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Context

Maharashtra and Karnataka have been the consistent epicenters of farmer suicides for over two decades, according to a 28-year analysis of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

Farmer Suicides in India

Farmer suicide in India is a persistent, complex socio-economic crisis. Thousands of farmers and laborers take their lives yearly due to economic distress, environmental shocks, and inadequate policies.

Key Data and Recent Trends

Based on the analysis of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data from 1995 to 2023, Maharashtra and Karnataka are the primary epicenters of India's agrarian crisis.

State-Specific Statistics (2023)

• Maharashtra: Recorded 4,151 farmer suicides.
• Karnataka: Recorded 2,423 farmer suicides.
• Regional Impact: Southern and western India account for 72.5% of all farmer suicides since 1995. Other severely affected states include Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh.

Key Drivers of the Crisis

• Bt Cotton Failure: In rain-fed regions, the rapid spread of Bt cotton led to rising input costs and failed to deliver promised yields or pest resistance.
• Economic Factors: Reduced subsidies and increased imports following India joining the WTO in 1995 weakened farm incomes.
• Debt and Policy: Chronic debt caused by repeated crop failures, collapsing prices, weak crop insurance, and lack of institutional credit.

National Trends and Shifts

• Total Deaths: At least 394,206 farmers and agricultural laborers died by suicide between 1995 and 2023.
• Recent Surge: Suicides increased by over 75% in 2023 (10,786 deaths) compared to 2022.
• Laborer Vulnerability: For the first time, agricultural laborers (6,096 deaths) accounted for a larger share of suicides than cultivators (4,690 deaths) in 2023, highlighting acute wage insecurity and seasonal unemployment.  

Root Causes Behind Farmer Suicides

Economic Factors

• Indebtedness: Farmers' loans for inputs (seeds, fertilizer, equipment) become an inescapable debt cycle when crop failure or low prices prevent repayment. Exorbitant interest rates (24-60%) from informal moneylenders severely exacerbate this financial stress.
• Rising Input Costs: The cost of agricultural inputs (e.g., GM seeds like Bt Cotton, fertilizers, pesticides, and machinery) has risen disproportionately to the increase in income from produce.
• Price Volatility & Lack of Remunerative Prices: Farmers are forced into distress sales below MSP due to fluctuating prices and poor procurement/market integration.
• Land Fragmentation: Over 89% of land holdings in India are less than two hectares. These small and marginal farms are economically unviable, making it difficult to invest in technology and achieve economies of scale. (Source: NSO, PIB)

Environmental Factors

• Dependence on Monsoon: Rainfed agriculture covers 51% of India's net sown area and produces 40% of the total food, making it susceptible to monsoon variability. (Source: Agriculture Ministry)
• Climate Change & Natural Calamities: Frequent crop failures, due to increased droughts, floods, and erratic weather, are a major source of distress; almost two-thirds of India faced drought-prone conditions from 2020 to 2022. (Source: UN Convention to Combat Desertification).
• Soil Degradation & Water Scarcity: Green Revolution's intensive farming caused soil degradation and water scarcity, reducing crop yields.

Social and Policy Factors

• Lack of Institutional Credit: Small/marginal farmers often lack formal credit, forcing them to use informal moneylenders.
• Policy Gaps: Poor scheme implementation, low crop insurance uptake, and inadequate Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement make farmers vulnerable.
• Social Pressures: Failure to repay debts or support family results in lost social standing and honor, causing severe psychological stress and stigma.

Government Initiatives to Curb Agrarian Distress

Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Limit Hike: Enabling farmers to secure cheap institutional credit (4% with timely repayment) for higher operational costs and decrease reliance on informal moneylenders.

PM-KISAN: The scheme provides ₹6,000 annually directly to farmers in 3 equal installments.  

Viksit Bharat-G RAM G Act, 2025

The government replaced MGNREGA with the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, a statutory change to address rural distress and drought-driven migration.

• Increased Employment: It guarantees 125 days of wage employment per household (up from 100 days).
• Drought-Proofing Focus: The Act prioritizes "Water Security" as a key vertical, mandating the creation of assets like water harvesting structures and flood drainage to directly mitigate future drought risks. 

PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojanaa: A new scheme targets 100 low-productivity (often drought-prone) districts to boost yield via site-specific interventions, improved irrigation, and crop diversification.

National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF): The mission launched to promote chemical-free farming to lower costs, boost soil water retention, and improve climate resilience.

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY): Subsidized crop insurance scheme that provides financial support to farmers against crop loss due to natural calamities, pests, diseases, and wild animal attacks.

Persistent Challenges in Curbing Farmer Suicides

Implementation Gaps: Many well-intentioned schemes suffer from poor last-mile delivery, corruption, and bureaucratic delays, preventing benefits from reaching the most vulnerable.

Lack of Awareness: Many farmers, especially small and marginal ones, don't know about or how to use the available schemes.

Inadequate Insurance Penetration: Despite PMFBY, a large number of farmers remain outside the insurance net, and claim settlements are often delayed.

 Social Obligations: High expenditures on social ceremonies, medical emergencies, and education further drive families into debt cycles that the agricultural income cannot cover.

Structural Issues: Problems like land fragmentation, poor irrigation, and weak market linkages are yet to be fully addressed.

Mental Health Stigma: Chronic distress is often compounded by the social shame of bankruptcy and the lack of accessible mental health services in rural areas.

Way Forward

Strengthening Institutional Credit: Ensuring timely and adequate access to formal credit for all farmers, especially small and marginal ones, through simplified procedures.

Income Diversification: Promoting allied activities like dairy farming, poultry, horticulture, and agro-forestry to reduce sole dependency on crop cultivation and provide alternative income streams.

Ensuring Remunerative Prices: Strengthening the MSP regime with a robust procurement mechanism and reforming agricultural markets to ensure farmers get a fair price for their produce.

Mental Health Support: Expanding access to mental health counseling and creating community-based support systems to destigmatize mental health issues in rural India.

Implement Swaminathan Commission Report: The core recommendation of providing an MSP of at least 50% above the comprehensive cost of production (C2) needs to be addressed to ensure farming is profitable. Other recommendations on land reforms, credit, and irrigation also need urgent attention.

Strengthen Agricultural Markets: As suggested by the Ashok Dalwai Committee on Doubling Farmers' Income, reforms should focus on:

• Promoting Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to enhance the collective bargaining power of small farmers.
• Investing in post-harvest infrastructure like warehouses, cold storage, and food processing units to reduce wastage and enable value addition.
• Creating a unified national market for agricultural produce to ensure better price discovery for farmers.

Build Climate Resilience: Increase public investment in micro-irrigation (drip and sprinkler), watershed management, and rainwater harvesting. Promote research and adoption of drought-resistant crop varieties.

Learn from International Best Practice

• Learning from countries like Israel on water management and precision agriculture.
• Restricting access to highly lethal pesticides has also proven effective in reducing suicides in countries like Sri Lanka.  

To end the crisis of farmer suicides in India, a holistic solution is needed, combining government safety nets with systemic changes to address agrarian distress, ensure fair income, build climate resilience, and provide accessible mental health support.

Source: DOWNTOEARTH