Caritas urges micro–credit to end farmers' suicide

Bishops and priests from India's biggest Catholic charity organization have drawn up a large–scale intervention plan to help deal with farmers' suicides across the country.

Suicide is a growing problem among India's rural community, with more and more farmers driven to killing themselves each year because of desperate poverty and spiraling debt. An estimated 5,000 farmers have killed themselves over six years across India's sprawling western and southern plateau – where the black soil has long borne a rich harvest of cotton – because they could not repay loans taken for their crops.

The spate of suicides in the country's richest state of Maharashtra has not abated despite highly publicized efforts by New Delhi to ease the farmers' financial burden.

However, farmers' debt burden may soon be a thing of the past as Caritas India (CI), the country's biggest church–run charity, has formulated a micro–credit plan for farmers whose mounting crop debts have led thousands of them to commit suicide.

Caritas India held a three–day meeting, February 6–8, to bring together Catholic bishops, priests, church officials, NGOs and farmers' groups which addressed the plight of the marginalized farmers.

"It's not about how much money is being spent for farmers' relief," said Father Varghese Mattamana, executive director of Caritas India. "It's about getting the plan right."

With over 350 partner NGOs and 250,000 Self Help Groups, and consistent and large–scale disaster relief operations Caritas is one of India's largest non–governmental operations.

Caritas has over the years developed and implemented an effective Community Based Disaster Preparedness program, and sustainable agriculture practice and natural resource management.

Micro–credit, the granting of tiny loans to the poor, has emerged as a valuable tool to help rural communities around world, and one of its champions, Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize last year.

The aim of Caritas India is to replicate and adapt its own program from Kerala which it says stopped a spate of suicides among farmers there.

The group plans to spend about US$ 60 million over three years to implement its plan in Maharashtra, Fr. Mattamana said.

Economic growth of about 8 percent in the past three years has made millions in the cities richer, but it has bypassed the farming sector that supports more than 60 percent of India's one billion–plus people.

Most of India's farming community is poverty–stricken and many farmers borrow – often amounts that would only buy a few drinks in an upmarket London or New York pub – from the village moneylender at rates as high as 10 percent a month.

India's economic reforms have added to farmers' woes, with duties that protected them from subsidized European and American cotton being phased out, experts said.

Their debts soar when crops fail due to poor rains or prices tumble, they added.

In July last year, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh announced over US$ 400 million in one–time grants, interest waivers and debt restructuring besides a one–year moratorium on loan repayments for farmers.

But activists claimed the package had failed make an impact, and farmers in Maharashtra's worst–hit Vidharba region were still killing themselves at the rate of three every day.

"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's package has not brought a solution to the plight of the distressed farmers across the country and their rising suicides has become a national shame and hence we have decided to launch a campaign to save farmers," Archbishop Oswald Gracias of Bombay Archdiocese and president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), said.

"We will work as a catalyst and mobilize resources and put pressure on the Central and State governments to reach out effectively to the families of farmers to end suicide tragedies", he said, adding the poor and hapless farmers' suicides should not become "cold national statistics."

"Save farmers, save India – that's our motto because most of India still depends on agriculture," said Fr. Frederic D'Souza, assistant director of Caritas India.

Though officials have claimed that many farmers have only themselves to blame, borrowing unwisely to fund lavish spending or to pay for weddings, yet, analysts say the government should be doing more to provide credit at cheaper rates.

"In hundreds of Indian villages we have successfully intervened and improved the lives of the poor, and marginalized farmers have been among our key priorities always," Fr. Mattamana said.

"We have recently implemented an integrated program in Wynad district of Kerala, and were able to contain farmers' suicide in areas of intervention. Caritas plans to further improve on the strategy and spread it to more areas including Vidarbha region," he said.

"The main thrust of our program will be to provide relief through micro–credit," the priest said, adding, "The government–provided credit hasn't worked. But we are hopeful with God's grace our intervention program will work."

According to Fr. Mattamana, Caritas India would also hold a national consultation on the pressing issues of the farmers with other likeminded partner agencies and evolve a workable plan of action, which would be submitted to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Planning Commission's department of Agriculture Extension Program, and natural resource management for execution.

"These are the key players to mitigate the woes of the distressed farmers. While we will provide a readymade software and be present on the ground, the government must move with a package to end suicides," Fr. Mattamana asserted.

He said 159 Catholic dioceses regional social work societies along with national, international partners like Caritas International based in Rome with offices in 200 countries would be roped in this campaign.

Father Mattamana said that while the "Save Farmers – Save India" awareness campaign will last for a year through out India with posters in 14 regional languages, the execution of the program would continue for the next two years.

Caritas was established in 1962 as the social arm of the Catholic Church in India for poverty eradication – disaster relief & rehabilitation and community organization.

"During the last four decades of its humanitarian and development effort, CI has served the poor and marginalized, without any distinction of caste, creed and ethnicity," Fr. Mattamana said, adding, "The word Caritas comes from Latin. It means, Charity – LOVE. Its objective is to bring Compassion and Love to Humanity, who needs it, most. In the words of Mother Teresa, Charity is Love in Action. Hence, Caritas too could be called as 'Love in Action.'"

"Initially, it was called Catholic Charities India (CCI). In 1969, its name was changed to Caritas India to embrace all aspects of social and human development," he said.

"Today, it is a Network Organization of 159 Diocesan Social Service Societies – 12 Regional Fora and Hundreds of NGO partners reaching out to almost every nook and corner of the Indian sub–continent," Fr. Mattamana explained.

Caritas exists in 166 Countries across the world. The 166 National Caritas serve 198 countries and territories, under the auspices of a coordinating body called Caritas Internationalis, with its headquarters in Vatican City.

From the year 1998, CI has been organizing a bi–annual National Meeting of all the Social Services Societies working under the auspices of the Dioceses all over the Indian sub–continent. The Diocesan Directors are the official invitees to this national event. The Regional Fora Directors and the Chairpersons of the Regional Social Development Commissions are also ex–officio invitees.

The last National Assembly was held in Ernakulam, Kerala in February 2005.