'Farmers' suicides more than soldiers' deaths in war'

 The number of farmers who committed suicide in the last 15 years is more than the number of soldiers who died in war in the last 60 years, said Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project Executive Director Dr L H Manjunath.

Delivering a talk on “Rural Management” organised by Mangalore Management Association in association with National Institute of Personnel Management (Mangalore chapter) at SDM College of Business Management in Mangalore on Wednesday, Manjunath said that around 65 per cent of India's population consists of farmers.

However, very few profit in this sector. It is regrettable to note that there is no trickle down of science and technology among the small farmers. There is a need to clear the mind block with regard to innovation and technology, he said.

Though India is progressing, it is placed in the 126th place in Human Development Index. There are many basic requirements that still need to be addressed. SKDRDP tries to find solution to such problems. It is mainly involved in organising the community in self-help-groups. It also aims in capacity building, being accessible to services and opening towards innovation, he said.

Speaking about different methods undertaken by SKDRDP for rural management, Manjunath said that the 'Muyalu' system has been reintroduced in the form of 'Shramavinimaya' (Labour Sharing). Here, different farmers form a group and work in each others fields.

The various SHGs formed by SKDRDP aim to teach people financial management. Of the 1.75 lakh SHGs around 40,000 SHGs are formed by farmers.

These SHGs have opened up credit culture and repayment of loans is 99 per cent. SKDRDP has lent Rs 5,500 crores in 11 districts in Karnataka. The repayment is around Rs 30 crores per week, he said.

A video on renewable energy initiatives of "SKDRDP and Ashden award ceremony 2012 in London," was screened as a part of the talk.