A total of 1,408 persons engaged in farming activities committed suicides in the State between 2007 and 2015, informed Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment Minister Damodar Rout in the State Assembly on Wednesday quoting reports of the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB).

The Minister submitted the NCRB data in response to separate questions of Congress MlA Tara Prasad Bahinipati and BJP MlA Dilip Ray.

According to the data, the NCRB has no report regarding death of persons engaged in agriculture sector for the years 2016 and 2017.

The Minister said joint investigations conducted on allegations of farmers’ suicide during 2015-16 and afterwards showed that no suicide was related to farming reasons.

According to the data, 240 persons engaged in firming sector committed suicide in 2007, 260 ended life in 2008, 154 in 2009, 162 in 2010, 144 in 2011, 146 in 2012, 150 in 2013, 102 in 2014 and 50 persons ended live in 2015.

The Minister said the State Government has taken many measures to stop such suicide cases in the State.

In response to another question of Ray, the Minister informed that crops in a total of 4.56 lakh hectares of land have been damaged due to drought and pest attack during this year’s Kharif season. While crops in 3,17,982 hectares were damaged in 5,958 villages under 1097 GPs across 70 blocks in 15 districts and 84 wards under 11 UlBs.  Besides, crops were damaged due to pest attack in 1,28,913 hectares of land in 8,092 villages under 1,907 GPs in and 148 Wards under 35 UlBs spread over 24 districts.

In response to yet another question of Ray, the Minister informed that there were a total of 2.19 lakh sharecroppers, 3.29 lakh partial sharecropper, 0.56 lakh persons doing cultivation on different methods, and 38.07 farmers cultivating own land in the State as per the 9th Agriculture Census conducted in 2010-11. According to this report, there were 33,68,296 marginal farmers, 9,18,647 small farmers, 3,74,949 and 5,547 large farmers in the State.

As per the 2011 Census, the State had a total of 31.63 lakh agriculture labourers.