Lok Sabha Question No. 258 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-11-30
Subject: Farmers Suicides
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Subhash Ramrao Bhamre, Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh, Anto  Antony, Dinesh Chandra Yadav

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 258

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 30 TH  NOVEMBER, 2021

## FARMERS SUICIDES

258. DR. SUBHASH RAMRAO BHAMRE:

SHRI RAJIV RANJAN SINGH ALIAS LALAN SINGH:

SHRI ANTO ANTONY:

SHRI DINESH CHANDRA YADAV:

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

- (a) the number of farmers suicides reported during the last three years and the current year in the State of Maharashtra and the reasons for their suicide;
- (b) whether the Government has carried out any study to assess the causes of suicides by farmers, if so, the details of the findings, if any;
- (c) the  details  of  funds  allocated  and  expenditure  incurred  on  various  schemes  in  the State of Maharashtra during the last three years and the current year for the welfare of the farmers and to mitigate the crisis of farmers' suicides;
- (d) whether the Government has noticed reports that the several farmers have committed suicide due to unavailability of fertilizers in the country especially in Madhya Pradesh;
- (e) if so, the details of number of farmers committed suicide so far, State-wise;
- (f) whether  the  Government  has  any  plan  to  give  compensation  to  the  family  of  the victims; and
- (g) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  avoid/  prevent  farmers  distress/  suicides  in various States of the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

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

- (a) to (g): 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).  NCRB  has  published  reports  upto  2020  which  are available on its website. The State-wise number of suicide committed by farmers including the State of Maharashtra, as per NCRB Report 2018 to 2020, is at Annexure-I .

In  the  ADSI  Report  2020,  the  separate  reasons  for  farmers'  suicide  have  not  been given. However, the causes of suicides by persons (including farmers) are 'Family Problems', 'Illness',  'Drug  Abuse/  Addiction',  'Marriage  Related  Issues',  'Love  Affairs',  'Bankruptcy  or Indebtedness', 'Failure in Examination', 'Unemployment', 'Professional/Career Problem'  and 'Property Dispute'.

Taking  cognizance  of  the  problem,  Government  had  undertaken  a  study  'Farmers Suicide in India: Causes and Policy Prescription' as an all India coordinated study in the work plan 2016-17 through the Institute of Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bengaluru. The study covered 13 states of the country which included Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra  Pradesh,  Tamil  Nadu,  Kerala,  Madhya  Pradesh,  Chhattisgarh,  Punjab,  Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

The study concluded that frequent crop failure due to vagaries of monsoon, absence of assured water resources and attack of pest and diseases are the most important causes of farmers' distress. The study had made inter-alia following suggestions to address the above problems:

- (a) Bringing individual farmers under the ambit of crop insurance;
- (b) Judicious use of available water is required;
- (c) Government  intervention  through  MSP  covering  cost  of  production  plus  reasonable profit margin;
- (d) Risk  hedging  through  crop  and  enterprise  diversification  should  be  encouraged  to reduce farmers' distress aiming at sustainable income; and
- (e) Regulate informal credit market.

The      fund  allocated  and  released  scheme-wise  during  the  last  three  years  is Annexure-II .

No  such  report  on  farmers  committing  suicide  due  to  unavailability  of  fertilizer  in  the country especially in Madhya Pradesh has been received by the Government.

Agriculture being a State Subject, the State Governments take appropriate measures for development of agriculture in the State. However, Government of India supplements the efforts  of  States  through  appropriate  policy  measures  and  budgetary  support  and  various schemes/ programmes. The various schemes/ programmes of the Government of India are meant for the welfare of farmers by increasing production, remunerative returns and income support to farmers. A list of various initiatives taken by the Government are at Annexure-III . All these steps of the Government of India are for the welfare of the farmers of the country.

The Government  has adopted several developmental programmes, schemes, reforms  and  policies  that  focus  on  higher  incomes  for  the  farmers.  All  these  policies  & programmes are being supported by higher budgetary allocations, non-budgetary financial resources by way of creating Corpus Funds, and supplementary income transfers under PMKISAN.  The  latest  major  intervention  includes  the  'Atma  Nirbhar  Bharat  -  Agriculture package'  which  includes  comprehensive  market  reforms  and  creation  of  'Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF)' worth Rs. 1 lakh crore.

The State Governments provides relief to families of farmers who commit suicide. A few State Governments provide relief to families of farmers who commit suicide and as per the information available, relief measures 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.

