The farmers in India first came to consideration when a journalist highlighted the high amount of farmer suicides there in the 1990s. Initially, official reports about the suicides were denied, but more and more information continued to show up which showed the government that farmers were under intense stress. Over 17,500 farmers ended their lives each year between 2002 and 2006. Traces of farmer suicides in India have been accounted for all the way back to the beginning of the 1990s. One Indian state government even set up a department dedicated to the issue of farmer suicides because it was getting so sever. The total amount of suicides in India since 1997 is 199,132. The amount of farmers is decreasing due to thousands giving up agriculture in desperation for change. Apparently the cause of these suicides is debt and crop failure. Farmers take loans from the government in attempt to have a full crop, but cannot make enough rupees to repay the government.