SHAFAQNA- Farm leaders urge government to ensure ‘living income’ to stem farmers’ suicides in India.
Over 17,000 farmers have committed suicide over the past three years due to heavy debts and crop losses, according to figures presented in the Indian parliament earlier this year.
According to a National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, 5,579 farmers committed suicide in the country in 2020, compared to 5,957 the year before.
While 70% of people in the country depend upon agriculture directly or indirectly, the spate of suicides by farmers has been testing the nerves of successive governments.
On the eve of World Farmers Day, which is observed on different days in different countries, India’s top agriculture expert Devinder Sharma told Anadolu Agency that farmers are facing “income disparity.”
“If you look at the agriculture sector, it is the only area where produce enters the market without a price tag, and then the market decides the price,” he said.
Source: aa