One farmer died every 12 hours between April-August in Karnataka

​Bengaluru: In the 5 months between April 1 and August 31, at least one farmer committed suicide every 12 hours in Karnataka, now with standing various efforts by the state to address the issues causing agrarian distress.

Bengaluru Urban, all other districts reported farmer suicides during this period. According to the agriculture department, 283 farmer suicides were reported between April to August.

The northern and central districts affected the most. June recorded the highest, followed by May, while August saw the least. Figures for September will be available by the month-end while welcoming the loan waivers from the present and past governments, farmers argued that the focus should be on increasing their income.

As of December 31, 2017, the debts of farmer was about 10% of Karnataka’s Gross state Domestic Product (GSDP) in 2017-18 and 57% of the budget outlay for 2018-19 indicating the severity of the crisis

Data obtained from State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) states about 85 lakh farmers accounts have a debt over Rs 1.2 lakh crore in agriculture loans to 45 banks.