Farmer Suicides In Karnataka Up By 32 Per Cent: Centre

Union Minister for Agriculture Radhamohan Singh told the Parliament yesterday (16 March) that farmer suicides in Karnataka in 2016 have gone up by 32 per cent compared to the previous years, reports Deccan Herald. Quoting statistics from the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), Singh said that 2,079 farmers committed suicides in 2016 as against the 1,569 in 2015. Of the 2,079 suicides, 861 were labourers while the remaining 1,212 were cultivators.

This trend is in contrast to the national trend where farmer suicides have declined by 10 per cent.

Maharashtra however, still remains on top in farmer suicides reporting 3,661 suicides in 2016 as against 4,91 in 2015. Madhya Pradesh was ranked third, with 1321 suicides in 2016 as against 12910 in 2015.

The NCRB publishes a report of Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India annually. The 2016 report is yet to be released but provisional data has been provided to the Parliament. As per the 2015 report, the major cause for farmer’s suicides is bankruptcy and indebtedness.