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Sinar Daily
15-06-2025
- Climate
- Sinar Daily
Climate change heightens risk of Indian farmer suicides
Farmer suicides have a long history in India, where many are one crop failure away from disaster, but extreme weather caused by climate change is adding fresh pressure. 14 Jun 2025 08:00pm In this photograph taken on May 3, 2025, Shaikh Imran, whose brother Shaikh Latif Sheru, a farmer who committed suicide due to mounting financial loans, collects dried-up cotton plants at their farmland in Mochi Pimpalgaon village of Beed district in India's Maharashtra state. (Photo by Indranil MUKHERJEE/AFP) BEED - On a small farm in India's Maharashtra state, Mirabai Khindkar said the only thing her land grew was debt, after crops failed in drought and her husband killed himself. Farmer suicides have a long history in India, where many are one crop failure away from disaster, but extreme weather caused by climate change is adding fresh pressure. In this photograph taken on May 4, 2025, people walk across the dried-up Godavari river in Beed district in India's Maharashtra state. Farmer suicides have a long history in India, where many are one crop failure away from disaster, but extreme weather caused by climate change is adding fresh pressure. (Photo by Indranil MUKHERJEE/AFP) Dwindling yields due to water shortages, floods, rising temperatures and erratic rainfall, coupled with crippling debt, have taken a heavy toll on a sector that employs 45 percent of India's 1.4 billion people. Mirabhai's husband Amol was left with debts to loan sharks worth hundreds of times their farm's annual income, after the three-acre (one-hectare) soybean, millet and cotton plot withered in scorching heat. He swallowed poison last year. "When he was in the hospital, I prayed to all the gods to save him," said 30-year-old Mirabai, her voice breaking. Amol died a week later, leaving behind Mirabai and three children. Her last conversation with him was about debt. Their personal tragedy is replicated daily across Marathwada, a region in Maharashtra of 18 million, once known for fertile farmland. Last year, extreme weather events across India affected 3.2 million hectares (7.9 million acres) of cropland -- an area bigger than Belgium -- according to the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment research group. Over 60 percent of that was in Maharashtra. "Summers are extreme, and even if we do what is necessary, the yield is not enough," said Amol's brother and fellow farmer Balaji Khindkar. "There is not enough water to irrigate the fields. It doesn't rain properly." 'Increase the risks' Between 2022 and 2024, 3,090 farmers took their own lives in Marathwada, an average of nearly three a day, according to India's Minister of Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Government statistics do not specify what drove the farmers to kill themselves, but analysts point to several likely factors. "Farmer suicides in India are a consequence of the crisis of incomes, investment and productivity that you have in agriculture," said R. Ramakumar, professor of development studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Farming across many Indian smallholdings is done largely as it has been for centuries, and is highly dependent on the right weather at the correct time. "What climate change and its vulnerabilities and variabilities have done is to increase the risks in farming," Ramakumar said. This "is leading to crop failures, uncertainties... which is further weakening the economics of cultivation for small and marginal farmers." The government could support farmers with better insurance schemes to cope with extreme weather events, as well as investments in agricultural research, Ramakumar said. "Agriculture should not be a gamble with the monsoon." 'Make ends meet' Faced with uncertain weather, farmers often look to stem falling yields by investing in fertilisers or irrigation systems. But banks can be reluctant to offer credit to such uncertain borrowers. Some turn to loan sharks offering quick cash at exorbitant interest rates, and risking catastrophe if crops fail. "It is difficult to make ends meet with just farming," Mirabai said, standing outside her home, a tin-roofed hut with patch-cloth walls. Her husband's loans soared to over US$8,000, a huge sum in India, where the average monthly income of a farming household is around $120. Mirabai works on other farms as a labourer but could not pay back the debt. "The loan instalments piled up," she said, adding that she wants her children to find jobs outside of farming when they grow up. "Nothing comes out of the farm." The agricultural industry has been in a persistent crisis for decades. And while Maharashtra has some of the highest suicide rates, the problem is nationwide. Thirty people in the farming sector killed themselves every day in 2022, according to national crime records bureau statistics. At another farm in Marathwada, 32-year-old farmer Shaikh Imran took over the running of the family smallholding last year after his brother took his own life. He is already more than $1,100 in debt after borrowing to plant soybean. The crop failed. Meanwhile, the pop of explosives echoes around as farmers blast wells, hoping to hit water. "There's no water to drink," said family matriarch Khatijabi. "Where shall we get water to irrigate the farm?" - AFP More Like This
