Mumbai: The Maharashtra government today said it is taking steps to insulate farmers from adverse market and weather conditions by helping them to have a regular income, and expects suicide cases in Vidarbha region to come down by 70 per cent this financial year from 2007-08, when this tragic phenomenon peaked.
“The major problem in the affected districts (of Vidarbha) are that farmers mainly were into monocropping in khariff season. They had to sustain themselves during the entire year from the income of only one season. We are now encouraging them to grow pulses, horticultural crops, floriculture, soyabean after harvesting khariff crop,” Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil told PTI here.
In Vidarbha, the main suicide prone districts are Akola, Amrawati, Buldhana, Washim, Yeotmal and Wardha. Farmer suicides were at its peak in 2007-08 with 2,395 cases, according government figures.
Patil said that under the Prime Minister package Rs 3,750 crore and Rs 1,075 crore in the state package has been set aside for various subsidies and training programmes for farmers in this region.
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