“FARMERS’ suicide in Maharashtra is a cause of concern and should be dealt with utmost importance. The farmers of Maharashtra should learn from their Rajasthan counterparts on how to minimise risk,” said Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) Director SPS Tanwar. Speaking to select media, Tanwar said, “Rajasthan and Maharashtra have been related since prehistoric times. The stories of Maratha rulers and Rajasthan rulers are well documented as they jointly fought with princely states.

 

In the same way we are jointly working on several projects with Maharashtra,” said Tanwar, who is also an agronomist. “At some places in Maharashtra there is water scarcity (rainfall). Same is with this part of Rajasthan (western region). But our perspective is different. In Maharashtra the rainfall is 1000mm in one go but it is not stored. In our region there is hardly 200-600mm of rain recorded in the entire season. What we do is we preserve every drop of that precious water,” said Tanwar. “We can’t fight against nature but we can save water,” Tanwar said, adding that the cost of production in Maharashtra was too high.

 

“They (farmers) take farming as business and take huge risk which results in suicide. The Rajasthani farmer has nothing as compared to Maharashtra farmers but still there is hardly any suicide case here,” he said. “We work on the Marwari mentality. If I have Rs 100 in my pocket I would pretend that I have only Rs 10. The Marwaris are very calculative. A Marwari sitting on a tea kiosk might be a billionaire but he won’t show his affluent side. He saves money first and then spends it,” Tanwar explained. “I feel Maharashtra farmers take a lot of risk and we (Rajasthani) tread safely. So, the two States can collaborate and find a path which can be beneficial for both,” he stressed. “My advice to Maharashtra farmers is to minimise risk, earn first and then invest. This will take time but will definitely be beneficial,” he concluded.