farmers suicide - reasons and solutions
Farmer Suicides is a burning topic. One state where its incidence has been high and examine the causes and suggest remedies.
Situation Analysis:
More than 70 % of our population depends on agriculture for its living. However, the farmers’ suicide rate in India is much higher than other developing countries. Karnataka is one such state where farm suicides ranges somewhere between 10000 and 14000 annually. The most prominent reasons are the indebtedness over the farmers, pressure from landlords and moneylenders to payback loan and the failure of the financial institutes to provide credit. There is often mental and physical harassment by these moneylenders who generally charge interest rate from 25 to 60%. This therefore contributes to the loss of self-respect and esteem of the farmers and finally suicide.
The suicide pattern suggests suicide happened at flourishing areas. In fact the suicide rate have been highest in Bangalore city area. Hence, it can be concluded that Suicide is no more a drought related phenomena and not common only in poor areas. Prolonged illness and unknown reasons have also contributed to high suicide rates. Inability to pay back loans due to consecutive crop failure years, compulsion to reduce prices due to free imports and uneven monsoon have also resulted in farmers suicides. Therefore it can be safely assumed that just poverty (contributes only 3-5% in overall suicides) doesn’t result to suicides in Karnataka but there are more diverse and complicated reasons like poor governmental infrastructural facilities for agriculture.
The suicide rate in Karnataka is being attributed to several reasons. There are many remedies that are being undertaken by Government to curb this. Hence, is there a gap between what is required as a remedy and what is presently done in the present scenario is the problem that needs to be answered.
Most of the suicides occur due to private money lenders. Hence more comprehensive measures needs to be undertaken
Situation Analysis:
More than 70 % of our population depends on agriculture for its living. However, the farmers’ suicide rate in India is much higher than other developing countries. Karnataka is one such state where farm suicides ranges somewhere between 10000 and 14000 annually. The most prominent reasons are the indebtedness over the farmers, pressure from landlords and moneylenders to payback loan and the failure of the financial institutes to provide credit. There is often mental and physical harassment by these moneylenders who generally charge interest rate from 25 to 60%. This therefore contributes to the loss of self-respect and esteem of the farmers and finally suicide.
The suicide pattern suggests suicide happened at flourishing areas. In fact the suicide rate have been highest in Bangalore city area. Hence, it can be concluded that Suicide is no more a drought related phenomena and not common only in poor areas. Prolonged illness and unknown reasons have also contributed to high suicide rates. Inability to pay back loans due to consecutive crop failure years, compulsion to reduce prices due to free imports and uneven monsoon have also resulted in farmers suicides. Therefore it can be safely assumed that just poverty (contributes only 3-5% in overall suicides) doesn’t result to suicides in Karnataka but there are more diverse and complicated reasons like poor governmental infrastructural facilities for agriculture.
The suicide rate in Karnataka is being attributed to several reasons. There are many remedies that are being undertaken by Government to curb this. Hence, is there a gap between what is required as a remedy and what is presently done in the present scenario is the problem that needs to be answered.
Most of the suicides occur due to private money lenders. Hence more comprehensive measures needs to be undertaken