Farmer Suicides Research Articles

The Enigma’s of Indian Agriculture Sector: Farmers Suicides in Punjab

The recent spate of farmer suicides in Indian states has become the core of research and policy debates in the field of agrarian studies over the last one and a half decades. One sees a flood of publications indicating the causes of these suicides and policy prescriptions. The history of Indian farmer suicides is not new but officially the statistics is available from 1990s. The first state where suicides were reported was Maharashtra. Soon newspaper has gone to report similar occurrences from other states of the country. Growing pressure of indebtedness, rising cost of cultivation, declining returns from agriculture, adverse impact of economic liberalization, etc. are commonly identified as the main causes of this agrarian distress. The present paper made an attempt to analyses the reasons for farmer’s suicide in Punjab and to presents the farmer’s inconvenient condition leading tosuicides, its consequences on society and remedies are suggested to address the issue.

A Solution to Farmer Suicides & Loan Waivers

The issues of farmer suicides and loan waivers are a manifestation of the failures at both policy and execution level. This paper argues that these are symptom of failure of agricultural economics and examines the reasons for it. The paper further proposes a solution - a Smart Agriculture Management System (SAMS) and supporting mechanisms to make agricultural economics work for the farmer.

Farmer suicides: a qualitative study from Australia.

Farmers in Australia, in general, have poorer health outcomes, including higher rates of suicide. To investigate risk and protective factors and attitudes towards suicide and help-seeking among farmers living and working in New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. A qualitative study in which three farming sites were selected in each state to represent an area with a suicide rate equal to, below and above the state average. Focus groups were conducted with men and women separately. Focus groups involved 30 men and 33 women. Inductive thematic analysis showed three broad themes characterized responses: environment and society; community and relationships; and individual factors. There was considerable overlap and dynamic interaction between themes. A combination of individual factors, as well as social and environmental stressors, was described as most likely to increase risk of suicide death and reduce help-seeking. The vast majority of known farmer suicides described involved men and many of the issues discussed pertained specifically to male farmers. Participants found suicide as an act complex, intertwined with many factors, and hard to fathom. A common belief was that an individual must feel a complete lack of hope and perceive their situation vastly differently from others to contemplate suicide. Future suicide prevention efforts for farmers should take a biopsycho-ecological approach. Physical, psychological and cultural isolation could be addressed with education and training programmes and public campaigns. These could also improve people's ability to recognize possible suicidality.

Economic Liberalisation and Farmers’ Suicides in Andhra Pradesh (1995–2014)

Adversely affected by globalisation and state-based policy changes, India’s agricultural sector has recently experienced a marked increase in farmer suicides, most prominently in Andhra Pradesh (AP). This article examines the various policy changes leading to such agrarian distress and seeks to explore how the troubling phenomenon of farmers’ suicides may be curbed.

Farmer-suicide in India: debating the role of biotechnology

Indian Biotech opponents have attributed the increase of suicides to the monopolization of GM seeds, centering on patent control, application of terminator technology, marketing strategy, and increased production costs. The contentions of the biotech opponents, however, have been criticized for a lack of transparency in their modus operandi i.e. the use of methodology in their argumentation. The fact is, however, that with the intention of getting the attention of those capable of determining the future of GM cotton in India, opponents resorted to generating controversies. Therefore, this article will review and evaluate the multifaceted contentions of both opponents and defenders. Although the association between seed monopolization and farmer-suicide is debatable, we will show that there is a link between the economic factors associated with Bt. cultivation and farmer suicide. The underlying thesis of biotech opponents becomes all the more significant when analysed vis-à-vis the contention of the globalization critics that there has been a political and economic marginalization of the Indian farmers. Their accusation assumes significance in the context of a fragile democracy like India where market forces are accorded precedence over farmers’ needs until election time.

Trends and Characteristics of Occupational Suicide and Homicide in Farmers and Agriculture Workers, 1992-2010.

We examined work-related homicides and suicides among farm operators/workers in the United States from 1992 to 2010. Work-related homicide and suicide cases from 1992 to 2010 were obtained from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. To calculate rates, denominator data on the US working population were also obtained from 2003 to 2010 Current Population Survey. Logistic regression was used to identify factors that were differentially associated with homicide and suicide. Over these 19 years, 171 farm operators/workers died from homicide and 230 died from suicide. When compared to rates of all workers, suicide rates were higher while homicide rates were lower among farm operators/workers. Males (OR = 6.1), whites (OR = 4.7), and 35- to 54-year-old (OR = 2.3) farm operators/workers had increased odds of suicide over homicide compared with their respective counterparts (ie, females, nonwhites, <35-year-olds). Those working in smaller farm operations with <11 employees had 1.7 times the odds of suicide over homicide. Suicide and homicide are both present in the agricultural industry, with suicide being more common than homicide. Translation of suicide prevention programs should be explored for the agricultural industry.

