On Wednesday, Radha Mohan, the Union Agriculture Minister said almost 11,400 farmers have committed suicide in the year 2016.
“According to the National Crime Records Bureau data for 2016, which is yet to be published, 11,400 farmers committed suicide. In 2015, the number was 12,602,” he said in a reply during a discussion in the Lok Sabha regarding the agrarian crisis.
Radha Mohan said the suicides of farmers could be monitored and checked only by way of increasing their income level. The government is taking the necessary steps, including an increase in budgetary allocations to the agriculture sectors.
Jyotiraditya Scindia, the member of Congress criticized the government earlier for failing to ensure remunerative prices to farmers.
The Minister said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had promised Minimum Support Price (MSP) for agricultural produce which is to be 1.5 times the input cost to the farmers before the 2014 general elections. Further, he explained that a premium of Rs. 3,560 crores was paid under the crop insurance scheme and Rs. 3,548 crores was distributed as insurance claims to the farmers. Likewise, the total premium in the year 2015-16 was Rs. 3,760 crore and Rs. 4,710 crore was given as insurance claims.
Radha Mohan said in a response to the allegations of benefiting private companies under the garb of crop insurance, “We are using a space technology to solve the problem. We have written to states that they have to decide crops to be brought under the insurance scheme. They have to issue the tender and set up their own companies if they do not want to give any of the benefits to (private) insurance companies. The Punjab and the Gujarat governments are going to form such companies.”
In an effort to save farmers from the sway of the private money lenders, the government had allocated Rs. 10 lakh crores for the farm credit this year, Union Agriculture Minister said in a statement.
He explained that the government had taken up various schemes and initiatives which will be beneficial to the farmers such as integrated farming, agro forestry, deep fishing, Gokul mission, and the organic farming to increase farmers’ income.
