Vidhan Sabha panel discusses issue of farmers’ suicides with PAU experts
83% suicides were debt-driven, majority of victims traced to small farmers segment
15,000 Punjab farmers, labourers committed suicides between 2000 and 2015: PAU study
By Raju William
Ludhiana, November 29, 2017: According to a study conducted by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), the trend of farm sector suicides in Punjab was triggered by the continual losses suffered by farmers growing American Cotton since mid-1990. The Malwa belt districts of Sangrur, Bathinda, Mansa and Barnala bore the brunt of the menace of suicides.
The heavy debt has emerged in the study as the main cause of suicides.
As much as 83 percent of the total 15,000 suicides committed in farm sector between 2000 and 2015 were due to heavy debt strain. The small farmers accounted for majority of the suicide cases.
These disturbing findings were shared by the PAU experts including Vice-Chancellor Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon and Head, Department of Economics and Sociology, Dr Sukhpal Singh during discussions on the issue of farmers’ suicides with the Punjab Vidhan Sabha panel at Ludhiana on Wednesday.
The proportion of farmers suicides turned out to be more than the farm labourers, Dr Sukhpal Singh told the panel comprising its chairman Sukhwinder Singh Sarkaria, other member MLAs Kuljit Singh Nagra and Nazar Singh Manshahia. Other PAU experts involved in the discussions included Dr Manjit Kaur, Dr MS Sidhu and Dr HS Kingra.
Members of Vidhan Sabha panel holding discussions with PAU experts
The experts suggested to the panel to create of a model of development based on land, water resources, population and dependence on agriculture to prevent the growing trend of farmers suicides in the state.
They also suggested that farmers should be made aware of changing their focus on augmenting their profits instead of increasing production only so as to improve their financial condition.
Dr Sukhpal Singh apprised the panel in detail about various facts related to scale of farmers suicides over last one and half decade and shared its long-term alarming consequences for the state.
The panel members observed the painstaking, detailed door-to-door study conducted by the PAU would prove very useful in formulating the state government policies for the agriculture dominated state of Punjab.