Belagavi district reported the highest number of these cases with 122, while Haveri and Dharwad recorded 120 and 101 farmer suicide cases, respectively. Over the past 15 months, a total of 1,182 farmers in Karnataka have died by suicide, according to a document released by the state's revenue department. The primary causes cited for these suicides were severe drought, crop loss, and overwhelming debt.
The majority of farmer suicides in Karnataka occurred in the three districts of Belagavi, Haveri, and Dharwad, which reported 122, 120, and 101 cases respectively. Chikkamagalur reported 89 farmer suicides, Kalaburgi reported 69, and Yadagiri saw 68 such instances during the same period.
Out of the 27 districts in Karnataka where farmers took the extreme step due to various factors, only six reported single-digit farmer suicide cases. Unfortunately, the remaining 21 districts witnessed 30 or more farmer suicides.
Chikkaballapur and Chamarajnagar recorded two farmer suicide cases each.
Last September, Karnataka's minister for Sugarcane Development and Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC), Shivanand Patil, sparked controversy by stating that the number of farmer suicides in the state had significantly increased after the government raised the compensation to Rs 5 lakh for the families of the deceased. Patil explained that this compensation was claimed by families of farmers who died by suicide due to financial distress resulting from crop losses and the inability to repay loans.
In response to Patil's comments, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that individuals who committed suicide for their own reasons could not be classified as farmers. "Where are the suicides? Tell me. People who commit suicide for their own reasons, can we call them farmers? It’s all false," he said.