## Annexure-I

State-wise details of Farmers' suicide for the year 2018 to  2020

| Sl. No.   | State/UT          | 2018   |   2019 | 2020   |
|-----------|-------------------|--------|--------|--------|
| 1         | ANDHRA PRADESH    | 365    |    628 | 564    |
| 2         | ARUNACHAL PRADESH | 0      |      0 | 1      |
| 3         | ASSAM             | 5      |     26 | 12     |
| 4         | BIHAR             | 0      |      0 | 0      |
| 5         | CHHATTISGARH      | 182    |    233 | 227    |
| 6         | GOA               | 0      |      0 | 0      |
| 7         | GUJARAT           | 21     |      3 | 5      |
| 8         | HARYANA           | 0      |      0 | 0      |
| 9         | HIMACHAL PRADESH  | 5      |     12 | 6      |
| 10        | JAMMU &KASHMIR    | 5      |      0 | *      |
| 11        | JHARKHAND         | 0      |      0 | 0      |
| 12        | KARNATAKA         | 1365   |   1331 | 1072   |
| 13        | KERALA            | 25     |     22 | 57     |
| 14        | MADHYA PRADESH    | 303    |    142 | 235    |
| 15        | MAHARASHTRA       | 2239   |   2680 | 2567   |
| 16        | MANIPUR           | 2      |      0 | 1      |
| 17        | MEGHALAYA         | 0      |      0 | 4      |
| 18        | MIZORAM           | 17     |     22 | 4      |
| 19        | NAGALAND          | 0      |      0 | 0      |
| 20        | ODISHA            | 0      |      0 | 0      |
| 21        | PUNJAB            | 229    |    239 | 174    |
| 22        | RAJASTHAN         | 2      |      2 | 0      |
| 23        | SIKKIM            | 1      |      0 | 6      |
| 24        | TAMILNADU         | 6      |      6 | 79     |
| 25        | TELANGANA         | 900    |    491 | 466    |
| 26        | TRIPURA           | 0      |      0 | 0      |
| 27        | UTTAR PRADESH     | 80     |    108 | 87     |
| 28        | UTTARAKHAND       | 0      |      0 | 0      |
| 29        | WEST BENGAL       | 0      |      0 | 0      |
| 30        | A &NISLANDS       | 4      |      5 | 6      |
| 31        | CHANDIGARH        |        |      0 | 0      |
| 32        | D &NHAVELI        | 7      |      7 | *      |
| 33        | DAMAN &DIU        | 0      |      0 | *      |
| 34        | DELHI (UT)        | 0      |      0 | 0      |
| 35        | LAKSHADWEEP       | 0      |      0 | 0      |
| 36        | PUDUCHERRY        | 0      |      0 | 0      |
| TOTAL     | (ALL INDIA)       | 5763   |   5957 | 5579   |

*Data on farmers suicides in the year 2020

|   1 | JAMMU &KASHMIR           |   0 |
|-----|--------------------------|-----|
|   2 | D &NHAVELI andDAMAN &DIU |   0 |
|   3 | Ladakh                   |   0 |

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

## Annexure-II

(Rs. In Crore)

