A farmer of Hagaribagija village, on the outskirts of Kendrapara town, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself yesterday following crop failure in the recent floods. The deceased farmer, Ananta Charana Rout (54) had raised paddy on two acres of land after obtaining a loan of Rs 40,000 from two money lenders for purchasing paddy seed and fertiliser. However, the paddy saplings were damaged in the recent floods due to which, Rout had to face loss. "My husband committed suicide due to crop loss. After the loss, he ran from pillar to post to get loan from banks. But none helped him as a result of which, he took the extreme step," said Bidulata, widow of Rout. "Last month, flood water entered our paddy fields, when the water receded, all the paddy saplings had rotten," said Chaitanya, Rout's younger brother. This is not the first time that farmers have suffered due to floods. Farmer leaders attribute the faulty agricultural policy of the government as the main reason behind woes of flood-affected farmers of the State. "The Government is yet to formulate a concrete policy to insure the agricultural lands and as a result, a large number of farmers are not covered by any insurance company and they have to suffer at the time of any natural disaster," said district Krushak Sabha secretary Gayadhar Dhal. Today, the district Krushak Sabha submitted a memorandum to District Collector S Panda demanding Rs 5 lakh compensation for the kin of Raut. The Collector has reportedly assured them of initiating an inquiry into Raut's death.