Five Maharashtra farmers commit suicide (GE cotton)

[nosmokes]

what a deadly scam we're perpetrating on the subcontinent, all for the benefit of already wealthy bankers and execs at agro/bio/chem corps and corrupt pols. but what's the suicide of 100 brown people a month and the desolation of their families, eh? things are tough all over.- joe

original-dailyindia

Five Maharashtra farmers commit suicide

By Indo Asian News Service

Nagpur, Jan 15 (IANS) Five cotton-growers in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra have committed suicide after crop failure, taking the number of such suicides to 33 since the New Year.




Two of the five farmers who ended their lives Sunday hailed from Akola district while one each was from Buldana, Nagpur and Yavatmal, Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) president Kishor Tiwari said here Monday.

In the 72 hours preceding this tragedy, eight other farmers had ended their lives, Tiwari told IANS.

The previous year's toll in Vidarbha was well over 1,000 - almost at the rate of 100 suicides a month.

The continuing suicide saga falsifies the government claim of a bumper cotton crop, Tiwari said. Total cotton procurement in Vidarbha so far, a major chunk of which was done by private traders, is 10 million quintals as against the government prediction of 35 million quintals, he pointed out.

The state controlled cotton federation opened fewer procurement centres this year pushing the farmers to private traders who paid Rs.100 per quintal less to them than the federation, Tiwari said.

'The stark reality of farmers' suicides bares the failure of Bt cotton (genetically modified cottonseeds) in rain-fed conditions,' the VJAS leader remarked adding that the relief package from the state and the central government had benefited the cooperative banks alone, compensating them against the interest on farmers' loans that the government had waived.
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complete article here

[joneschick]

1. thank you Monsanto.

also read: http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/lies092702.cfm

how can we stop this criminal activity? It's not just in India, I'm sure. And once again, the banks are covered for losses but nothing goes to the farmers and their families. Truly tragic.

edited to add another link: http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2006/02/28/censorship_monsanto_the_media_boycott_monsanto_products.htm

I may be on a roll. a really pissy one

[shance]

2. This is heartbreaking. What do we do?

The monetary system seems to be killing the ones already the most victimized.

The most cruel and vicious continue on their merry way.

This is not right and not good for the planet.