On India’s Farms, a Plague of Suicide

More than 17,000 farmers in India committed suicide in 2003, and the government admits that, from all appearances, the despair continues to rise. Market-oriented economic reforms in recent years gave farmers access to global competition and genetically modified seeds that withstand extreme drought or pests. But the new seeds are costly, and lenders charge 5 percent monthly interest and take over the small farms when loans go unpaid – often the case when wealthy countries subsidize their farmers and global prices for agricultural products fall. India’s population is about 1.1 billion, and two thirds of the citizens rely on agriculture for a livelihood. Surveys show that almost half the farmers would abandon agriculture if they could. – YaleGlobal