Help for Indian small farmers in a changing climate
Monday, July 13, 2015 - 07:30
in Earth & Climate
Between January and March this year, 257 farmers committed suicides just in the state of Maharashtra, India, according to an article published on June 27. These farmers, taking the brunt of an untimely rain and hailstorms, dreaded the financial loss they will have to face for a failed winter crop. The situation is particularly worse for subsistence farmers (who mostly grow food crops to feed their families), as the country witnessed a deficit in 2014 monsoon rainfall that adversely impacted production of major monsoon crops. With erratic monsoon rainfall predicted for coming decades, the future of smallholder farmers in India looks grim.