According to the data of NCRB, of the 12,602 persons, 8,007 were farmers or cultivators
New Delhi: Around 12,602 persons in the farm sector committed suicide in 2015, almost 2 per cent more than in 2014, highlighting the distress in rural areas of India because of two consecutive years of drought.
According to the data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), of the 12,602 persons, 8,007 were farmers or cultivators, while the remaining 4,595 were farm labourers.
People engaged in the farm sector comprise farmers and farm labourers.
Both in 2014 and 2015, the number of suicides in the farm sector was 9.4 per cent of the total.
The number of farmers committing suicide rose more than 41 per cent in 2015 over 2014.
The number of farm labourers committing suicide dropped more than 31 per cent, the data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) show.
Nearly 39 per cent of the suicides by farmers were because of bankruptcy, indebtedness or farming-related issues, which also accounted for almost 20 per cent of the suicides by farm labourers.
The number of suicides by small and marginal farmers who owned less than 1 hectare (1 hectare=10,000 square metres) accounted for almost 73 per cent of the suicides.
In 2014 too, almost 73 per cent of the suicides were by small and marginal farmers.
“A highly erratic and inadequate monsoon in the last 2-3 years has aggravated the problems of persons engaged in the farming sector, manifestations of these in extreme situations can be seen in the form of farmers suicides,” the NCRB said.
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