The M.A.M has again been instrumental in drawing the attention of government representatives and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to the issue of the escalating rate of suicide among farmers. This took place at the Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting (IPM) for the seventeenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-17) held at United Nations headquarters in New York February 23rd – 27th.
At the Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting (IPM)The M.A M participated in the NGO and Women major groups discussing the broader issue of suicide among farmers, while specifically highlighting Ashram’s Farmer Relief Project. Subsequently, the issue of farmer suicide became part of the agenda for CSD-17 through the Women’s Major Group statement:
Build social capital and resilience in rural communities:
* Empower women from small farming communities by advocating and insuring the exercise of their rights to secure land tenure and inheritance, which is of crucial importance especially in the case of farmers’ suicide.
* Build resilience of rural communities, especially women and children, to cope with and recover from natural disasters, conflicts and epidemic calamities such as the plight of farmers’ suicide.