Lok Sabha Question No. 1933 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-03
Subject: Causes of Suicides by Farmers
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: S. Jothimani

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COOPERATION AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1933

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 3 RD  MARCH, 2020

## CAUSES OF SUICIDES BY FARMERS

1933.   MS. S. JOTHIMANI:

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

- (a) the  number  of  suicides  committed  by  farmers  and  farm  labourers  separately  from 2014 to 2019, year-wise, State-wise, occupation-wise along with the socio-economic status and land-holding of each victim;
- (b) whether the Government has authorized/ sponsored any study to assess the causes of suicides by farmers, including cases of being exploited by financial institutions;
- (c) if  so,  the  findings  and  details  thereof,  including  the  amount  spent  and  persons involved and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether the Government has planned to release an annual report on the situation of farmers to indicate whether the country is on track to doubling their income by 2022; and
- (e) if so, the timeline thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

- (a): 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  upto  2018  are  available  on  its website. The Report for the year 2019 is not published.
- (b) & (c): Government  conducted  a  study  titled  'Farmer  Suicides:  An  All  India  Study' during 2016-17 to ascertain various reasons for the growing number of farmers suicide in the country. This Pan-India study was carried out in 13 major suicide prone states namely: Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka covering 46 districts, 138 talukas, 388 villages and 528 sample victim households. The reference year of the study was decided as the agriculture year 2015-16 (June, 2015 - May, 2016). The main objectives of the study were as follows:

- i)  to analyze the incidence and spread of farmer suicides in selected states and to map the hotspots of suicide.
2. ii)  to  study  the  socio-economic  profile,  cropping  pattern  and  profitability  in  the  victim's households,
3. iii)  to study the causes leading to suicides.
4. iv)  to recommend suitable policies to avert farmer suicide.

The  study was  assigned to Agro-Economic  Research  (AER)  Unit  Agricultural Development and Rural Transformation Centre (ADRTC) at Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) Bengaluru which is a part of Agro-Economic Research (AER) Scheme being implemented by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to conduct research studies on Agro-Economic problems. It is 100% funded through Grant-in-Aid by the Government and no study  specific  funds  are  provided  to  AER  Centres/  Units.  The  study  found  that  various reasons  for  farmers  suicide  are  drug/  alcoholic  addiction,  illness,  family  issues,  gambling, expectation  of  non-institutional  credit,  lack  of  access  to  expected  credit,  failure  of  rain, cyclone, drought, non realization of higher output/ prices, crop failure etc.

## (d) & (e): There is  no  proposal under  consideration  to  release  an  annual  report  on  the situation of farmers.

However, the Government had constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee in 2016 to recommend a strategy for Doubling  of  Farmers'  Income  (DFI)  by  the  year  2022.  The  DFI Committee submitted its report and thereafter the Government constituted  an  Empowered Body on 23.01.2019 to monitor and review the progress as per these recommendations. To achieve this, 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.

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