Suicide Rate Climbs Among India's Farmers; High Cost of GM Farming, Debt, Poor Government Policy Blamed

EINNEWS, January 5---At least 200,000 farmers have committed suicide in India since the introduction of genetically modified crops altered the country's historic farming practices.

According to a report in the U.K. Independent, farmers are taking their own lives by drinking pesticides. Suicides are occurring at the rate of one every 30 minutes and sometimes involve multiple members of the same family.

India's agriculture historically has relied on heirloom seeds for production. But in the 1990s, under pressure from the World Bank to become globalized, the nation introduced genetically modified varieties. GM seeds are single use, requiring more purchases each year along with expensive pesticides. Many farms cannot afford the transition when yields are low and fail.

Years of drought and poor agricultural policy are also blamed for the widespread failure of agriculture in many Indian regions. The Indian government removed cotton subsidies in 1997, which resulted in a significant profit loss for many cotton farmers. But during that same year, GM varieties of cotton were also introduced, which many attribute directly to the crop failures that left the agriculture sector largely in ruin.

"Every suicide can be linked to Monsanto," scientist Vandana Shiva told the Independent. After subsidies were lifted, the cost of cotton production rose dramatically, especially when GM cotton was introduced because it required the application of expensive pesticides and herbicides.

Natural varieties of cotton do not necessarily require chemical applications to grow and flourish. And since farmers can save and reuse natural seeds every year, all is not lost during years of poorer yields because farmers can often try again the next year.

One statistic from a government report in India states that more than 90 percent of known suicide victims were in debt.