. Nor do all states report occupational suicide numbers; insights have to be gleaned from patchy sources. The Iowa-based Sowing the Seeds of Hope crisis-line program which covers farmers in seven Midwestern states, received 11,000 calls for help in 2009, as compared with 9,000 in 2008. Its chief, clinical psychologist Mike Rosmann, said cries for help rose in 2008 when dairy prices fell and mounting distress spread nationwide. Another badly hit sector is the pig farmers.

 

Still, Colorado state health officials recorded 4,012 suicides in the past five years; 53 were farmers, mostly men, who shot themselves. Bankrupt farmers have sought government help as bankers press for payments, often triggering the suicides.

 

The LA Times reported the suicides as California is America’s premier dairy state and two dairy farmers took their own lives in mid-2009. The crisis was triggered by the average milk price - around $17 per 100 pounds - suddenly fell to $10, while farmers needed a minimum price of $16 or more to cover debt, feed, and other costs. [Milk is priced in pounds but sold to consumers by the gallon].

 

In Illinois, in August 2012, drought dried up the ponds where cattle drank and pastured, forcing farmers to buy thousands of gallons of water daily. Australian scientists have previously noted a link between prolonged drought and the risk of farmer suicide. This year, large parts of America have been hit by drought, raising the financial burden on farmers due to crop failure, failure of orchards or vineyards, and starving livestock.

 

Texas has suffered a second consecutive drought (2011 and 2012), badly affecting crops and pastures. Ranchers have sold off livestock they could not feed. American farmers are now experimenting with breeds that withstand heat and drought better, cross-breeding herds with the Indian Brahman cattle and European breeds like Herefords and Shorthorns.

 

Currently, America’s Corn Belt from Ohio west to California and Texas north to the Dakotas is reeling under drought, afflicting the corn and soybean crops. An increase in food prices is inevitable; there will be a glut in meat and poultry as farmers have sold livestock, which will push up meat costs next year.

 

Britain’s statistics are closely guarded, but farmers rank as a high risk occupational group for suicides. The Department of Health commissioned the Centre for Suicide Research to conduct research into farmer suicides. Studies in Australia and Britain suggest male farmers have higher suicide rates than the national average and other rural males.

 

In rural France, farmers are killing themselves in record numbers on account of financial woes; the government concedes this has become a ‘genuine public health problem’. Statistics are not readily available as many rural suicides are reported as accidents or deaths from illness, though estimates suggest 400 to 800 annually commit suicide. Alcoholism has become rampant as farmers opt to drink rather than discuss their problems with others. In some rural areas, the suicide rate is three times higher than the national average.

 

Analysts agree that the volatility in agricultural markets poses a serious danger to the psychological health of farmers.

 

Meanwhile, in Spain, The New York Times reports, unemployment figures have crossed 50 per cent among young people; it is common to see well dressed youth rummaging through garbage bins of fruit and vegetable stores for edible scraps to eat. Many families have been rendered homeless by the inability to pay rent.

 

Little wonder violence and anger are spilling on to the streets of Madrid and Lisbon as austerity measures increase along with unemployment rates and tax hikes. With no relief on the horizon, for Europe the abyss is getting deeper.

 

The author is Editor, www.vijayvaani.com 
User Comments Post a Comment
And yet we are guided by the Western model of agricultural "development".
Bharati
October 17, 2012
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In societies where only 2 to 5% of the population are engaged in farming, villages are deserted or replaced by isolated industrial farms. Country life has become unbearable due to loneliness, overwork and economic stress and uncertainty. A society where farming becomes an unattractive, marginal activity for those who don't have other options or is monopolised by a wealthy industrialised business class is doomed to decline. No amount of computers and fast jet planes will rmake up for the food supply and the upkeep of the rural commons.
Come Carpentier
October 17, 2012
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@Bharati

Agree that we should not ape the West in agriculture (in fact in most things!) and yet this process started not only with the grandiose five year plans, but also the Green Revolution which depleted the soil. Today, the problem is compounded by neglect of storage facilities etc. The situation is in a deep mess.

