Case Studies

Sahadev Baske lives in a village named Luhabalia at Bisoi Block of Mayurbhanj district of Orissa. Luhabalia is a village of Santhals, one of the tribes in Orissa. The farming in Bisoi as well as in Mayurbhanj depends on rain. Living Farms has implemented a project on improving nutrition through home gardening in six villages of this block with support from  IGSSS in 2007 ~ 08 .

Farmer suicide case is not a new word for Orissa. On 14th November 2008, Chaitanya Majhi, a 45 year old farmer committed suicide by hanging himself in his cotton field at Icchapur village in the district of Nuapada. While the district administration ascribes the suicide to domestic quarrels, a visit to the village reveals otherwise. He had devoted his five acre land to cotton cultivation this year responding to the growing acreage of the crop in his locality. From two acres in the year 2003, the farmers in the village were now growing the cash crop in 150 acres. Unfortunately this year the erratic rainfall led to fall in yield and also increase in disease and pests forcing Majhi to invest more on expensive fertilisers and pesticides. But all his attempts could not save the crops.

Ashok Kumar 28, a rice farmer in Bhutibhhal village in Gaisilat block of Bargarh district in Western Orissa. His family has seven members. He is a rain fed paddy farmer. His earning from two acres of land is not sufficient enough to meet the needs of his family. He grows two high yielding varieties of rice - Swarna and Lalat. He has taken over farming from his father in 2001. He continues to spray Endosulphan and Monocrotophous on his paddy field. He sprays thrice these two pesticides – once just after 15 days of transplanting of saplings followed by after weeding and during milking stage. However, after six years he sprays twice the amount he used to spray six years ago as pests had developed resistance.