Abstract: There is a general perception that agriculture is the backbone of Punjab economy. No doubt, Industrial sector and service sector are growing at a remarkable rate in the present scenario but still majority of the state's population resides in rural areas and they depend on agriculture and its allied activities including livestock, forestry & logging, fishery etc. Farmers in Punjab witnessed financial disorder and committed suicide, which recorded the largest wave of suicide in agriculture sector during last 16 years. Farmer suicide is a very complex phenomenon, largely associated with economic, social and psychological agony of the victim as well as their families. In the recent years, huge number of farmers have committed suicide due to rapid increase in debt, repeated crop failure, natural calamities, lack of alternative sources of income, exploitation by moneylenders, increase in the cost of production, sinking water table and overall rapidly diminishing profitability of agriculture etc. Today, farmers in most production districts such as shri Muktsar sahib, Patiala, Fridkot, SAS Nagar and Fatehgarh sahib are ending their lives because of all problems mentioned above, Here, an attempt is made to find out the root causes which force farmers to commit suicide in Punjab and also to cite and compare data of farmer's suicide. To reintegrate the affected farmers from this chronic situation, some innovative remedies like crop insurance, contract farming, extension services, agricultural credit etc. are also suggested, which can be implemented with sincerity by the government.
Keywords: Farmers, Punjab, suicide, causes, innovative.
Title: FARMER'S SUICIDE IN PUNJAB: ROOT CAUSES AND CURES
Author: Swarnjeet Kaur
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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