Maharashtra: Growing farm distress brings farmer suicides back under spotlight

Even as a deficient monsoon this year has deepened concerns over crop losses and mounting distress in parts of Maharashtra, the state government informed the Assembly on Thursday that 6,669 farmers and agricultural labourers died by suicide in 2023, according to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) estimates.

In a written reply to a question raised by NCP MLA Dharamraobaba Atram, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Makrand Patil said the official figures showed that 4,150 of those who died by suicide were farmers, while 2,519 were agricultural labourers.

The minister said the data was based on the NCRB's 2023 estimates.

According to the government's reply, 77 women agricultural labourers were among those who died by suicide during the year.

The figures were disclosed amid renewed concern over the condition of the farm sector, with several parts of Maharashtra witnessing below-normal rainfall during the ongoing monsoon season, raising fears over delayed sowing, crop stress and worsening rural distress.

Responding to another question on whether the suicides of 29 agricultural labourers who did not own farmland had been excluded from the official list, Patil said the claim was "partially true".

However, he did not elaborate on the response or clarify whether those cases had been excluded from government records.

The government's statement came amid concerns over the classification of farm suicide cases and whether all eligible agricultural labourers are being reflected in the official data.

Questions have also been raised in the past over the criteria used to distinguish farmers from agricultural labourers and the eligibility of families for compensation and relief.

The issue of agrarian distress has remained politically sensitive in Maharashtra, which has consistently reported one of the country's highest numbers of farmer suicides. Opposition parties have repeatedly linked such deaths to crop failures, indebtedness, erratic weather, rising input costs and inadequate returns from agriculture.

The latest figures were placed before the Assembly as lawmakers discussed issues concerning the state's farm sector.