60% Vidarbha farmers suffering from mental illnesses; need for experts across rural areas: Study

Medical experts and activists have raised the need for recruiting trained counsellors in rural areas to counsel them.

A total of 60% of the farmers in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra could need help for mental illnesses, says a study by International Institute of Population Science (IIPS), Mumbai. Medical experts and activists have raised the need for recruiting trained counsellors in rural areas to counsel them.

A total of 60% of the farmers in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra could need help for mental illnesses (Satyabrata Tripathy/Hindustan Times)

Priyanka Bomble and Hemkhothang Lungdim, the authors of the study surveyed 300 households in Vidarbha. They found that 34.7% of the surveyed farmers suffered from somatic symptoms (a mental illness that leads to neurological issues including body ache), 55% complained of anxiety, 7.3% showed symptoms of social dysfunction and most importantly, 24.7% were diagnosed with severe depression. The study has been published in the international journal- Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health.

“This study has been conducted taking into account that often farmers suffer from mental issues which don’t get adequately addressed. There are several reasons, such as financial constraints and family issues that may lead to suicide. While mental illnesses may not lead to suicide, but it can contribute to it,” said Bomble, the principal author of the study. “Through, proper, on-time counselling, the farmers can be provided with the better mental strength to fight the odds,” she said.

Cases of anxiety and depression are highest among farmers who have taken loans above ₹25,000 for agricultural purposes.

In India, a total of 10,349 farmers and agricultural labourers committed suicide in 2018, as per National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) in 2020. Maharashtra has around 10% of the country’s population, accounting for the highest share in farm-related suicides at 34.7%. It is followed by Karnataka at 23.2%, Telangana 8.8%, Andhra Pradesh 6.4% and Madhya Pradesh at 6.3%, data showed.

The study has also found that farmers who are less educated are more vulnerable to developing mental disorders than those with more years of education.

“With the higher educational qualification, people develop a better understanding of handling economic crisis. Additionally, farmers who stay in a joint family setup have a higher capacity to cope with mental illness, owing to emotional and financial support,” said Bomble.

In 2015, the state government identified 14 districts where ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist Scheme) along with social workers and psychiatrists were asked to counsel farmers who suffer from mental illnesses especially depression and anxiety. According to a release issued by the state government in 2019, as many as 12,700 personnel were trained under the scheme in these districts.

The scheme is, however, failing to provide adequate support to farmers with depression due to unavailability of trained counsellors, claim social workers working with the farmers.

“In our studies, we have found that farmers aren’t even aware that ASHA workers provide counselling. But we can’t blame the workers who already have too much on their shoulders. We need specially trained counsellors for the implementation of the scheme,” said Seema Kulkarni, attached to Makaam, a non-government organisation that works for farmers in the state.

There is almost 80% vacancy in the number of psychiatrists in government-run district hospitals and health posts. Patient with symptoms of mental depression has to travel long distances to avail psychiatric help. “These health centres have an inadequate number of psychiatric medicines for the treatment of farmers. There is a need for developing a community-based support system at the grass-root levels,” Kulkarni added.

In several instances, through psychological autopsy (a process to determine a psychological profile of a person after his/her death), it’s learnt that farmers who committed suicide, showed signs of depression and anxiety when alive. Activists claim that since the mental disorder is still considered a taboo, the state government isn’t paying much importance to the scheme.

“If a famous personality claims he/she is suffering from depression, people listen to them. But when poor farmers commit suicide because of the same mental illness, government officials refuse to accept it,” said Ashok Tangade of Jagar Pratishthan, which works in drought-affected Beed.

Dr Sadhana Tayade, director, Directorate Health Services, Maharashtra said, “We have recently posted an advertisement to recruit 20 psychiatrists in different primary health care centres in rural Maharashtra.”