The debt trap
Cotton crop in general is highly susceptible to a number of pests and diseases. The farmer's problem is further aggravated by the intensive cultivation of the crop with large amounts of fertilisers and indiscriminate plant protection measures. "This leads to increased cost of production, less returns and development of pesticides resistance in the pest,' says C Sreedhar Rao, deputy director of agriculture at Warangal.
In the beginning of every season the farmers acquire a land on lease. K Laxmi of village Peddapur in district Warangal, wife of Kommulamalliah, who committed suicide on December 23, 1997, explains how her husband got into the debt trap. "He had leased 0.81 ha of land at Rs 2,025 per ha. He had borrowed from the local money lender at an interest of 24 per cent per annum. He got pesticide from a shop on credit,' she narrates. As banks have denied loan to entire regions on the basis of bad experience with a handful of farmers, local moneylenders remain the only option.
In a normal year, this works out reasonably for the farmer. With the failure of crop looming large in 1996, farmers went for bigger loans in 1997 to save their crop. This boomeranged when the pest attack began. Reportedly, a significant part of the government compensation is being taken away by moneylenders.
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