Farm suicides in New Zealand, 2007-2015: A review of coroners' records.

Economic recessions and severe weather events are often associated with increased suicide rates. The Global Dairy Crisis 2015/2016 led to an economic downturn in the New Zealand dairy farming industry and, coupled with droughts in some regions and floods in others, raised fears about increased suicide rates among farmers. However, little was known about suicides in the farming sector. This study reviews characteristics of recent farm-related suicides in New Zealand and assesses the extent to which financial stresses contributed to the deaths. Data were abstracted from coroners' records for a consecutive series of 185 people in farm- and agriculture-related occupations who died by suicide between 2007 and 2015 and for whom coronial inquiries had been completed. Farm suicides were heterogeneous: six distinct risk profiles were identified. Financial stresses made negligible contributions to farm suicides. Overall, risk factors for farm suicides differed little from risk factors for suicide in the general population. However, suicide risk in farmers was exacerbated by ready access to firearms: almost 40% of farm suicides involved firearms, compared to 8% in the general population over the same time. Among farm suicides, young male farm labourers predominated, rather than farm owners or managers. For many young men, relationship losses, acute alcohol intoxication and ready access to a firearm formed a common constellation of risk factors. While coroners' records are variable and do not record specific information about financial stresses and weather events, it was clear that these issues made a negligible contribution to farm suicides. A range of rural suicide prevention initiatives are needed to address various farm suicide risk profiles. In particular, young male labourers often had no contact with health services prior to death, suggesting that rural suicide prevention efforts need to be positioned within community, farming and sports organisations, as well as health and social service providers.

Book Review: L. Singh, K.S. Bhangoo and R. Sharma. 2016. Agrarian Distress and Farmer Suicides in North India

L. Singh, K.S. Bhangoo and R. Sharma. 2016. Agrarian Distress and Farmer Suicides in North India. London: Routledge India, South Asia Edition, pp. 250. ₹895. ISBN: 978-1-138-66862-1

Pathways to Suicide in Australian Farmers: A Life Chart Analysis.

Farmers have been found to be at increased risk of suicide in Australia. The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicidal Behaviour suggests that the proximal factors leading to the suicidal desire or ideation include an individual’s experiences of both perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. Suicidal desire with acquired capability to engage in lethal self-injury is predictive of suicidal behaviour. This study investigates the pathways to suicide of 18 Australian male farmers in order to understand the suicidal process and antecedents to suicide in Australian male farmers. The psychological autopsy (PA) method was used to generate life charts. Two pathways with distinct suicidal processes were identified: acute situational (romantic relationship problems and financial concerns/pending retirement) and protracted (long-term psychiatric disorder). Long working hours, interpersonal conflicts, physical illnesses and pain, alcohol abuse, access to firearms, and exposure to drought were additional common factors identified. An understanding of the interrelatedness of diverse distal and proximal risk factors on suicidal pathways in the wider environmental context for male farmers is required when developing and implementing rural suicide prevention activities.

Decision-Making Process of Farmers' in Present Political Economy of Agrarian Crisis with a Study of Burdwan District of West Bengal, India

The agricultural sector is less contributing sector than service and manufacturing sector in terms of share in the total GDP in India. For last two decades, farmers suicide in India has been. The question is how the individual farmers are taking such drastic decision. Decision-making process is the most complex function of any individuals. But the judgment is influenced by a number of factors like emotion, mania, framing bias etc. By combining behavioral and cognitive psychological theory with conventional economics and finance, Behavioral Economics seeks to provide explanation for peoples' decision-making process such as economic decision. Recently, Burdwan District has become the news headlines for farmers' suicide. In this study the authors have been applying Behavioral theories to the farmers' decision-making process to find the influencing variable(s) and by factor analysis and Structural Equation Modelling. It is found that only Herding effect and Market information have strongly influenced the decision-making process of the farmers of the said district.

