Lok Sabha Question No. 450 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-19
Subject: Suicide by Farmers in Maharashtra
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Bharti Pravin Pawar, Sadashiv Kisan Lokhande

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

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 450

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE  19 TH  NOVEMBER, 2019

## SUICIDE BY FARMERS IN MAHARASHTRA

450.   DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR: SHRI SADASHIV KISAN LOKHANDE:

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

- (a) whether the Government is aware about suicides by farmers in Maharashtra;
- (b) if so, the details thereof during the last three years;
- (c) whether the Government has ascertained the reasons for these suicides and if so, the details thereof during the last three years;
- (d) the details of the steps taken by the Government to overcome these issues till date; and
- (e) the success achieved by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

( SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ष एवं कसान कयाण मंी

(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 upto 2016 are available on its website. The Reports for the year 2017 onwards have not been published.

As  per  ADSI  Report  of  the  year  2015,  the  major  causes  of  farmers'  suicides  are bankruptcy or indebtedness, farming related issues, family problems and illness etc.

(d)  &  (e):            Agriculture  being  a  State  subject,  the  State  Governments  undertake implementation of  programmes/schemes for the development of the sector. Government of India supplements  the  efforts  of  the  State  Governments  through  various  schemes/ programmes. The various schemes/ programmes of the Government of India are meant for the welfare of farmers by increasing production and remunerative returns to farmers. A list of various  interventions  taken  by  the  Government  is  at Annexure .  All  these  steps  of  the Government of India are for the welfare of the farmers of the country.

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 for monitoring the implementation of the recommendation of the DFI Strategy.

## Statement in respect of Part (d) & (e) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 450 due for 19.11.2019 regarding 'Suicide by farmers in Maharashtra'

The strategy of the Government is to focus on farmers' welfare by making farming viable. The schemes of Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare focus on directly benefitting farmers through various interventions and schemes and include:-

- (i) Implementation of flagship scheme of distribution of Soil Health Cards to farmers so that the use of fertilizers can be rationalized.
- (ii) 'Per drop more  crop' initiative under which drip/sprinkler irrigation is being encouraged for optimal utilization of water, reducing cost of inputs and increasing productivity.
- (iii) 'Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)' for promoting organic farming.
- (iv) Launch  of  e-NAM  initiative  to  provide  farmers  an  electronic  transparent  and competitive online trading platform.
- (v) With a view to provide better insurance coverage to crops for risk mitigation, a crop insurance scheme  namely  Pradhan Mantri Fasal  Bima  Yojana  (PMFBY) was launched  from  Kharif  2016  season.  This  scheme  provides  insurance  cover  for  all stages of the crop cycle including post-harvest risks in specified instances, with low premium contribution by farmers.
- (vi) Under  'Har  Medh  Par  Ped',  agro  forestry is  being  promoted  for additional income.  With  the  amendment  of  Indian  Forest  Act,  1927,  Bamboo  has  been removed from the definition of trees. A restructured National Bamboo Mission has been  launched  in  the  year  2018  to  promote  bamboo  plantation  on  non  forest government  as  well  as  private  land  and  emphasis  on  value  addition,  product development and  markets.
- (vii) Giving  a  major  boost  for  the  farmer's  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.
- (viii) 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.
- (ix) 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.
- (x) Extending the reach of institutional credit to more and more farmers is priority area of  the  Government  and  to  achieve  this  goal,  the  Government  provides  interest subvention  of  3%  on  short-term  crop  loans  up  to  Rs.3.00  lakh.  Presently,  loan  is available to farmers at an interest rate of 7% per annum, which gets reduced to 4% on prompt repayment.
- (xi) 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. 13.50 lakh crore.
- (xii) Further, under Interest Subvention Scheme 2018-19, in order to provide relief to the farmers  on  occurrence  of  natural  calamities,  the  interest  subvention  of  2%  shall continue to be available to banks for the first year on the restructured amount. In order to discourage distress sale by farmers and to encourage them to store their produce in warehouses against negotiable receipts, the benefit of interest subvention will be available to small and marginal farmers having Kisan Credit Card for a further period of upto six months post harvest on the same rate as available to crop loan.
- (xiii) The Government has approved for giving the facility of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to the  farmers  practicing  animal  husbandry  and  fisheries  related      activities  and  has also  decided  to  extend  the  Interest  Subvention  Facilities  to  such  categories  of farmers.
- (xiv) With a view to provide income support to all farmers' families across the country, to enable them to take care of expenses related to agriculture and allied activities as well  as  domestic  needs,  the  Central  Government  started  a  new  Central  Sector Scheme,  namely,  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Kisan  Samman  Nidhi  (PM-KISAN).  The scheme  aims  to  provide  a  payment  of  Rs.  6000/-  per  year,  in  three  4-monthly installments  of  Rs.  2000/-  to  the  farmers  families,  subject  to  certain  exclusions relating  to  higher  income  groups.    About  14.5  crore  farmers  are  expected  to  be covered under the Scheme.
- (xv) Further with a  view to provide social security net for Small and Marginal Farmers (SMF) as they have  minimal or  no  savings  to  provide  for  old  age  and  to  support them in the event of consequent loss of livelihood, the Government has decided to implement  another  new  Central  Sector  Scheme  for  providing  old  age  pension  to these farmers. Under this Scheme, a minimum fixed pension of Rs. 3000/- will be provided  to  the  eligible  small  and  marginal  farmers,  subject  to  certain  exclusion clauses, on attaining the age of 60 years. The scheme aims to cover around 3 crore beneficiaries in the first three years. It would be a voluntary and contributory pension scheme,  with  entry  age  of  18  to  40  years.  The  Government  has  approved  a budgetary provision of Rs. 10774.50 crore for the scheme till March, 2022.

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