Farmer Suicides and Debt: Why Has India Not Solved This in 30 Years?

by CJP Editorial 23 May 2026 276 upvotes

The Issue

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), over 100,000 farmers and agricultural workers have died by suicide in India since 2014. In 2022, 11,290 people in the farming sector died by suicide — roughly 31 per day. The primary driver is debt — loans taken for seeds, fertilizer, and equipment that cannot be repaid when crops fail or prices crash. Despite multiple farm loan waiver schemes announced by state governments, the structural problem — that farming is financially unviable for small and marginal farmers — has not been addressed.

Context & Background

India has 140 million farm households. 86% of these are small or marginal farmers with less than 2 hectares of land. On this land, farming income averages Rs 27 per day after costs. Successive governments have announced MSP (Minimum Support Price) increases, PM-KISAN cash transfers, and crop insurance schemes. But MSP covers only 23 crops and reaches less than 6% of farmers. PM-KISAN gives Rs 6,000 per year — Rs 500 per month — far below what is needed. Crop insurance is riddled with claim rejections. The 2020-21 farm protests, which lasted over a year, ended without fundamental reform.