Suicide by Karnataka farmers, farm labourers up 23% even as rest of India sees a drop

Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh were the only two states in the top-five that saw a spike in suicides by people engaged in agriculture sector.

New Delhi: Suicides by farmers and agricultural labourers have come down slightly in 2024 but Karnataka saw a 22.61 per cent rise – from 2,423 to 2,971 – in such cases during the year, the 'Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2024' report has said.

The report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released on Wednesday showed that there were 10,546 suicides of people engaged in farming sector across the country in 2024 as against 10,786 cases in 2023, recording a 2.22 per cent decrease.

Of the 10,546 cases of suicides, 4,633 were of farmers while 5,913 cases were of agricultural labourers. If one compares it with the overall number of suicides in the country, those in the farming sector account for 6.2 per cent.

An analysis showed that Karnataka, which is second in the list after Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh were the only two states in the top-five that saw a spike in suicides by people engaged in agriculture sector.

A break up of data showed 1,770 farmers – up from 1,425 – and 1,201 agricultural labourers – up from 998 – died by suicide in Karnataka during 2024, indicating a tough year for those engaged in the farming sector that year in the state. Overall, 2,811 men and 160 women died by suicide in Karnataka.

Nationally, Maharashtra had the highest number of such suicides at 3,824 – down from 4,151 – and it included 3,604 men and 220 women.

Andhra Pradesh with 780 cases – down from 925 – and Tamil Nadu with 503 cases – down from 631 – followed Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh – with 835 cases, which is an increase from 777 – in the top-five list.

Among the states, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan and Puducherry also recorded a rise, though marginally, in cases of suicides by those in the farming community. Incidentally, the reasons for farmers’ suicides were not recorded in the report.

Of the 4,633 farmers who took their own lives, the report showed, 4,134 were cultivating in their own land while 499 had taken land on lease. Among those farmers who owned land but died by suicide, 2080 belonged to Maharashtra while 1,617 belonged to Karnataka.

All India Kisan Sabha General Secretary Vijoo Krishnan said the NCRB statistics does not reflect the reality of the country, as it does not include the suicides of the poor peasantry, who became migrant workers due to agrarian crisis in rural areas.

“The intensity of the agrarian crisis in the country is very high. A number of agricultural labourers had to leave their rural households as there is no job creation. Statistical jugglery will not help farmers or agricultural labourers or hide the crisis,” he said.