Maharashtra witnessed 37 farmer suicides -- the highest among all states -- due to agrarian reasons till March this calendar year, Agricultural Minister Sharad Pawar informed Parliament today.
Seven farmers in Karnataka committed suicides for the same reason till June this fiscal year while the number for Andhra Pradesh is 3 till July this calendar year and Kerala just one, Pawar told Lok Sabha.
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No such incidents has been reported from other state governments and union territories, he added. In the whole of last year, 755 farmers had committed suicide due to agrarian reasons, Pawar said.
The Minister said the government has announced several measures to mitigate the hardships faced by farmers, including Rehabilitation Package of Rs 19,998 crore covering 31 suicide-prone districts in these four states.
Other packages have been announced to mitigate agrarian distress in some states. The Minister said that the government's focus is primarily on expansion of farm income, creation of non-farm income opportunities, improvement in productivity of rain-fed agriculture and increasing coverage of farm areas under protective irrigation.u00a0
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