Farmers driven to suicide as rain, hail wreck crops

April is usually a time of celebration for millions of farmers across northern India. The winter wheat crop is ready to be harvested, and there's money to clear debts and plan future planting.

This year, however, unseasonal rain and hailstorms in March devastated millions of acres of farmland, causing heartache for debt-ridden farmers, and leading dozens to kill themselves.

In Uttar Pradesh alone, more than 40 farmers have taken their own lives, according to the state's government. The largely agrarian state - India's most populous with 210 million people - has declared a state of emergency to seek funds from the federal government to compensate farmers.

"Normally this time of the year, we are a happy lot. Our granary is full and we clear all our dues by selling our produce," said Vinod Kumar, an Uttar Pradesh farmer. "This year we lost everything. We are left with nothing. Neither food for us nor fodder for animals."

The rain-stricken swath of northern India - across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana states, and into villages on the outskirts of New Delhi - is the breadbasket of the country, producing most of India's wheat.

The rain and hail, and the strong winds that accompanied them, were so unexpected that farmland was often flooded within hours.

Stalks of wheat that were nearly ready for harvest were either submerged under water or flattened by the wind. Farmland of potatoes and onions, both staples in the Indian diet, were also damaged.

With dreams of a good harvest, most small-and medium-scale farmers borrow money from local lenders, often at exorbitant interest rates, to buy seed and fertilizer and hire tractors to plow the fields.

Mohammad Sabir of Wazirpur village in Uttar Pradesh was so shocked to see the destruction of his wheat fields that he hanged himself from a mango tree on his farm in early April.

"A calamity has struck Uttar Pradesh," the state's chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav, said, adding that rain had destroyed crops in 44 districts, affecting 750,000 farmers.

Uttar Pradesh's chief secretary, Alok Ranjan, said 41 farmers had killed themselves in the last two weeks.

Ranjan said the state government had set aside 5 billion rupees ($81 million) to compensate farmers for their losses. It has asked the federal government to assist with another 10 billion rupees.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the agriculture ministry to quickly allocate funds for farmers from the National Disaster Relief Fund.

But even as the state governments attempt to control the damage faced by the farmers, the amount of compensation has angered many, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, where some received an initial payment of less than a dollar per acre.