Lok Sabha Question No. 28 (STARRED), answered on 2019-02-05
Subject: Farmers’ Suicides
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: SAUGATA ROY, KULAMANI SAMAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COOPERATION & FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 28

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 5 TH  FEBRUARY, 2019

## FARMERS' SUICIDES

## *28.      PROF. SAUGATA ROY: DR. KULAMANI SAMAL:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE  AND  FARMERS  WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  maintained  the  correct  data  relating  to  suicides  by farmers  in  the  country,  if  so,  the  details  thereof  including  the  total  number  of  such  cases reported  and  compensation  paid  during  each  of  the  last  five  years  and  the  current  year, gender and State/UT-wise;
- (b) whether the Government has identified the reasons behind farmers' suicides and if so, the details thereof and the action taken to redress the grievances of farmers in the country;
- (c) whether there are reports that the Government has not published the data regarding farmers' suicides in the last few years, if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (d) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  improve  the  economic  condition  of  farmers, implement land reforms, provide adequate quantity and quality of water, address technology fatigue and ensure access, adequacy and timelines of institutional credit and opportunities for assured and remunerative marketing; and
- (e) the  other  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to  check  farmers'  suicides  and  the outcome thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी

(SHRI RADHA MOHAN SINGH)

- (a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF  LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 28   DUE FOR REPLY ON 5 TH  FEBRUARY, 2019.

(a) to (c): The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) under the Ministry of Home Affairs compiles and disseminates information on suicides, in its publication titled 'Accidental Deaths and  Suicides  in  India'  (ADSI).  These  Reports  on  suicides  are  available  upto  2015  on  its website. The Reports for the year 2016 onwards have not been published yet. As per the ADSI  Reports  which  were  published  for  the  years  2014  and  2015,  the  total  number  of suicides by farmers and agricultural labourers in the country State-wise is Annexed.

As  per  ADSI  Report  of  2015  'Bankruptcy  or  Indebtedness'  and  'Farming  Related Issues' are reported as major causes of suicides among farmers/ cultivators. Other prominent causes of farmers/ cultivators suicides are family problems, illness, etc.

State Governments provide relief to families of farmers who commit suicide. As per information  available,  some  of  the  states  provide  relief  to  the  families  of  farmers  who committed  suicide  which  inter-alia  includes;  ex-gratia  relief  to  the  heirs  of  the  deceased farmer,  one  time  settlement  to  wipe  off  loans/  liabilities  towards  rehabilitation  of  the  family members; and relief provided to the children of the deceased to get free education.

(d)  &  (e):            Agriculture  being  a  State  subject,  the  State  Governments  undertakes development of perspective plans and ensures effective implementation of the programmes/ schemes.  Also,  Government  of  India  supplements  the  efforts  of  the  State  Governments through various  Schemes/  Programmes.  The  Government  has  been reorienting the agriculture  sector  by  focusing  on  an  income-centeredness  which  goes  beyond  achieving merely the targeted production. The income approach focuses on achieving high productivity, reduced cost of cultivation and remunerative price on the produce, with a view to earn higher profits from farming.

-2-

The Government has set a target of doubling of farmers' income by the year 2022. The Government has constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee under the Chairmanship of Chief Executive Officer, National Rainfed Area  Authority, Department  of  Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare to examine issues relating to doubling of farmers' income and recommend a strategy to achieve doubling of farmers' income in real terms by the year 2022. The Committee has submitted its report to the Government.

The  committee  has  identified  seven  sources  of  income  growth  viz,  improvement  in crop productivity; improvement in livestock productivity; resource use efficiency or savings in the cost of production; increase in the cropping intensity; diversification towards high value crops;  improvement  in  real  prices  received  by  farmers;  and  shift  from  farm  to  non-farm occupations. The committee is also looking into the investments in and for agriculture e.g. increasing public investments for agriculture-rural roads, rural electricity, irrigation; the need for policy support to enable investments by corporate sector in agriculture.

