New Delhi, Nov 24 (IANS) Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar Tuesday said some cases of suicides by farmers due to personal reasons were also attributed to crop failure and other farming related reasons.
“As reported by the state governments and revealed in some studies conducted earlier, the causes for suicides by farmers are manifold - including personal and other reasons,” Pawar said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha to the questions asked by MPs Bhakta Charan Das and Shruti Choudhry.

“However, some suicides out of the total number of suicides have been attributed to crop failure, indebtness, drought and socio-economic reasons,” he said.

The minister said the incidents of suicides by farmers have been mainly reported from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala and stray cases from Gujarat, Punjab and Tamil Nadu.

He, however, said the number of suicides of farmers has come down in every state.

According to the data furnished by the ministry, 490 farmers committed suicide in Andhra Pradesh in 2007. In 2008, it was 390 and it is 77 up to Nov 16, 2009, he noted.

In Karnataka, 176 farmers committed suicide in 2006-07, 182 during 2007-08, 143 in 2008-09 and 14 up to July 31, 2009.

In Maharashtra, 590 cases of farmers’ suicide were reported in 2007. The number increased up to 627 in 2008 and till Nov 15, 2009, 259 cases were reported.