Sreenath Unnikrishnan*
The period after the August 2018 floods in Kerala saw six farmers taking their lives in the Idukki district of Kerala. This district is an agricultural dominant one with most of the farmers cultivating cash crops such as black pepper, nutmeg, rubber, banana etc. Parallels are drawn to the distress driven farmer suicides in Wayanad district in Kerala during 1998-2006 when the death toll was nearly 370. This district has features similar to that of Idukki when it comes to agriculture and climate. A vicious combination of indebtedness combined with low prices and open trade policies have contributed to the present state of affairs in the district. The state government had declared a moratorium on recovery of farm loans post the floods till December 2018. In fact, most of the suicides by farmers have been reported in the months of January and February 2019. Hence, there is an urgent need to address the problems facing the pepper growers on a long term basis as short term steps such as moratorium on loan recovery, compensation etc., are not sufficient.
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