eNCA
25-05-2025
- Business
- eNCA
In India's congested cities, delivery apps cash in
In India's sprawling financial hub of Mumbai armies of "dabbawalas" have for decades crisscrossed the city by foot and bicycle, delivering home-cooked food to office workers who are keen to avoid the searing heat and traffic-snarled streets. Now, across the country, young entrepreneurs are taking that tradition to the next level with the explosion of shopping apps that allow customers to get hold of not only food and drink but anything else from clothes to iPhones -- within minutes. The so-called quick commerce apps are redefining the retail game, not only disrupting e-commerce titans such as Amazon with their speed and efficiency but also long-established "mom and pop" stores which are no longer convenient enough. At a warehouse managed by online grocer BigBasket in central Mumbai, employees work with military-like precision to pull off deliveries in just 10 minutes. AFP | Indranil MUKHERJEE These warehouses are known within the industry as "dark stores", a reference to being closed off to customers. When a new order is received, a worker leaps into action, darting through aisles filled with everything from fizzy drinks to vegetables, packing a bag of groceries handed to a motorbike rider -- the modern-day "dabbawala", Hindi for "lunchbox man". Local tech companies have poured in billions to set up these nifty logistical networks across big cities, fuelling India's rapid shopping industry. - 'Unprecedented' - For millions of customers, it's an easy way to avoid shopping in the sweltering heat -- visiting multiple food stalls -- and spending hours navigating the country's notorious traffic jams. AFP | Indranil MUKHERJEE Growth has been "very strong", BigBasket co-founder Vipul Parekh told AFP, pointing to forecasts that indicate a compounded annual growth rate of more than 60 percent over the next two to three years. "When you talk of a large industry transforming and growing at this pace, that is unprecedented," he said. Delivery apps such as Getir or Jokr have faltered in Europe and the United States in recent years, as pandemic-induced demand wore off and rising inflation pinched customer wallets. But sales in India have soared from $100 million in 2020 to an estimated $6 billion in 2024, according to projections by market analysis firm Datum Intelligence. This could hit $40 billion by the end of the decade, according to investment bank JM Financial. Companies say India's quick commerce's growth is partly down to the sheer scale of people living in tight-packed cities within a roughly two kilometre (one mile) radius of a "dark store", said Parekh. "The revenue potential in that catchment is very high," he said. A lack of many traditional supermarket grocery chains in India aid the business model, he said. Rinish Ravindra, a regular user, admits that they make him "lazy", but argues that the convenience is unbeatable. AFP | Indranil MUKHERJEE "I just press a bunch of keys and all of it comes delivered to home," says the 32-year-old, who works in Mumbai's film industry. Local players have made rapid progress but competition is heating up. Amazon is getting its act together, along with Walmart-owned Flipkart and billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries as they belatedly roll out rapid delivery offerings. "One of the problems with e-commerce players like Amazon is that, until now, they've relied on these big fulfilment centres that sit on the outside or outskirts of cities," said Satish Meena of Datum Intelligence. "These aren't suited for rapid delivery, which is why they now need to invest to build their own dark store networks within urban areas." - 'Just order it online' - However, a more crowded industry threatens the sustainability of the sector that has already seen one prominent start-up go bust. "My sense is that the market is good enough for two to three players," said Rahul Malhotra of Bernstein, a research firm, adding that the total addressable market may be worth around $50-$60 billion. "Some of the early movers, with hyperlocal capabilities obviously, have an advantage here." The sector could also face challenges from thousands of small, family-run shops. The Confederation of All India Traders, a leading industry group that claims to represent over 90 million small businesses, has called for "a nationwide movement" against newer platforms. Its president likened quick commerce to being a "modern-day East India Company", a reference to the rapacious British power that began in the 17th century to seize swathes of India, preceding colonial rule. For now, customers are voting with their wallets. "When I think of groceries I think, 'I can just order it online'," said Ravindra. asv/pjm/dan/dhc By Anuj Srivas
