Loan burden induced by drought, floods main reason for farmers taking the extreme step in Yadgir district

Yadgir district faces farmer suicides due to loan burden from drought and floods, urging government support for irrigation projects.

In a span of three years, Yadgir district, which has two rivers, has witnessed the death of 162 farmers due to distress. The main reason for their decision to take the extreme step of ending their lives is loan burden induced by drought and floods.

As per official data, between April 2023 and February 24, 2024, 39 farmers ended their lives by employing various means. It was 64 farmers during 2021-22 and 59 in 2022-23.

The reasons for farmers taking the extreme step are crop losses due to drought or floods and heavy debt burdens. According to sources, a majority of farmers ended their lives after they became unable to repay loans.

“Obviously, farmers expect a good yield and sufficient return after they spend huge amounts of money on cultivation and other activities. A study has revealed that they take extreme steps when they realize that they won’t get back even half of the amount they invested for cultivating crops,” honorary president of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha Chamaras Malipatil said.

Mr. Malipatil wants the government to fix minimum support prices (MSP) for farm produce and also implement proper irrigation projects, including the construction of balancing reservoirs and check dams to irrigate dry land, so as to help farmers make farming viable.

Although two major rivers, Krishna and Bhima, flow through Yadgir district. However, only 2.39 lakh hectares of dry land out of the 4.75 lakh hectares of cultivable land has been irrigated and the remaining is rain-fed.

“Despite having two rivers and hundreds of tanks, the government has failed to implement irrigation projects. A majority of tanks has gone dry owing to drought. The government should desilt such tanks properly and fill them with river water to irrigate dry land and improve the groundwater level, which can help recharge dried borewells,” farmers leader Manik Reddy Kurkundi said.