Kisan Mitra is one of the projects that have been launched to understand and reduce agrarian distress by addressing the policy implementation gaps in rural India. The helpline, Kisan Mitra, was set up to help distressed farmers of Vikarabad district in the state of Telangana, where incidents of farmer suicide are high. Since its launch on April 14, 2019, on Ambedkar Jayanti, by the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA) with the help of the district administration, it has expanded to two other districts, viz., Adilabad and Mancherial.
Key Features of the Project
The project has the following key features:
* Kisan Mitra improves a farmer’s access to government services by bringing their cases in front of the district administration.
* It promotes sustainable livelihoods for small and marginalised farmers.
* It establishes connections with local administration to alleviate farmer distress.
* It partners with various organs of the government to achieve better outcomes for farmers.
* It allows speedy resolution of farmers’ problems.
* It empowers farmers through improving their psychological health, knowledge, and access where their entitlements are concerned.
* Unlike helplines run in Maharashtra and Punjab, it combines counseling with field coordinators.
* The helpline is manned by an all-women team of 6–7 counsellors, who are assisted by field workers to conduct meetings, hold workshops, and scour hospitals for suicide cases. The team has worked with the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) and trained doctors to learn the treatment protocol as poisoning by pesticide is a common method of suicide.
Drawbacks of the Project
Funding is one of the crucial issues related to this project. Currently, the district administration is responsible for funding, which has three drawbacks.
(i) Kisan Mitra salaries are often delayed.
(ii) The state does not fund activities that go against their political interests.
(iii) There is a high risk of being defunded when a new district collector takes over.
Background
India’s widespread agrarian crisis has taken the lives of many small and marginalised farmers. The states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu have seen a high rate of suicide accidents as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Farmers from these regions face problems including increase farming input expenditure due to use of GM seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, reduction in groundwater and low income from farming. So, there has been increase in farmer indebtedness and distress, and the number of suicides among them. Changes to existing farming practices, market practices, and policy implementation are a must to address the problem. Multiple schemes launched for the purpose include those providing assured credit facility and other benefits. However, knowledge about the schemes and access to them is often lacking. Hence, the Kisan Mitra helpline.