New Delhi (CNN) Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has cleared more than $560,000 worth of debt owed by farmers, amid a wider agricultural crisis that has forced many rural workers into extreme poverty.

In a blog post on Tuesday, he wrote he had "taken care" of 1,398 farmers in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where Bachchan was born, by paying off their debt.

"Gratitude leans across to the desire of removing some of the burdens that farmers continue to suffer from...and the inner peace it generates when the desired is completed," Bachchan wrote.

He added that banks had issued the farmers with a one-time settlement document and certificate.

More than 50% of India's population is involved in the agricultural and allied sector, which contributes 18% of the country's GDP.