Over 5,000 farmer suicides in 5 years in Maharashtra, highest last year

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: More than 5,000 farmers ended their lives in central Maharashtra’s Marathwada region in the last five years, with the highest number of suicides being recorded in 2025, an official report said on Wednesday.

As many as 1,129 farmers committed suicide in 2025, while a total of 5,075 suicides have been reported from 2021 to the present, said a report prepared by the divisional commissioner’s office.

Marathwada division comprises the districts of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Parbhani, Nanded, Beed, Dharashiv, Hingoli and Latur.

Year-wise farmer suicides are as follows:

• 2021: 887 deaths
• 2022: 1,023 deaths
• 2023: 1,088 deaths
• 2024: 948 deaths
• 2025: 1,129 deaths

District-wise farmer suicides in 2025 were as follows:

• Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: 224
• Jalna: 90 deaths
• Parbhani: 104 deaths
• Hingoli: 68 deaths
• Nanded: 170 deaths
• Beed: 256 deaths
• Latur: 76 deaths
• Dharashiv: 141 deaths

Beed district recorded the highest number of such deaths — 256 — in 2025. Ex gratia aid was given to the families of 193 farmers.

In the past year, unseasonal rainfall was seen in pockets of Marathwada in May. Excess rainfall of 125 to 150 per cent was recorded in various districts of the region, said an official.

The region was devastated by floods in September-October 2025.

Out of the total 1,129 suicides recorded last year, 537 deaths took place during the May to October period when rain-related calamities plagued the region, the official said.