The suicides of over 100 farmers since April in Karnataka has put the Congress government in panic mode. The chief cause of suicides is the high rate of interest charged by local moneylenders and inability of farmers to pay it on account of a failure of crops. The police conducted raids and took 50 moneylenders into custody. While this action is welcome, it is not going to solve the problem. Farmers need capital to invest in fertiliser, seeds, pesticides and water pumps and if it is not made available through the banking system, they will have no choice but to turn to moneylenders. This informal banking sector is not only expensive but quite ruthless when it comes to recovery. The state and Centre have launched several schemes, but is is obvious that they are not benefiting farmers who resort to suicide when all hope is lost. According to statistics released by the Union Agriculture Ministry about 3,000 farmers committed suicide in the last three years. Maharashtra is the epicentre of suicides with over 2,500 cases in 2014. Although they produce food for 1.27 billion people in the the country, the farming sector does not have access to the banking centre and this is proving to be a stumbling block. The Centre has been pushing for direct transfer of funds but more needs to be done to quicken the pace.
