This refers to the editorial, “Farmers need better deal” (March 6). The apex court is right in its assertion that the burning issue of farmer suicides cannot be addressed by paying compensation to the families of the victims. Farmers' suicide has become a national phenomenon, though most cases go unreported. Health and family problems explain nearly half the suicides in the country. According to figures from the Ministry of Agriculture, the total of number of suicides committed by farmers for agrarian reasons in the last three years stands at 3,313.
Suicides have occurred overwhelmingly amongst cash-crop farmers. Poverty and debt are likely the larger problem. Indebtedness has been
highlighted as the prime cause, and leading public intellectuals have called for an end to the debt farmers' distress is financial and the impending struggles. The real compensation would be in the form of effective policies such as a special economic package for the farming community.