Karnataka minister BC Patil stokes controversy again on farmers' suicide

Karnataka Agriculture Minister B C Patil stoked controversy again, on Tuesday, by stating that 'weak mind' is the cause of suicides among farmers.

Speaking to media persons, Patil said that the farmers decide to die by suicide, at times, when their mind becomes weak. “The policies of the government are not the cause for their extreme decisions. Not only farmers but even industrialists die by suicide. All suicides cannot be described as farmers' suicide,” he said.

It may be recalled that Patil had on December 3, 2020, at the College of Forestry in Ponnampet, Kodagu district, said that the farmers who end their lives without thinking about the future of their dependents are cowards.

Patil said, “We chalk out and implement so many policies, schemes and programmes for the welfare of farmers. Our wish is that nobody, no farmer, commits suicide. The suicide of farmers will not stop by just visiting the house of the deceased farmer, garland his body and condole his death. We have to chalk out plans for the welfare of farmers. The free capacity-building programmes to inculcate entrepreneurship and technical skills in food processing among aspiring and existing entrepreneurs by Mysuru-based CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) is one such initiative”.

“Under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PM-FME) Scheme of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, ‘One district one product’ programme is being implemented and a total of 500 entrepreneurs, in batches of 50 persons each, for six days, are being trained. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has earmarked Rs 490 crore for 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan'. The intention is to transform farmers into entrepreneurs. The farmers can process their agriculture produce, pack it and directly sell it to consumers. We have also asked the CFTRI Director to dedicate two days of the training period for training in marketing,” Patil said.