Farmer Suicides in India: 28 Years of Data 

Syllabus: GS3/Agriculture

Context

• According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, the period between 1995 and 2023 saw over 3.9 lakh farmer and agricultural laborer suicides in India.
  • Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana together accounted for over 70% of all suicides.

About

• After a decade of gradual decline, 2023 saw a 75% increase in farmer suicides compared to 2022, totaling 10,786 deaths.
  • Of these, 6,096 were agricultural labourers, overtaking cultivators (4,690 deaths) for the first time.
• It underscores deeper rural distress, labourers suffer from wage insecurity, seasonal unemployment, rising food prices, and limited social protection, leaving them especially vulnerable to economic shocks.

Root Causes of Farmer Suicides in India

• Indebtedness and Credit Crisis: Over 11,000 farmer suicides annually are linked to unpaid debts, often from private moneylenders charging 24–60% annual interest.
  • Many farmers are trapped in cycles of debt due to high input costs, crop failures, and lack of institutional credit.
  • Institutional credit remains inaccessible for smallholders.
• Crop Failures & Climate Stress: Erratic monsoons, prolonged droughts, and pest attacks have caused repeated crop failures.
  • Maharashtra, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh are hotspots due to climate-induced yield collapse.
• Input Cost Inflation: Rising costs of fertilizers, seeds, and diesel have outpaced the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
  • Farmers investing ₹20,000–₹30,000 per acre often recover less than half.
• Market Distortions & Price Volatility: Absence of assured procurement, dependence on middlemen, and market glut for perishable crops push prices below production cost.
• Institutional Failure & Delayed Compensation: Compensation schemes (PMFBY, Kisan Credit Cards) often face delays or mismanagement, leading to despair post-harvest losses.
• Socio-Psychological Factors: Long-term debt, lack of social security, and cultural stigma around bankruptcy trigger mental health issues among farmers.
• Land Fragmentation and Low Productivity: 85% of holdings are under 2 hectares, making them economically unviable for mechanization or irrigation investment.
• Policy Gaps: Inadequate implementation of support schemes, lack of crop insurance penetration, and insufficient procurement at Minimum Support Prices (MSP) have left farmers vulnerable.
  • India’s rural distress is a crisis of structural inequality, policy neglect, and market vulnerability along with the crop failure or debt, that demands long-term systemic change rather than temporary fixes.

Regional Concentration of Agrarian Distress

• Southern and Western India account for 72.5% of all farmer suicides recorded since 1995.
  • Andhra Pradesh and Telangana together have reported over 170,000 suicides during this period.
  • After Telangana’s creation in 2014, the new state quickly emerged as a high-crisis zone, inheriting the most vulnerable cotton-growing districts.
• Madhya Pradesh ranks among the top contributors, highlighting that agrarian distress transcends regional boundaries.

Key Government Efforts to Prevent Farmer Suicides

• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY): Aims to reduce financial distress and dependency on informal credit.
  • Covers losses due to natural calamities, pests, and diseases.
• Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme: Offers short-term credit to farmers at subsidized interest rates.
  • Helps reduce reliance on high-interest informal loans, a major factor in farmer indebtedness.
• Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN): Provides direct income support of ₹6,000 per year to small and marginal farmers.
  • Intended to supplement income and ensure basic financial security.
• National Suicide Prevention Strategy (2022): India’s first comprehensive suicide prevention policy, aiming to reduce suicide mortality by 10% by 2030.
  • Includes rural mental health outreach through programs like:
    • Tele-MANAS: A 24/7 tele-mental health helpline.
    • District Mental Health Programme (DMHP): Offers community-based mental health services.
    • Manodarpan: Focuses on adolescent mental health and school-based counseling.
  • Legal and Policy Frameworks:
    • Mental Healthcare Act, 2017: Decriminalizes suicide and mandates mental health care access.
    • Health Policy 2014: Recognizes mental health as a critical component of public health.
• State-Level Interventions:
  • Maharashtra: Special packages for distressed farmers, loan waivers, and counseling centers.
  • Andhra Pradesh & Telangana: Focused studies and policy reforms to address regional agrarian crises.

MGNREGA and the Period of Relief

• From 2010 to 2019, farmer suicides declined significantly across multiple states.
• The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was pivotal in this turnaround, providing wage security during droughts and non-farming seasons.
• Other measures like expanded crop insurance and debt relief schemes helped stabilize rural incomes.
  • Kerala saw suicides fall from 1,118 (2005) to 105 (2014).
  • West Bengal reported zero suicides by 2012.
  • Madhya Pradesh experienced a sustained reduction after years of crisis.

Way Forward

• Institutional Credit Access: Strengthening rural banking and reducing dependence on informal lenders.
• Legal Backing for MSP: As recommended by the Supreme Court panel, legally guaranteeing MSP could provide a safety net for farmers.
• Mental Health Support: Expanding rural mental health services and destigmatizing mental illness.
• Climate-Resilient Agriculture: Promoting sustainable practices and crop diversification to mitigate climate risks.

Source: DTE