tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37500641.post747615367751393954..comments2023-03-28T17:18:28.590+05:30Comments on Indiaholic: Playing With Numbers: Suicides Among farmers In IndiaDijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244021272062729413noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37500641.post-82599763402271543032010-02-27T21:13:46.874+05:302010-02-27T21:13:46.874+05:30The usual.. chai nasta and an internet connection....The usual.. chai nasta and an internet connection.Dijohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05244021272062729413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37500641.post-28671934158103204182008-07-17T23:59:00.000+05:302008-07-17T23:59:00.000+05:30how much Congress pays you?I am serious dude cause...how much Congress pays you?<BR/><BR/>I am serious dude cause i can do better propaganda than you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37500641.post-61162402637487200942007-09-10T17:52:00.000+05:302007-09-10T17:52:00.000+05:30Yes there is a disparity in the income distributio...Yes there is a disparity in the income distribution between the corporate sector and the farmers. But if you are trying to imply that pro market efforts are not improving the situation, then i suggest you should do some reading over <A HREF="http://www.livemint.com/2007/09/10001834/Myth-of-the-ruralurban-divide.html" REL="nofollow">here</A>: Rural India is growing <I>faster</I> than urban India. And this is to be expected, in the same parts of a country if a few sections are lagging behind, then they do catch up with the other parts.[<A HREF: HTTP://WWW.IMF.ORG/EXTERNAL/PUBS/FT/FANDD/2007/09/PEOPLE.HTM HREF="" REL="nofollow">Link</A>]<BR/><BR/>Hmm farmers leaving food crops for cash crops? The scenario is kinda improbable. The high prices that these cash crops command is because of scarcity of supply. If tobacco was as freely available as rice, will it still be a lucrative option? No.<BR/><BR/>Please explain this statement:<B>if prices are allowed to be fixed by the market, with no use whatsoever or buffer stocks or so, then prices will increase over and above the nominal inflation level leaving no buyers but a lot of sellers.</B><BR/><BR/>As far as ruined countries go, how many communist ones have succeeded when compared to the capitalist ones?<BR/><BR/>And as far as economic policies go isn't the objective to try and give a decent lifestyle to the maximum number of people rather than an equal one?<BR/><BR/>And btw there is no implication that all the farmers are well off, all I am saying is that the solution is more free markets rather than government controls.<BR/><BR/>And a huge thanks for your comments. Hehe somebody to talk with you see...Dijohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05244021272062729413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37500641.post-62196212963733563042007-09-10T16:18:00.000+05:302007-09-10T16:18:00.000+05:30Today our government is trying to tell us that Ind...Today our government is trying to tell us that India is very well off considering the near 10% GDP ratio which it has managed to achive. Fair enough. But then GDP or GDP/capita is not the only and in fact not at all a way to measure development as although it is growth, it does not equate to development.<BR/><BR/>Disparity between the average annual incomes of say farmers which as you pointed out make 50% of the population and those of the barely 5% higher management or corporate sector employees is HUGE! Income inequality is so horrible!! This para is more a reply to the comment by Nitin. Market can never fix this problem. It will only make it worse. If farmers are given economic freedom, they will concentrate more on cultivating cash crops like tobacco and sugarcane leaving aside the main food crops. If markets are allowed to develop on their own, their will be market failure.<BR/><BR/>For example, if prices are allowed to be fixed by the market, with no use whatsoever or buffer stocks or so, then prices will increase over and above the nominal inflation level leaving no buyers but a lot of sellers. This happened in a lot of states in 2005 where collectively more than 200 metric tons of grain rotted away in filthy warehouses as in spite of the huge demand people could not afford the price!! <BR/><BR/>If the Indian farmer is indeed to become better off, what he really needs is not market freedom or free trade but balanced growth strategies along with govt. support in terms of basic infrastructure and abolition of private money lenders. There should be maximum pricing for foodcrops and minimum pricing for cashcrops. But this is yet another issue.<BR/><BR/>So to conclude, although I agree that farmer suicide figures are not a good measure of economic condition of the country, one does not need ANY research or survey to say that India is still very poor. So it is best not to ignore these figures, no matter how small they are, because they do imply a deeprooted inequality of wealth and income which will RUIN the nation's economy in the longrun. Neo liberalism will take us nowhere..all we will end up becoming will be a neo-colonial enterprise of USA or some such country.Rohithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37500641.post-50544382247089089962007-09-10T16:06:00.000+05:302007-09-10T16:06:00.000+05:30As far as your concern about the number of farmer ...As far as your concern about the number of farmer suicides being a bad metric for analysis of the economic situation in India, I agree.<BR/><BR/>However, i believe it is a not that important to try to identify the reasons behind their suicides. Its not just the farmers, so many other people kill themselves.<BR/><BR/>So leaving aside the point of whether farmers commit suicides for reasons told by media or some other reasons, what is important to note is the fact this issue is trying to suggest.<BR/><BR/>continued..Rohithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37500641.post-56815333421755262062007-09-09T19:26:00.000+05:302007-09-09T19:26:00.000+05:30Very true. The reason that I did not go into the r...Very true. The reason that I did not go into the reason for the lack of economic development is that i thought it would distract from the point of the article: That farmer suicides are very bad metrics. Thanks for the comment.Dijohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05244021272062729413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37500641.post-76942077893175761212007-09-09T17:55:00.000+05:302007-09-09T17:55:00.000+05:30Hi,Good post. Ajay Shah has called this the "man b...Hi,<BR/><BR/>Good post. Ajay Shah has called this the "man bites dog" issue. Nevertheless, it is important to highlight that the root cause of this malaise is government control. (see my post on <A HREF="http://acorn.nationalinterest.in/2006/07/02/vidarbha-whodunit/" REL="nofollow">Vidarbha Whodunit?</A>; it links to a EPW article which has a micro-level study of the suicides)<BR/><BR/>Farmers are committing suicide due to a lack of economic freedom; and the failure of the state to allow markets to develop to the level of sophistication necessary to cater to the needs of Indian farmers.PaiNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06913824121540912648noreply@blogger.com