227 farmers committed suicide in Odisha in last 5 years, but none due to loan burden: Minister

The Odisha government on Tuesday said a total of 227 farmer suicide cases were reported in the state in the last five years, but none of them were due to loan burden.

This was informed to the assembly by Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy in reply to a question.

"A total of 227 farmers had committed suicide between 2013-14 and 2017-18. However, loan burden was not the reason for them to take such an extreme step," the minister said in a written reply.

One farmer in Basta block of Balasore district had committed suicide due to crop loss, the minister said, adding, the other farmers had ended their lives due to different reasons, including family problems.

The minister also said that out of the 227 alleged farmer suicides in the state, the case of Brunda Sahu of Bargarh district, who committed suicide on November 1, 2017, was still under investigation.

"The alleged suicide may not be due to debt burden and investigation is on," Maharathy said.