Church extends helping hand to distressed farmers in Vidarbha

Yavatmal, Maharashtra, Apr 19 (UNI) Concerned over the unabated spate of suicides by debt-ridden farmers in Vidarbha, leaders of the Roman Catholic Church have decided to extend a helping hand to the distressed farmers and their families now reeling under a severe agrarian crisis in this region of Maharashtra.

Various bodies associated with the Church have launched the ''Campaign for Life'' initiative in 91 villages in eight districts in the region to help widows of farmers who have committed suicide, and to try to prevent other farmers from taking the extreme step.

Participating in the programme are Caritas India, the social wing of Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), Western Region Social Service Forum (WRSSF), the social arm of the Church in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa, Action for Food Production (AFPRO) and the dioceses of Nagpur, Amravati and Chandrapur in Vidarbha.

''This is the response of the Church to the agrarian crisis in Vidarbha, which has claimed the lives of over 3,000 farmers in the region over the last five years,'' Archbishop Abraham Viluthkulangara, who is also the Western India chairman of CBCI, told UNI here yesterday. The Archbishop led a team of representatives of the Church and the participating organisations to a cluster of villages in this district, the worst affected by farmers' suicides. ''The Church is concerned that the suicides by farmers are continuing unabated and have reached an alarming level. We, therefore, decided to intervene as the welfare of the people is our prime concern,'' he said.

Father Jolly Puthenpura from the Amravati Diocese, who is the co-ordinator of the programme, said that the ''Campaign for Life'' would adopt a three-pronged approach to tackle the crisis -- counselling for the distressed farmers and families, creation of public awareness about the problem, and encouraging farmers to adopt improved agricultural practices.

It would include creation of Self-Help Groups (SHG's), training in modern agricultural practices as well as low-cost crop production practices, watershed programmes and income generation programmes, besides advocacy and lobbying, he said, adding that the programme would try to prevent distressed farmers from ending their lives and to help widows of those who have taken the extreme step to earn a decent livelihood.

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