NEW DELHI: A study shows a direct link between increasingly severe climate events and rising suicides among India’s farmers. Climate change has increased the frequency and coverage of drought and the suicide rate among farmers.
‘Urgent Preventative Action for Climate-Related Suicides in Rural India’ is published by the independent policy research institute. The International Institute for Environment and Development in May 2023. The study states that the suicides are higher in those years when farmers face deficit rainfall.
The study mentions a case study from Telangana. When the variation of rainfall from normal is 5 per cent, the average number of farmers dying by suicide is 810. However, suicide rose to 1,188 when the rainfall deficit rose to 25 per cent.
Indian farmers are at the most risk group for death by suicide. It accounts for over 15 per cent of the country’s total suicide record in 2021. Moreover, India accounts for around 27 per cent of all suicide in low- and middle-income countries.
The study was conducted in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana between 2020 and 2022. Significant parts of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh were drought-prone in these three years.
The study analysed 2014-15 to 2020-21 rainfall data from these states to understand the relationship between how far rainfall deviated from normal levels and the number of farmers’ suicides. The study establishes a clear link between rainfall deficit and farmers’ suicide.
Another finding is that farmers who engage in cash crops like cotton are more prone to suicide — World’s one-fourth of cotton produced in India. The reason is that cash crops require significant investment in seed, pesticide and insecticide.
Deficient rainfall killing farmers?
The study was conducted in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana
When rainfall deficit increases from 5% to 25%, the suicide rate increases from 810 to 1,188
Indian farmers lost cash crops across 35 million hectares (the area slightly bigger than landmass of Germany) due to drought between 2016 and 2021
Farmers engage in cash crops like cotton are more prone to suicide