Farmers’ suicides result in immeasurable social, psychological, and economic costs to families and rural communities (Lovelock and Cryer 2009). Farmers’ suicides (Box 1) are becoming a major socioeconomic issue in India, leading to farmers’ agitations and political debates.
These include: shrinking size of landholdings, unstable markets, erratic climatic conditions, and a gradual decline in the availability and productivity of natural resources, which has currently led to a distress-like situation, which adversely affect the farmers.
CONTEXTĭespite its substantial presence and contribution to rural livelihoods, Indian agriculture faces several challenges. Extension services should play a crucial role in preventing farmers’ suicides – by assisting them to fathom the stress and suicide process, identifying vulnerable groups, providing telephonic advice and counseling, and creating community-based institutions that can educate and help farmers, argue P Sethuraman Sivakumar and P Venkatesan here. A key aspect of any suicide prevention strategy is our ability to understand the suicide process and manage the predisposing, protective, and precipitating factors so as to prevent these suicides. Increasing farm distress and the resulting farmer suicides are areas that need urgent attention.
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