The state government in the south Indian state pf Kerala has formed a high-level committee headed by additional chief secretary C Jayakumar to look into the matter of the growing number of farmer suicides in Wayanad.

The committee is required to report within a week to the government. Three instances of farmer suicides have been reported in Wayanad district within the last one week.

"The cabinet has taken a decision to stop acquiring agriculture land owned by debt-ridden farmers in Wayanad for the time being," said chief minister Oommen Chandy after attending a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Reports show that a heavy fall in ginger prices has put the farmers in a difficult position in the area. The debt ridden farmers are unable to return the loans on such low prices of their produce. Ginger prices have fallen to Rs. 550 a sack or 60 kg from a high price of Rs. 1,300 per sack around three months ago.

The prices have remained at this level for some time. Due to the high prices of ginger in the markets at the time, many farmers took to ginger farming in Kudaku in Karnataka after taking the land on high leases amounts. Many farmers in other states also followed suit and this resulted in high production, bringing down the prices to almost half of its level a few months ago, according to agriculture offocials.

Wayanad District Collector Gopalakrishna Bhatt has responded to the situation and has called an emergency meeting on Wednesday to evaluate the situation.