Essay on Farmer Suicide in India for Class 12, Mains Exam (UPSC, PSC, SSC)
Farmer Suicide in India Essay : India has an agrarian economy and around 50 per cent of rural households are dependent on agriculture directly or indirectly. Sadly, the falling price of the crops and the increasing cost of transportation and storage have compelled the marginalised and small-scale farmers to commit suicide. Thus, farmers committing suicide in India has become a common issue. Over 600 farmers in Maharashtra and the Marathwada state died of suicide in 2022. Extreme downpours have damaged 800000 hectares of crops mostly in the districts of Vidarbha and Marathawada. Due to this, farmers were unable to bear the grief of losses and also they were agitated with the economic policies of India and so they took the path of tracking their own lives.
Discussion
As opined by the National Crime Records Bureau, farmers’ suicides have accelerated by 30 per cent since 2019. The maximum number of suicide has taken place in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The predominating causes are inadequate support from banks mostly to combat the climatic conditions and market fluctuations. Also, farmers who take loans from money lenders are charged with an increasing rate of interest. As they are unable to pay the debts, they are bound to take away their own lives mercilessly.
The agricultural sector is mostly subjected to poverty and distress and the increasing number of farmer suicides reflects the fragile nature of the agricultural sector. In response to the increasing number of farmers’ suicide prime minister Narendra Modi cancelled the contentious agricultural laws and modernised the farming sector. On the contrary, the farmer groups argue that the government failed to meet the minimum support price, the rate at which the government is supposed to purchase the crops from the farmers when the market price decline below it.
Climatic change is another leading factor that causes misery to the farmers mainly in the state of Maharashtra. The cost of seeds and chemicals made the farmers all the more indebted to the money lenders coupled with the drastic climatic changes. In addition, using agricultural equipment such as tractors and pumps is also increasing which has posed another threat to farmers. The marginal farmers mostly face difficulty in purcshaing the expensive farming machinery for which their crops production has slowed down. Almost 2474 suicides have occurred due to loan issues Most of these farmers have their loans unpaid from the local banks. In addition, the money lenders also put undue pressure on the farmers the burden of which cannot be borne by the farmers. Inadequate direct integration with the market resulted in the farmer’s suicide despite the prevalence of the National Agricultural Market. Furthermore, the lack of awareness among farmers and the literacy gap led to ineffective cropping practices which are again the cause of less productivity thereby leading to more stress for the farmers.
Conclusion
To conclude, it can be said that, India despite being an agrarian economy, the sufferings of the farmers are looked down upon. Although the government has taken measures to curb the issues, such as formulation of the agricultural and debt relief scheme 2008, and 2006 relief package, it is not enough to meet the increasing misery of the customers. As a result, the rate of farmers’ suicide in India has yet not been noticed slowing down the suicide rates.
FAQs
Q1. Name any scheme formulated by the government to address the farmers’ issue.
Ans: Agricultural and debt relief scheme 2008.
Q2. State two causes of the farmers committing suicide in India.
Ans: Failure to give interest to the moneylenders and climatic changes are two of the many causes of farmers’ suicide in India.
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