Suicides in farm sector rise to 10,677 in 2020

Out of 5,579 farmer/cultivator suicides, a total of 5,335 were male and 244 were female, showed the NCRB data. (Representative image: AP)

More than 10,000 people engaged in the farming sector ended their lives in 2020 with Maharashtra continuing to top the list of states, according to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

Some 10,677 people involved in the farming sector committed suicide last year, accounting for 7 percent of the 1,53,052 suicide deaths reported in the country. Out of the 10,677 people, 5,579 were farmers or cultivators and 5,098 were agricultural labourers.

The 2020 figure edged above 2019 when 10,281 farmers committed suicide, said the agency responsible for collecting and analysing crime data in the country. In 2019, 5,957 farmers or cultivators and 4,324 farm sector labourers had killed themselves.

The farmers on the suicide list this year comprised 5,335 males and 244 females, while the labourers involved 4,621 males and 477 females, the data showed.

Maharashtra stayed at the top of this dubious list with 37.5 percent share of the dead, followed by Karnataka at 18.9 percent, Andhra Pradesh at 8.3 percent, Madhya Pradesh at 6.9 percent, and Chhattisgarh at 5 percent.

The country saw a total of 1,53,052 suicides in 2020, rising 10 percent over 2019 when 1,39,123 people killed themselves, the report said. The rate of suicides also increased 8.7 percent in this one year, it said.

In a profession-wise categorisation of suicides in 2020, daily wage earners were the biggest chunk of such fatalities with 24.6 percent share of the pie, followed by housewives at 14.6 percent, self-employed at 11.3 percent, unemployed at 10.2 percent, professionals or salaried people at 9.7 percent, students at 8.2 percent, people engaged in farming at 7 percent, and retired persons at 1 percent, the data showed.

The NCRB data stated that 13.4 percent suicide victims in 2020 fell in the ‘other persons’ category.