The Macro and Micro Point of View of Farmer Suicides in India

Depressive Disorders and Associated Factors among Farmers in Andhra Pradesh: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study

Background

In the two decades from 1995 to 2018, approximately 48 farmers committed suicide every day, accounting for over 0.4 million deaths. Despite farmer's mental health being a priority, studies on farmers' mental health in general and depressive disorders in particular are limited.

Aim

This study was conducted to find out the prevalence and factors associated with depressive disorders among farmers in Andhra Pradesh.

Materials and Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional survey among a random sample of 360 farmers. Depressive disorders were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9. Mild-to-moderate depressive disorders were the outcome variable. Factors associated with depressive disorders were identified using binary logistic regression.

Results

The overall prevalence of depressive disorders was 22.2% (95% CI = 18.0%-26.9%). Female farmers (AOR = 4.16; 95% CI = 1.19-14.57), farmers aged ≥57 years (AOR = 4.90; 95% CI = 1.44-16.63), and single farmers (AOR = 4.96; 95% CI = 2.08-11.80) have greater odds of having depressive disorders.

Conclusion

Efforts are required to address depressive disorders among farmers focusing on females, older farmers, and households reporting hospitalization. Since depressive disorders are closely associated with suicide attempts, these efforts are essential to avoid suicides resulting from depressive disorders.

Agrivoltaics: A Climate-Smart Agriculture Approach for Indian Farmers

India is a leader when it comes to agriculture. A significant part of the country’s population depends on agriculture for livelihood. However, many of them face challenges due to using unreliable farming techniques. Sometimes the challenges increase to the extent that they commit suicide. Besides, India is highly populated, and its population is steadily increasing, requiring its government to grow its GDP and increase its energy supply proportionately. This paper reviews integrating solar farming with agriculture, known as Agrivoltaics, as a Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) option for Indian farmers. This study is further supported by the Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis of agrivoltaics. Using the SWOT analysis, this article presents how agrivoltaics can make agriculture sustainable and reliable. This paper identifies rural electrification, water conservation, yield improvement, sustainable income generation, and reduction in the usage of pesticides as the strengths of agrivoltaics. Similarly, the paper presents weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to agrivoltaics in India. The research concludes with the findings that agrivoltaics have the potential of meeting multiple objectives such as meeting global commitments, offering employment, providing economic stability, increasing clean energy production capacity, conserving natural resources, and succeeding in several others. The paper also includes a discussion about the findings, suggestions, and implications of adopting agrivoltaics on a large scale in India.