In India Organic Farmers Should Have Lower Risk of Suicide

About 16,000 farmers a year commit suicide in India, unable to recover the costs of expensive fertilizers and seeds.HopeTracker| Today’s WSJ follows this ongoing dialogue and debate with a story today about organic farming in India. Before talking turkey about farming, let us share the fact that 16,000 farmers commit suicide in India each year. About a quarter live in Vidarbha, focus of today’s WSJ article: Organic Farmers Seek Healthier Future.

The inference of the article is that farmers commit suicide after investing in the cost of big pesticides, not offset with increased revenues significant enough to cover the costs.

This is a positive article about the financial benefits of ‘going organic’ from a financial perspective. Yes, the yields are lower with organics, which may not help in feeding the burgeoning global population. But annual profits have gone up and drought isn’t nearly as deadly as before, because organic soil is infused with nutrients which boost water absorption during rainfall by an estimated 16,000 gallons per acre.