I have found some articles very useful. One of the earliest was the 1993 critique of Gatt by S.Gurumurthy. I have routinely prescribed this article to students. This is a foundational article. Ofcourse, I need not mention the well known Vandana Shiva's works.
Dr. Vijaya Rajiva
October 17, 2012
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Dr Claude Alavares exposed the Green Revolution and its masters in the 1980s itself. Great work has been done by many others like Sunderlal Bahuguna, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Biju Negi, etc

Very good articles on soil nutrition have appeared in this website by Dr KP Prabhakaran Nair

@Vijaya Rajiva - didn't you write an article dismissing the threat posed by GM seeds to Nepal and indirectly to India, via wind pollination?
Tara
October 17, 2012
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@Tara

You must be confusing me with someone else: 1. I did not write an article on the topic of GM seeds in Nepal, 2. In my comment to an article by someone else (cannot recall the name), I explicitly state that this question of GM seeds will be dealt with by the relevant NGOs as well they should !
Dr. Vijaya Rajiva
October 17, 2012
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@Tara

If I remember rightly Sunderlal Bahuguna was a Gandhian who also worked along with Vandanda Shiva on various green issues. Both these authors along with some others were on my reading list used by students on a course in Peace Studies : Developmental Issues. This was a few years ago, in the late 90s.

A year or two ago I saw an article about an Indian village which stoutly rejected the use of GM seeds, after they saw the destruction in neighbouring villages. The villagers organised themselves to see that no one came to their village to sell the GM project. A woman learned to ride a bycycle and from morning till evening cycled to see that no stranger entered the village with this project in mind. She was called The General by the villagers.
Dr. Vijaya Rajiva
October 17, 2012
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INDIA MUST UNDERSTAND US ECONOMIC POLICIES ARE A PERFECT RECIPE TO KILL THE MAIN STREET
India has blindly adopted the Zionist/Israeli Economic Policies, without taking into account America a one time Super Power is barely crawling and can’t even walk under the load of these Anti-common people and Pro 1% Rich policies. Today America has 50 mil people on Food Stamps, 20 mil unemployed, 30 mil under-employed, 16 mil children facing hunger, 1.5 mil homeless youth and 70 mil with no health insurance. Above all $16 Trillion external debts, $4 Trillion state government debt and $175 Trillion in unfunded liabilities. Today if you sell every American’s assets the total that can be realized is $78 trillion!

US Military budget is entitlement for rich Financiers of Politicians who have stocks & interest in war enterprises with over 900 US Military Bases in 153 countries around the world. Anybody who is against cuts in Defense has no right to demand cuts anywhere else.

Workers wages in USA under Unionized Politicians of America has dropped by 14.4% since 1945 and on the other hand CEO salaries has gone up by 1400% in the same period.

30% employed in private sector of America are making less than $10/hour. The National Minimum wage has lost 30 percent of its purchasing power since 1968 as per NFLP report.

The minimum wage earners in America are not making the "Living Wages" that can take care of their families. That is the reason they are on Food Stamps and other welfare schemes run by Federal & state governments.

DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH IN AMERICA
Bottom 50% owns 02.5% of the nations assets, Top 1% owns 33.8% followed by 9% that owns 37.7% and 40% owns 26% of the nations assets.

The six heirs to the Walmart fortune are worth as much as nearly half of all American households. The Walton family was worth $89.5 billion in 2010, the same as the bottom 41.5 percent of U.S. families combined, according to Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute. That's 48.8 million American households in total.

US DOLLAR HAS LOST 98.8% OF ITS VALUE
Bureau of Labor Statistics admits that the dollar has lost 96 percent of its value since 1913, with that $100 basket of goods and services now said to cost $2303.
Dave Makkar
October 18, 2012
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@Dave

What exactly do "Zionist/Israeli" economic policies have to do with America? Zionist Israel makes desert bloom, and its economy is booming while America's suffers under Obama's socialism.
si91
October 19, 2012
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dear sandhyaji
you have nicely exposed this fact unknown to us so far.
similarly untouchability is another well kept secret.
Ashok
October 21, 2012
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