Trends and Causes of Farmers Suicide in Maharashtra State, India

Abstract

The present study accepted out with an investigative strategy of social research on farmer’s suicide trend in Maharashtra state, Over 15,000 farmers have committed suicide in Maharashtra between 2013 and 2018. In Vidarbha and Marathwada from January 2001 to July 2018, a total of 29602farmers from 18 districts of died by suicide. About 83.74% of the state's total farmer suicides were in the two regions of Vidarbha and Marathwada. The highest farmer suicide in Amravati division is 57.8%, than Nagpur division 15.6%, Aurangabad division 13.6%, Nasik division 8.3%, Pune division 4.5% and lowest farmer suicide 0.8% in Konkan division. A farming disaster has rainfall a spate of suicides in Maharashtra. The suicide mortality rate for farmers in the state has increased from 2001 to 2018. The rain dependent cotton growing farmers of Maharashtra are faced with declining profitability because of dumping in the global market by the US, low import tariffs, failure of the Monopoly Cotton Procurement Scheme and withdrawal of the state are resulting in declining public investment in agriculture, poor government agriculture extension services and the diminishing role of formal credit institutions. The farmer is faced with yield, price, credit, income and weather uncertainties. The way out is to merge bold public policy initiatives with civil society engagement.