Farmers' suicide in Karnataka -a sign of agrarian distress (original) (raw)

India is agrarian country; nearly 70 per cent of the country is rural area and more than 60 percent of the people's life depends on agriculture and professions related to it. Agricultural sector is the largest employer in India's economy but contributes to a declining share of its GDP (17% in 2013-14). Now Indian agricultural sector is under great distress as many farmers from various states like Andhra, Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka are committing suicide. In Karnataka, a total of 158 farmers killed themselves in July 2015 alone. The increasing incidence of farmers' suicides is symptomatic of a larger crisis. According to NCRB report that bankruptcy or indebtedness was the main cause for farmers' suicide, Small and marginal farmers accounted for about 72.4 per cent of total farmer suicides. These suicides due to an increase in cultivation costs and a decline in agricultural income, which is pushing farmers into a debt trap. Because of the disparity between their income and those who are working in urban areas, farmers are facing the sociological pressures.