Representative photo.

BENGALURU: Newly appointed agriculture minister N H Shivashankar Reddy on Thursday said as many as 69 farmers committed suicide in the beginning of the 2018-19 financial year.

“All of these cases are being investigated at the Taluks, with a separate committee at the ground level looking into the matter. The numbers are certainly a concern and we are looking into it,” said Reddy.

According to the minister, while 49 of them have been confirmed as suicides due to farm debts, another 20 are still under investigation with other reasons being attributed to the suicides.

Reddy said the department is looking into the fact that as many as 19 suicides have taken place in Dharwad district alone and the reasons attributed to it.

Apart from Dharwad, the other districts which has seen a high number of farmer suicides in the last two months is Belagavi (9) and Haveri (7).

“We are expecting the loan waiver, as promised by the chief minister, in the upcoming budget. This should give the farmers some respite and relief. The other aspect is to sensitize farmers and ensure that they are given assistance by the government,” said the minister.

Reddy said the government is also looking at ensuring that proper storage and transportation facilities are provided to the farmers to take the produce from their farms to the market.

“There is also an urgent need to provide proper marketing system for getting the farmers a better rate for their produce, despite the online trading platform by the previous government having helped. We will try to ensure a better marketing system is in place,” he said.

