I am rather shocked to learn from the international press that a dozens of debt-laden poor farmers in the Indian State of Punjab have committed suicide in the past two months as they couldn’t grow their rice, wheat and potato crops due to heavy downpours with hail storms.
It is gathered that suicide is common among poor Indian farmers who borrow money at high interests depending on the return from only a single crop.The present Modi government has taken some pragmatic steps to improving the farming life of the farmers. But it is really unfortunate that farmers committing suicide in the fear of loan re-payment!
I strongly feel that the Indian government should adopt some special policies to protect the poor farmers including bringing them under crop insurance. The government need to make the poor famers feel sound and secure.
Yours truly,
Professor M Zahidul Haque
Department of Agricultural Extension & Information System
Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University
Dhaka.
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