Farm sector suicides at 10,546 in 2024, second straight yearly decline: NCRB report

A total of 10,546 individuals engaged in the farming sector, including 4,633 farmers/cultivators and 5,913 agricultural labourers, died by suicide in 2024, accounting for 6.2% of the country’s total suicide victims (1,70,746), according to the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau.

The figure reflects a decline of over 2% compared to 2023, when 10,786 such deaths were recorded, marking the second consecutive year of reduction after a more than 4% drop in 2023 over 2022, according to Vishwa Mohan's Times of India report.

State-wise data shows Maharashtra reporting the highest number of such cases (3,824), followed by Karnataka (2,971), Madhya Pradesh (835), Andhra Pradesh (780) and Tamil Nadu (503). The NCRB also noted that agriculture employed around 26 crore people as per the 2011 Census, including nearly 12 crore cultivators and 14 crore agricultural labourers.


The report clarified that it only records the profession of individuals who died by suicide and does not establish any causal link. It also noted that higher numbers in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh coincide with regions where cash crops such as cotton and sugarcane are widely grown.

It further highlighted that crop failures or low yields often push distressed farmers towards moneylenders, while schemes such as crop insurance, affordable loans and income support may have contributed to the marginal decline.

The NCRB classifies “farmer/cultivator” as those who cultivate their own or leased land, while agricultural labourers are those whose primary income comes from farm work.

Several states and Union Territories, including Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Delhi, Ladakh and Lakshadweep, reported zero such suicides in 2024.

(With TOI inputs)