Several  initiatives  have  already  been  taken  among  each  of  the  above  mention strategies which inter-alia include:

- (i) Implementation of flagship scheme of distribution of Soil Health Cards to farmers so that the use of fertilizers can be optimized.
- (ii) 'Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)' under which organic farming is being promoted.
- (iii) 'Per  drop  more  crop'  initiative under  which  drip/sprinkler  irrigation is  being encouraged for optimal utilization of water.
- (iv) Launch of eNAM initiative to provide farmers an electronic online trading platform.
- (v) With  a  view  to  provide  better  insurance  coverage  to  crops  for  risk  mitigation, Government has launched a crop insurance scheme namely Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) from Kharif 2016 season. This scheme provides insurance cover  for  all  stages  of  the  crop  cycle  including  post-harvest  risks  in  specified instances.

- (vi) The  Government  provides  total  interest  subvention  up  to  5%  (inclusive  of  3% prompt repayment incentive) on short-term crop loans up to Rs. 3.00 lakh. Thus, loan  is  available  to  farmers  at  a  reduced  rate  of  4%  per  annum  on  prompt repayment.
- (vii)  Giving a major boost to the pro-farmer initiatives, the Government has approved a new  Umbrella  Scheme  'Pradhan  Mantri Annadata  Aay  Sanrakshan Abhiyan(PMAASHA)'.  The Scheme is aimed at ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers for their produce as announced in the Union Budget for 2018. This is an unprecedented step taken by Govt. of India to protect the farmers' income which is expected to go a long way towards the welfare of farmers.
- (viii)  Under 'Har Medh Par Ped', agro forestry is being promoted.  With the amendment of Indian Forest Act, 1947 Bamboo grown outside forest area has been removed from the definition of trees and a mission have been launched to promote bamboo plantation.
- (ix) Giving  a  major  boost  for  the  farmers  income,  the  Government  has  approved  the increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSPs) for all Kharif & Rabi crops for 201819 season at a level of at least 150 percent of the cost of production.
- (x) Bee  keeping  has  been  promoted  under  Mission  for  Integrated  Development  of Horticulture  (MIDH)  to  increase  the  productivity  of  crops  through  pollination  and increase the honey production as an additional source of income of farmers.
- (xi) Rashtriya  Gokul  Mission  to  enhance  milk  production  and  productivity  of  bovines and to make milk production more remunerative to the farmers.
- (xii) National  Livestock  Mission  to  increase  productivity  and  genetic  improvement  of livestock.
- (xiii) Foreseeing high potential in fisheries sector, a Blue Revolution with multi dimensional  activities  mainly  focusing  on  fisheries  production,  both  inland  and marine is being implemented.
- (xiv) Government sets annual target for the flow of credit to the agriculture sector, Banks have been consistently surpassing the annual target. The current year's agriculture credit flow target has been set at Rs. 11 lakh crore.
- (xv)  Initiating market reforms through the State Governments.

- (xvi)  Encouraging contract farming through the State Governments by promulgating of Model Contract Farming Act.
- (xvii)  Up  gradation  of  Gramin  Haats  to  work  as  centers  of  aggregation  and  for  direct purchase of agricultural commodities from the farmers.

All these steps are implemented to reduce agrarian distress and increase the farmers' income.

To address the  issues  in  the  area  of  land  leasing,  NITI  Aayog  has  developed  The Model Land Lease Act, 2016 for adoption by States. The Model Act offers an appropriate template for the states and UTs to draft their own piece of legislations, in consonance with the local requirements and adopt an enabling Act.

## Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 28 due for 05.02.2019 Statement in respect  of Part (a) to (c) of the Question  regarding 'Farmers' Suicides'

## SUICIDE BY PERSONS SELF-EMPLOYED IN FARMING/AGRICULTURE

|    |                   | 2014    | 2014      | 2014   | 2015    | 2015      | 2015   |
|----|-------------------|---------|-----------|--------|---------|-----------|--------|
|    | State/UT          | Farmers | Labourers | Total  | Farmers | Labourers | Total  |
| 1  | ANDHRA PRADESH    | 160     | 472       | 632    | 516     | 400       | 916    |
| 2  | ARUNACHAL PRADESH | 0       | 3         | 3      | 7       | 3         | 10     |
| 3  | ASSAM             | 21      | 38        | 59     | 84      | 54        | 138    |
| 4  | BIHAR             | 0       | 10        | 10     | 0       | 7         | 7      |
| 5  | CHHATTISGARH      | 443     | 312       | 755    | 854     | 100       | 954    |
| 6  | GOA               | 0       | 0         | 0      | 0       | 0         | 0      |
| 7  | GUJARAT           | 45      | 555       | 600    | 57      | 244       | 301    |
| 8  | HARYANA           | 14      | 105       | 119    | 28      | 134       | 162    |
| 9  | HIMACHAL PRADESH  | 32      | 31        | 63     | 0       | 46        | 46     |
| 10 | JAMMU &KASHMIR    | 12      | 25        | 37     | 0       | 21        | 21     |
| 11 | JHARKHAND         | 0       | 4         | 4      | 0       | 21        | 21     |
| 12 | KARNATAKA         | 321     | 447       | 768    | 1197    | 372       | 1569   |
| 13 | KERALA            | 107     | 700       | 807    | 3       | 207       | 210    |
| 14 | MADHYAPRADESH     | 826     | 372       | 1198   | 581     | 709       | 1290   |
| 15 | MAHARASHTRA       | 2568    | 1436      | 4004   | 3030    | 1261      | 4291   |
| 16 | MANIPUR           | 0       | 0         | 0      | 1       | 0         | 1      |
| 17 | MEGHALAYA         | 0       | 2         | 2      | 2       | 1         | 3      |
| 18 | MIZORAM           | 0       | 5         | 5      | 0       | 1         | 1      |
| 19 | NAGALAND          | 0       | 0         | 0      | 0       | 0         | 0      |
| 20 | ODISHA            | 5       | 97        | 102    | 23      | 27        | 50     |
| 21 | PUNJAB            | 24      | 40        | 64     | 100     | 24        | 124    |
| 22 | RAJASTHAN         | 0       | 373       | 373    | 3       | 73        | 76     |
| 23 | SIKKIM            | 35      | 0         | 35     | 15      | 3         | 18     |
| 24 | TAMIL NADU        | 68      | 827       | 895    | 2       | 604       | 606    |
| 25 | TELANGANA         | 898     | 449       | 1347   | 1358    | 42        | 1400   |
| 26 | TRIPURA           | 0       | 32        | 32     | 1       | 48        | 49     |
| 27 | UTTAR PRADESH     | 63      | 129       | 192    | 145     | 179       | 324    |
| 28 | UTTARAKHAND       | 0       | 0         | 0      | 0       | 2         | 2      |
| 29 | WEST BENGAL       | 0       | 230       | 230    | 0       | 0         | 0      |
| 30 | A &NISLANDS       | 8       | 0         | 8      | 0       | 0         | 0      |
| 31 | CHANDIGARH        | 0       | 0         | 0      | 0       | 0         | 0      |
| 32 | D &NHAVELI        | 0       | 0         | 0      | 0       | 0         | 0      |
| 33 | DAMAN&DIU         | 0       | 0         | 0      | 0       | 0         | 0      |
| 34 | DELHI (UT)        | 0       | 0         | 0      | 0       | 0         | 0      |
| 35 | LAKSHADWEEP       | 0       | 0         | 0      | 0       | 0         | 0      |
| 36 | PUDUCHERRY        | 0       | 16        | 16     | 0       | 12        | 12     |
|    | TOTAL (UTs)       | 8       | 16        | 24     | 0       | 12        | 12     |
|    | TOTAL (ALL INDIA) | 5650    | 6710      | 12360  | 8007    | 4595      | 12602  |

Source:  Report  on  'Accidental  Deaths  &  Suicides  in  India'  for  relevant  years,  National Crime Records Bureau.

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