| S. No   |                                                                           | 2018-19   | 2018-19   | 2019-20   | 2019-20   | 2020-21   | 2020-21   | 2021-22   | 2021-22   |
|---------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| S. No   | Name of Schemes                                                           | ALO.      | REL.      | ALO.      | REL.      | ALO.      | REL.      | ALO.      | REL.      |
| 1       | Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension (SMAE)- ATMA                        | 41.14     | 31.03     | 35.79     | 38.26     | 50.24     | 43.81     | 50.00     | 0.00      |
| 2       | Mission of Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)                  | 158.00    | 107.00    | 158.00    | 82.35     | 130.00    | 63.50     | 91.00     | 0.00      |
| 3       | Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana - Per Drop More Crop (PMKSY- PDMC) | 480.00    | 360.00    | 325.00    | 325.00    | 400.00    | 300.00    | 400.00    |           |
| 4       | Paramparagat Krishi VikasYojana (PKVY)                                    | 16.92     | 0.00      | 13.00     | 34.11     | 7.07      | 0.20      | 0.00      | 0.00      |
| 5       | Soil Health Card (SHC)                                                    | 31.20     | 46.64     | 8.55      | 6.41      | 5.69      | 3.36      | 0.00      | 0.00      |
| 6       | Soil Health Management (SHM)                                              | 15.68     | 1.16      | 0.00      | 3.49      | 0.46      | 0.34      | 0.00      | 0.00      |
| 7       | Sub Mission on Agro-Forestry (SMAF)                                       | 4.00      | 2.00      | 1.50      | 0.75      | 2.00      | 1.60      | 2.00      | 0.00      |
| 8       | Sub- Mission on Seed and Planting Material (SMSP)                         | 22.05     | 35.73     | 32.30     | 30.02     | 23.00     | 13.00     | -         | 0.99      |
| 9       | National Food Security Mission (Oil Seed& Oil Palm)                       | 48.56     | 39.58     | 32.32     | 24.12     | 39.38     | 19.59     | 42.57     | 5.59      |
| 10      | National Food Security Mission (NFSM)                                     | 155.90    | 112.56    | 142.04    | 107.94    | 153.36    | 128.56    | 139.33    | 33.72     |
| 11      | Rainfed Area Development (RAD)                                            | 25.00     | 25.00     | 26.00     | 16.50     | 19.00     | 4.75      | 16.00     | 0.00      |
| 12      | Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY-RAFTAAR)                              | 247.78    | 245.11    | 261.76    | 253.57    | 290.88    | 199.62    | 249.23    | 0.00      |
| 13      | National Bamboo Mission (NBM)                                             | 19.88     | 11.93     | 10.84     | 10.84     | 8.00      | 4.00      | 6.50      | 0.00      |

## Annexure-III

## List of various interventions and schemes launched for the benefit of farmers

- (i) 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 instalments  of  Rs.  2000/-  to  the  farmers  families,  subject  to  certain  exclusions relating to higher income groups.
- (ii) 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 i.e. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana (PM-KMY) 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.
- (iii) 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.
- (iv) 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 2018-19 season at a level of at least 150 percent of the cost of production.
- (v) Implementation of flagship scheme of distribution of Soil Health Cards to farmers so that the use of fertilizers can be rationalized.
- (vi) '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.
- (vii) 'Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)' for promoting organic farming.
- (viii) Launch  of  e-NAM  initiative  to  provide  farmers  with  transparent  and  competitive online trading platform.
- (ix) Under  'Har  Medh  Pard  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.
- (x) 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 the 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.
- (xi) Increase  in  procurement  under  PSS:-  The  procurement  of  Pulses,  oilseeds  and copra at MSP under Price Support Scheme (PSS) has increased upto to 167.05 LMT  during  2014-  15  to  2021-22(  upto  22.07.2021).  Moreover,  16.83  LMT  of oilseeds had also been procured under Price Deficiency payment Scheme (PDPS) in 2018-19. In addition to this around 15.53 LMT of Pulses has also been procured at  MSP  under  Price  Stabilization  Fund  (PSF)  under  administrative  control  of Department of Consumer Affair.
- (xii) 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.
- (xiii) To ensure flow of adequate credit, Government sets annual target for the flow of credit  to  the  agriculture  sector,  Banks  have  been  consistently  surpassing  the annual  target.  The  agriculture  credit  flow  target  has  been  set  at  Rs.  13.50  lakh crore  for  the  F.Y.  2019-20,  Rs.  15.00  lakh  crore  for  F.Y.  2020-21and  Rs.  16.50 lakh crore for FY 2021-22.
- (xiv) 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 2% on short-term crop loans up to Rs. 3.00 lakh. Presently, loan is available to farmers at an interest rate of 4% per annum on prompt repayment.
- (xv) 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.
- (xvi) The  Government  has  extended  the  facility  of  Kisan  Credit  Card  (KCC)  to  the farmers practicing animal husbandry and fisheries related activities. All processing fee,  inspection,  leger  folio  charges  and  all  other  services  charges  have  been waived off for fresh renewal of KCC. Collateral fee loan limit for short term agricredit  has  been  raised  from  Rs.  1.00  lakh  to  Rs.  1.60  lakh.  KCC  will  be  issued within 14 days from the receipt of completed application.
- (xvii) Several market reforms related programmes and policies have been rolled out to facilitate farmers and producers with remunerative price for their produce.
- (xviii)  Creating of Corpus Fund
- a.  Micro Irrigation Fund - Rs. 10,000 crore
- b.  Agriculture Infrastructure Fund of Rs. One Lakh Crore -
- (xix) Formation and Promotion of Farmers' Producer Companies (FPOs) to form and promote 10,000 FPOs.

******