A Study on Stressful Life Events and Farmers Suicide

Suicide is a fatal act which represents the individuals wish to die. The latin word suicide denotes “self murder”. India is an agrarian country with around 60% of its population depends directly or indirectly upon agriculture. Farmer suicide account for 11.2% of all suicides in India. Activists and scholars have cited a number of conflicting reasons for farmer suicide; such as high debt burdens, genetically modified crops, government policies etc. The current study aims at understanding the various stressful life events that lead to suicide of the farmers in Kamrup district, Assam.

Agrarian Distress and Farmers Suicide in Wardha District of Maharashtra

Agrarian Distress and Farmers Suicide in Wardha District of Maharashtra

Cash Crop Crisis: Farmer Suicides, Human Rights and the Agrarian Crisis in India

According to official estimates, more than a quarter of a million farmers have committed suicide in the last sixteen years-the largest wave of recorded suicides in the history of mankind. Most of the affected farmers are cash crop farmers and cotton farmers, in particular. Based on the available statistics, a farmer commits suicide every thirty minutes. While this is the official number, these statistics do not account for the actual number of farmer suicides taking place and the large number of lives that are affected due to the death of even single farmer in the family. Women, for example, are often excluded from farmer suicide statistics because most do not have title to land—a common prerequisite for being recognized as a farmer in official statistics and programs.

Farmers suicide in north Maharashtra: A sign of agrarian crisis and indebtedness

Farmers are suffered from agrarian distress and committing suicide in India. A relatively large number of small and marginal operational holdings, rainfed and seasonal nature of farming have creating many issues before farmers. The rain dependent cotton growing farmers are faced issue of declining profitability because of dumping of cotton prices in international market, low import tariff and rapid increase in cost of cultivation in Jalgaon district of North Maharashtra. Similarly, Grapes, Onion and vegetables etc. high value crops growing farmers facing problem of crop failure because of unseasonal rainfall and fluctuating profit due to price fluctuations in Nasik district. Thus farmers are facing profit reduction and income uncertainty in North Maharashtra. Moreover, high proportion of selected victims had under pressure of indebtedness and committed suicide for permanent steeping out from pressure of debt return. This paper mainly focuses on economic situation of suicide victim farmers in North Maharashtra.

Farmer Suicides in India and the Weather God

This paper examines the reasons for farmer suicides in India. Inability to get the right price, crop failures, and insurmountable debt are the factors that may drive the farmers to take this extreme step. A key factor for farmers being unable to get market prices is inefficient agriculture supply chain management. We find that the reasons for inefficient supply chain management include lack of reforms in the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act, low bargaining power due to small farm size, and lack of warehousing facilities. Crop failures happen because of poor irrigation facilities. Considering agricultural output and rainfall data from four different states in India we find evidence in favor of association between the cyclical component of agricultural output and rainfall data. Understanding this linkage is important from the perspective of formulating demand management policies (read, intervention by the government and central bank).

Factors responsible for farmers suicides in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra

Factors responsible for farmers suicides in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra

Agrarian Crisis India: An aftermath of the New Economic Reforms

The National Crime Records Bureau of India reported in its 2012 annual report that 135,445 people committed suicide in India, of which 13,754 were farmers (11.2%). Of these, 5 out of 29 states accounted for 10,486 farmer’s suicides (76%) – Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. In 2011, a total of 135,585 people committed suicide, of which 14,207 were farmers. In 2010, 15,963 farmers in India committed suicide, while total suicides were 134,599.In 2012, the state of Maharashtra, with 3,786 farmers' suicides, accounted for about a quarter of the all India's farmer suicides total (13,754). From 1995 to 2013, a total of 296,438 Indian farmers committed suicide. During the same period, about 9.5 million people died per year in India from other causes including malnutrition, diseases and suicides that were non-farming related, or about 171 million deaths from 1995 to 2013.Farmer suicides rates in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh – two large states of India by size and population – have been about 10 times lower than Maharashtra, Kerala and Pondicherry. In 2012, there were 745 farmer suicides in Uttar Pradesh, a state with an estimated population of 205.43 million.

