PI: Prof. Bakul Rao, Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas

Co-PI: Prof. Shireesh B Kedare, Department of Energy Science and Engineering

Tata Fellow: Shraddha Vekhande (2017-19)

Agrarian crisis in India is being reflected in terms of farmers’ suicides, indebtedness, vulnerable marketconditions, susceptible weather, and reduced agriculture production. The worst manifestation of agrarian crisis in India has been farmers’ suicides. The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) reported 270,940 farmers’ suicides since 1995 to 2015. Vidarbha region in the Maharashtra state is infamous for farmers’ suicides. Yavatmal district in Vidarbha region is the identified field area for the study. Here the total number of farmers who committed suicide has been 2,837 from the year 2000 to 2013 (Sarkunde, 2014). The major risk factors for suicide have been indebtedness (87 per cent) and deterioration in the income status (74 per cent) in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra (Mishra, 2006). The aim of this white paper study is to understand the financial pattern of the marginal agrarian family, for identifying the problems of allocation and priority of expenditure. The proposed work is intended to empower marginal farmers in identifying the area of (financial) concern and thereby help in better decision making to address the agrarian crisis. This will enable the key stakeholders and the policy makers to develop better policies for long-term improvement in agrarian crisis.