Of the total 12,602 farm sector suicides in 2015, 8,007 were farmers while 4,595 were agricultural labourers
New Delhi: A widespread drought and rising indebtedness led to 12,602 suicides by farmers and agricultural labourers in 2015, shows data released by the National Crime Records Bureau.
According to the report ‘Accidental deaths and suicides in India 2015’, the total number of suicides in the farming sector is 2% higher than the 12,360 recorded in 2014.
Both 2014 and 2015 were drought years, triggering farm distress across several states, and the data shows that just seven states accounted for 87.5% of the suicides in the farming sector in 2015.
Maharashtra (with 4,291 suicides) fared the worst, the data shows, followed by Karnataka (1,569), Telangana (1,400), Madhya Pradesh (1,290), Chhattisgarh (954), Andhra Pradesh (916) and Tamil Nadu (606).
Of the total 12,602 farm sector suicides in 2015, 8,007 were farmers while 4,595 were agricultural labourers. In 2014, the corresponding numbers were 5,650 farmers and 6,710 agricultural labourers, meaning that suicides by cultivators rose 42% between 2014 and 2015 while that of farm hands fell 31.5%.
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