Impact of Drought on Environmental, Agricultural and Socio-economic Status in Maharashtra State, India

The agriculture sector is the backbone of Indian economy, which contributes a major share of GDP of the country. Last few decades agriculture losses have grown due to irregularity in monsoon and change in climatic conditions over Indian sub-continent. Maharashtra state is developed and industrialized state in the country contributing highest GDP in the Indian economy. The present study assesses the effects of droughts on environmental, agricultural and socio-economic status during the year of 2011-2016 in Maharashtra state. The state occupies 50% of the drought prone area. The state is experiencing deficit rainfall once in a 5 to 6 year, and severe drought conditions once in 8 to 9 years. In Maharashtra state, the % to normal rainfall is gradually decreasing from the year 2011-2015. It shows large spatial variability in rainfall all over the Maharashtra state throughout the year confirms that Marathwada, Nashik, Amravati and Nagpur divisions received less rainfall in the year 2014 and 2015. Aurangabad division has marked as the lowest water availability in the reservoir of Maharashtra from the year 2012 - 2015. The overall agricultural yield in Kharif and Rabi season is decreased to a considerable extent in the 2014- 15, which is near about 50% deficit in pulses, oilseeds and cotton as compared to the year 2013-14. Individuals and communities of Aurangabad, Amravati and Nagpur divisions (Cotton belt) are under pressure to cope with drought and its consequences. The farmer suicide cases were reported in the year 2015 (2016 cases) as compared to the year 2011 to 2014.

Effect of Climate Change on Mental Health

On 5th of June the entire world celebrated the World Environment Day (WED) WED is being celebrated every year since 1973.To involve people all over the world, a slogan has also been coined for this year’s WED. The slogan is: ‘Raise Your Voice Not the Sea Level.’ The idea is that there is need to raise voice against the ongoing climate change so that brake is applied to the raising global temperature. 23We all know that 2014 has been declared as the hottest year globally by the Meteorological department of United States of America. Climate change is a global challenge which is likely to affect the mankind in substantial ways. Not only climate change is expected to affect physical health, it is also likely to affect mental health. Increasing ambient temperatures is likely to increase rates of aggression and violent suicides, while prolonged droughts due to climate change can lead to more number of farmer suicides. Droughts otherwise can lead to impaired mental health and stress. Increased frequency of disasters with climate change can lead to posttraumatic stress disorder, adjustment disorder, and depression. Changes in climate and global warming may require population to migrate, which can lead to acculturation stress. It can also lead to increased rates of physical illnesses, which secondarily would be associated with psychological distress. The possible effects of mitigation measures on mental health are also discussed. The paper concludes with a discussion of what can and should be done to tackle the expected mental health issues consequent to climate change.

Japanese Consumer Perceptions of Genetically Modified Food: Findings From an International Comparative Study.

BackgroundReports of food-related incidents, such as cows infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (2001) and the Fukushima nuclear accident (2011), engendered significant fear among Japanese consumers and led to multiple farmer suicides, even when no actual health damage occurred. The growing availability of genetically modified (GM) food is occurring against this backdrop of concern about food safety. Consumers need information to assess risk and make informed purchasing decisions. However, we lack a clear picture of Japanese consumer perceptions of GM food.ObjectiveThis study aims to understand Japanese consumer perceptions of GM food for risk communication. Consumer perceptions of GM food were compared among 4 nations.MethodsA Web-based survey was conducted in Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. Participants were asked about demographics, fear of health hazards, resistance to GM and breeding-improved products, perception of GM technology and products, and willingness to pay. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted, as were t tests on dichotomous variables, and 1-way analysis of variance and post hoc tests.ResultsOf 1812 individuals who agreed to participate, 1705 (94%) responded: 457 from Japan and 416 each from France, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The male/female and age group ratios were all about even. Some resistance to GM food was seen in all countries in this study. France showed the strongest resistance (P<.001), followed by Japan, which had stronger resistance than the United States and the United Kingdom (P<.001). Overall, females, people in their 60s and older, and those without higher education showed the greatest resistance to GM food. Japan showed stronger fear of food hazards than other nations (P<.001, odds ratio=2.408, CI: 1.614-3.594); Japanese and French respondents showed the strongest fear of hazards from GM food (P<.001). Regarding perceptions of GM technology and products, consumers in nations other than Japan would accept GM food if it were appropriately explained, they were provided with scientific data supporting its safety, and they understood that all food carries some risk. However, Japanese consumers tended to accept GM technology but rejected its application to food (P<.001). Of those willing to purchase GM food, consumers in Japan required a discount of 30% compared with about 20% in other nations.ConclusionAll consumers in our study showed resistance to GM food. Although no health hazards are known, respondents in Japan and France strongly recognized GM food as a health risk. Price discounts of 30% and GM technology may be communication cues to start discussions about GM food among Japanese consumers. Although education-only risk communication generally is not effective, such an approach may work in Japan to help consumers better understand GM technology and, eventually, GM food. The gap between accepting GM technology and rejecting its application to food should be explored further.