BHUBANESWAR: Farmer suicides in Odisha have jumped five times between 2014 and 2015. From just five in 2014, the number of suicides by farmers and cultivators has risen to 23 in 2015, if one goes by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
The numbers, though, are a complete mismatch considering that more than 180 farmers had allegedly taken their lives across the State in 2015 when sustained dry spell prompted the State Government to declare drought in 215 blocks of 26 districts where at least 13 lakh hectare land suffered crop loss of 33 per cent or more.
The Government, however, had stuck to its ground stating that none of it was due to bad crop leading to farm indebtedness. But the NCRB report, at least, says that farmer suicides have risen in the State.
The latest Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI) report, which was released on Monday, says that farmer suicide figures across the country has jumped by 42 per cent. Across India, the total number of suicides in the farming sector stood at 12,602. Of the deaths, 5,650 suicides were by farmers and cultivators while 4,595 were by agricultural labourers.
However, the overall suicides in farming sector of the State has seen a steep decline by 50 per cent, the NCRB report says. From 102 suicidal deaths in 2014, it has plunged to 50 in 2015, if that is any consolation the Naveen Patnaik Government can take from the report as it has always denied farmer suicides due to indebtedness.
In the country, the suicides among agriculture labourers saw a decline from 6,710 to 4,595. In Odisha too, it followed a similar trend - from 97 suicides in 2014 to 27 in 2015. The report stated that poverty, indebtedness, family problems and illness were major reasons why the cultivators took their lives.
However, there is no mention of indebtedness caused by loans from money-lenders and financial institutions as reasons for the suicides. All the farmers who took their lives were either marginal, small or medium farmers. So far as agricultural labourers were concerned, the reason behind suicides was poverty and family problems.
While the State sought huge Central assistance to tackle the situation in 2015 kharif, it continued to debunk the claims that crop loss led to farm sector indebtedness driving farmers to suicide.
On the other hand, under pressure that sharecroppers bore the brunt of the drought, the Government declared that a new law would be brought to give economic security to both the land owners and tillers through an agreement system. The legislation is still awaiting approval of the State Cabinet though it was supposed to be placed before the Assembly in the monsoon session.