Every Day, 15 Farmers Died By Suicide in India in 2021; Biggest Spike in 5 Years: Govt Data

As many as around 15 farmers and 15 agricultural labourers died by suicide every day in 2021, accounting for nearly 7 per cent of the total suicides reported in India, the highest number of such deaths reported since 2017, as per official data analysed by CNN-News18.

According to recent data by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) titled Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2021, persons engaged in the farming sector accounted for nearly 6.6 per cent of the total suicides reported in India.

“A total of 10,881 persons involved in the farming sector (consisting of 5,318 farmers/cultivators and 5,563 agricultural labourers) have committed suicides during 2021, accounting for 6.6% of total suicides victims (1,64,033) in the country. Out of 5,318 farmer/cultivator suicides, a total of 5,107 were male and 211 were female,” the report stated.

Of the 5,318 farmers/cultivators, 4,806 were land-owning cultivators or without the assistance of agricultural labourers and 512 were those who cultivate on leased land or landless agricultural labourers or sharecroppers/tenants.

2021: Highest farmers suicide in 5 years

Between 2017 and 2021, nearly 53,000 persons engaged in the farming sector died by suicide. Of these, close to 28,600 (55%) were farmers. The 2021 report showed the highest number of farmer suicide since 2017.

Maharashtra worst hit

In 2021, Maharashtra was the worst-hit state with at least 4,064 agrarian suicide cases, of which 2,640 were farmers. At least 2,429 farmers were engaged in cultivating their land with or without the assistance of agricultural labourers. The remaining 211 were cultivating on leased land/ employed on lease or working on others’ land with or without the assistance of agricultural labourers.

Maharashtra was followed by Karnataka which reported 2,169 suicides, including 1,170 farmers. Five states: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu – recorded about 80 per cent of total suicides in the farming sector and about 85 per cent of farmers’ suicide.

On the other hand, the report showed states like West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep and Puducherry reported zero suicides of farmers/cultivators as well as agricultural labourers. In addition, Goa, Gujarat, and Mizoram also recorded zero agrarian suicide cases.

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