10,786 farmers and agri labourers committed suicide in India in 2023, Maharashtra reports the highest 38% of them followed by Karnataka at 22% : NCRB

NEW DELHI: A total of 10,786 persons involved in farming sector (consisting of 4,690 farmers/cultivators and 6,096 agricultural labourers) have committed suicide in 2023, accounting for 6.3% of total suicides victims (1, 71,418) in the country, shows the NCRB report of the ministry of home affairs. The number of such suicides, however, declined by more than 4% in 2023 compared to 2022 when 11,290 persons involved in the farming operations committed suicide. The report shows that Maharashtra continues to witness the highest number of such suicides (4,151), contributing over 38% of overall farm-related suicides, followed by Karnataka (2,423), Andhra Pradesh (925), Madhya Pradesh (777) and Tamil Nadu (631). Maharashtra and Karnataka saw higher suicides among farmers than agricultural lab