The farmer's suicides in India reflect a deeply complex and tragic social issue. As of January 2026, this issue remains a major part of policy-making and social activism.

The latest report by the National Crime Records Bureau for the years 2023 to 2024 shows that about eleven thousand to twelve thousand people die every year by suicide, which means that a death occurs every hour. India is an agrarian country with about 70 % of its population depending on agriculture directly or indirectly; the agricultural sector has a 15% share in the economy.

There are various reasons for farmers' suicides, namely floods, drought, debt, use of genetically modified seeds and use of lower quality of produced yields. Studies show that the main cause of farmers' suicides is their inability to pay debts. The economist at the World Bank, Panagariya, says that there has been a consistent cycle in which a greater burden and greater reliability is on informal modes of payment in farmers who die by suicide.

In 2023, the NCRB reported 10,786 suicides in the farming sector, accounting for about 6.3% of all suicides in India.

The recent data on farmers' suicides show slight fluctuations annually, but some regions have a higher number of deaths; Maharashtra consistently reports the highest numbers (often over 35% of the national total), specifically in the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions. Karnataka is the second-highest contributor, and it is often linked to drought-prone districts. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana also report higher rates, specifically in the cotton-growing areas.

Recent studies show that agricultural labourers (those who do not own land) account for a larger share of suicides (over 55%) compared to land-owning cultivators.

The Root Causes of Farmers' Suicides

Experts generally agree that there is no specific factor that causes a suicide but rather a series of distresses that involve debt payment, crop failure and climate change.

Debt payment is the primary driver. Farmers borrow money from local moneylenders as they don't have proper documents to take a loan from the bank; local moneylenders charge higher interest than the bank. When a crop fails, the interest multiples, leading to the farmer being stuck in a debt trap.

Erratic monsoons, unseasonal rains, and increasing pest attacks (like pink bollworm in cotton) lead to crop failure, since crops are the only means of livelihood for farmers. Crop failure leads to them making no money, and the farmers and their families being hungry.

There has been a sharp rise in the price of diesel, seeds and fertilisers, which a lot of farmers can't afford. Even if they can afford it, the selling price of crops often doesn't keep pace with inflation, which leads to the money that the farmers get from selling being less than the money they invested into inputs.

The market price is very volatile, global prices have crashed for commercial crops like cotton and soybeans, which in turn has left farmers unable to recover even from their basic investment.

Most often, farmers are the sole working members of the family, and the burden of bringing home income falls on their shoulders. They have familial expenses such as a daughter's marriage and parents' medical expenses, etc. They also lack access to free rural mental health support.

Government & Policy Responses

The Indian government has implemented various measures to help farmers, but their effectiveness in curbing the crisis is often questioned; PM-KISAN is a direct income support scheme that provides ₹6,000 per year to farmer families.

PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is a crop insurance scheme designed to provide financial support in case of natural calamities to farmers.

• Loan Waivers: State governments like Maharashtra and Karnataka frequently announce farm loan waivers to provide immediate relief, but critics argue these are short-term "band-aids."
• MSP Increases: There have been made regular hikes in Minimum Support Prices to guarantee a 50% profit margin over production costs.

Farmer suicides in India reveal a structural agrarian crisis rather than isolated personal failures. The data from NCRB and recent studies underline that, despite being the backbone of the Indian economy, farmers remain among its most vulnerable citizens. Indebtedness, volatile markets, rising input costs, climate change, and lack of institutional support together create a vicious cycle of distress. The fact that agricultural labourers, who do not own land, form a majority of these suicides further exposes the deep-rooted inequalities in rural India.

Government schemes like PM-KISAN, PMFBY, loan waivers, and MSP hikes are steps in the right direction, but their impact remains limited and uneven. Many small and marginal farmers still struggle to access formal credit, timely compensation, and fair prices. What is needed is a holistic, long-term approach: universal access to low-interest institutional loans, strengthened crop insurance with quicker payouts, better irrigation and climate-resilient farming, along with stable, remunerative markets. Equally important is the provision of rural mental health services and social security nets for farming families. Unless policy, economics, and mental health interventions are integrated, farmer suicides will continue to haunt India’s development story and expose the moral urgency of protecting those who feed the nation.

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REFERENCES:

Official Government Data (NCRB)

• The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is the primary official source. They publish the "Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India" (ADSI) report annually.
• Digital Sansad (Parliamentary Data): Official government replies to questions about farmer distress.
• Lok Sabha Answer on Farmer Suicides (July 2025)
• Rajya Sabha Answer on Marathwada Distress (March 2025)

Investigative Journalism & News Reports

• These provide real-time updates and ground-level stories from the "suicide belts."
• The Hindu: Uptick in Marathwada Farmer Suicides (2025)
• Down To Earth: Maharashtra Crisis Analysis (July 2025)
• Times of India: Data on Maharashtra's Nine-Month Toll (Dec 2025)

Academic Research & Analysis

• Detailed studies on the root causes like debt, policy gaps, and climate change. Scholar Publishing: The Impact of Policy on Farmer Suicide (2025 Review)
• ResearchGate: Farmer's Suicides in India: Issues and Concerns.
• Library Progress International: Trends and Policy Implications (2024 Study)

Background & Historical Context

• Wikipedia: Farmers' Suicides in India