Farmer suicides in Marathwada rising at alarming rate

A report by the Divisional Commissioner's Office has revealed that 269 farmers have committed suicide in Marathwada, Maharashtra between January and March 2025. The main reason for this is the failure of the crop to grow as expected and immense financial pressure due to debt.

This sad statistic represents a higher increase than the 204 suicides recorded during the same period last year, highlighting a worrying 32% increase in suicide incidents. Farmers are facing severe water shortages and crop losses, which are trapping them in a vicious cycle of debt due to insufficient rainfall and ultimately driving them to suicide.

Beed district has the highest number of suicides. 71 farmers committed suicide from January to March 2025. In 2024, 44 farmers committed suicide during the same months. The rising suicide rate in the Marathwada region, which comprises eight districts of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Dharashiv, Latur, Beed, Nanded, Hingoli, Parbhani and Jalna, highlights the growing challenges faced by farmers.

In view of the growing crisis, the Divisional Commissioner's Office has sought financial assistance from the state government to provide financial assistance to the families of the deceased, which will be as per the existing government schemes.

A total of INR 295 lakh has been requested from the collectorate offices of eight districts. INR 39 lakh has been requested from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, INR 20 lakh from Jalna, INR 95 lakh from Nanded, INR 57 lakh from Beed, INR 25 lakh from Latur and INR 59 lakh from Dharashiv.

Government records show that INR 18 lakh has been given as assistance to families affected by farmer suicides in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where 50 suicides occurred between January and March; 15 families are eligible for the assistance.

There has been a significant increase in farmer suicides in Beed district, from 44 last year to 71 this year. Total suicides in Marathwada for the same period: Beed (71), Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (50), Nanded (37), Parbhani (33), Dharashiv (31), Latur (18), Hingoli (16) and Jalna (13).