Maharashtra: 21,219 Farmer Suicide Cases Were Reported in Five Districts in 24 Years

In five districts of the Amravati Revenue Division of Maharashtra, as many as 21,219 farmers have committed suicide in the last 24 years, according to an official report, posted PTI. This figure is of deaths reported between January 2001 and January 2025. The farmers of Amravati, Akola, Buldhana, Washim, and Yavatmal districts committed suicide,  the report said. This report includes 80 farmers from this region who committed suicide in January 2025.

As per the report, in the last 24 years following suicide numbers were recorded from each region:

5,395 farmers died by suicide in the Amravati district.
3,123 farmers died by suicide in the Akola district.
6,211 farmers died by suicide in the Yavatmal district.
4,442 farmers died by suicide in the Buldhana district.
2,048 farmers died by suicide in the Washim district.

As per the report, in January 2025 following suicide numbers were recorded from each region:

10 farmers died by suicide in Amravati
10 farmers died by suicide in Akola
34 farmers died by suicide in Yavatmal
10 farmers died by suicide in Buldhana
7 farmers died by suicide in Washim.

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Sharing the details about the reason behind farmers committing suicide, the official report stated 9,970 cases were eligible (for government compensation), 10,963 were ineligible, while 319 cases are pending for inquiry, as mentioned by the PTI report.

The government assisted only in 9,740 cases, the official report said. Only specific suicides are eligible for compensation under current rules and regulations, which include demonstrating that the act was committed due to crop losses, loan non-repayment, and non-personal reasons.

Crop failures, high interest rates, and reliance on unofficial lending sources are some of the reasons why farmers frequently find it difficult to repay loans, which can result in a debt cycle. When they fail to repay the loan, and they do not have any proper source of income, they end up committing suicide.

We can save farmers' lives if we concentrate on water management and contemporary farming methods. Micro-irrigation may be beneficial, but not enough farmers are using it.