BackThe year when being a farmer was the hardest
2015 will go down as the year when everything went wrong for the Indian farmer
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2015 will go down as the year when everything went wrong for the Indian farmer. Following a drought in 2014 after which farmers hoped to recoup some losses, unseasonal rains across 15 states damaged their winter harvest between February and April 2015. This was followed by a drought during the kharif season. So far, 10 states have declared a drought and sought over ₹ 38,000 crore in central assistance. An unusually dry winter has also meant lower planting of wheat in the ongoing rabi (winter) season. If the winter harvest takes a hit, it will be the fourth consecutive crop failure for a chunk of Indian farmers.
That is not all. The lower prices of key crops such as rice, wheat and cotton meant that farmers made little out of the already reduced harvest. The end result: rising protests by farmers from Punjab to Maharashtra and a spike in suicides.
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