The pattern of suicide in a southern district of Sri Lanka was studied retrospectively over a period of 1 year. The rate of 25/100,000 population is higher than that in many western European countries. The largest number of suicides occurred in the age group 15-24 years. Self-poisoning was the most common method of suicide. An argument is made for the restriction of the sale of agrochemicals without compromising their availability to farmers. (10 refs.)