last 80 per cent of marginal farmers in India have suffered crop losses due to adverse climate events in the last five years, according to a report released on Tuesday. The survey, conducted by the Forum of Enterprises for Equitable Development (FEED) in collaboration with the Development Intelligence Unit (DIU), covered 6,615 farmers across 21 states. The survey findings show that the primary causes of crop losses are drought (41 per cent), erratic rainfall including excessive or unseasonal rains (32 per cent) and early or late withdrawal of monsoon (24 per cent).

43% farmers lost half of their standing crops
According to the report, about 43 percent of the farmers surveyed lost at least half of their standing crops. Rice, vegetables and pulses were particularly affected by uneven rainfall. In northern states, paddy fields often remain submerged for more than a week, destroying newly planted saplings. In contrast, in states like Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and West Bengal, sowing of various crops such as rice, maize, cotton, soybean, groundnut and pulses has been delayed due to low rainfall. However, the report does not include the impact of temperature variations.