ALL India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) notes with great concern the horrific rise in the incidents of farmers' suicides in the country. Farmer suicide is a post-liberalisation phenomenon. It started and has intensified since 1995. Neo-liberal economic policies pursued by successive governments led to devastating changes in the country’s agricultural policy. As a result, public investment in agriculture gradually declined. Newly-adopted fertiliser policy caused the closure of public sector manufacturers and dependence on import which resulted in continuous increase in its prices.

The following is the press statement issued by the AIKS on January 15.THE All India Kisan Sabha condemns the BJP-led NDA government’s proposal to drastically reduce the food grain buffer stocks to be maintained with the Food Corporation of India. The buffer stocks were to be raised by 60 per cent to meet the requirements of the Food Security Act. However, the BJP-led NDA government is reportedly proposing to raise it only by 50 per cent. We demand that the government desist from this retrograde move as it will have adverse consequences on the food security of the nation.

AROUND 5,000 peasants led by the Maharashtra State Kisan Sabha (AIKS) marched to the Nagpur session of the state assembly on December 16, 2014 on burning peasant issues like severe drought, peasant suicides, debt relief, remunerative prices for agricultural produce, implementation of the Forest Rights Act, etc. It was the first and the largest peasant demonstration on the assembly after the BJP-led state government assumed power a month ago. Hence the AIKS action got good publicity in both print and electronic media.

THE All India Kisan Sabha, in a statement issued on December 31 has condemned the BJP government’s undemocratic move to amend the Land Acquisition legislation through an ordinance by subverting the parliament. The move smacks of authoritarianism and is clearly aimed to promote profiteering and real estate speculation by the corporates and land mafia. It further dilutes the existing Act which itself was flawed and loaded heavily against interests of the peasantry, land owners and dependents on land. The ordinance ignores genuine concerns of farmers and millions of persons dependent on land.

TEN Left and communist parties of Telangana have launched two bus jathas that traversed across the state of Telangana highlighting the need for immediate measures from the state government to prevent the spate of farmer suicides. Ever since the new state came into existence on June 2 this year, over 450 farmers took their lives in Telangana. The Left parties have declared that both private loans and the policies of the government are responsible for these suicides.