On the brink: Heavy rains push Bundelkhand's small farmers to the edge

By Bharat Dogra 

The people of Bundelkhand are in a crisis. This year's long and heavy monsoon rains have destroyed crops across the region, but it's the most vulnerable farmers who have been hit the hardest. These small and marginal farmers, many of them women and members of the Sahariya tribal community, are now facing the grim reality of lost harvests, lost livelihoods, and an uncertain future.

I recently visited a small hamlet in the Babina block of Jhansi district, where I spoke with a dozen small farmers. They each own just an acre or so of land, and all of them told me the same devastating story: their entire rainy season crop—maize, groundnuts, urad, and moong—has been completely ruined. The incessant rain made it impossible to even plant seeds; those who tried to push through lost not only their potential harvest but also the precious seeds themselves. Instead of ripening crops, their fields are now overrun with wild grass.

The fallout of this disaster is twofold. First, these farmers rely on working on larger farms to make ends meet, but with crops failing across the board, there's no harvesting work to be had. This means they'll be forced to migrate in search of labor, traveling to distant cities like Agra and Bhopal, or even closer towns, just to survive. Their desperation will make them even more vulnerable to exploitation.

Second, the loss of this season's crops means they have no resources to plant for the next, or rabi, winter crop. The very real fear of going hungry is compounded by the prospect of having to borrow money at high interest rates just to plant seeds again. For these farmers, who live on the edge of poverty, this isn't just about financial loss—it's about survival.

Some people may think that this is a problem for everyone, but the difficulties of these small farmers often go unnoticed while the challenges of their more influential, better-off counterparts get more attention. For example, a farmer named Lakhan persisted in trying to plant his seeds despite the rain, but his efforts were in vain. Now he's in an even worse situation, having lost his seeds and with no crop to show for his labor. He's so desperate for food that he's completely dependent on odd jobs and the government’s monthly free grain program, which, for him, provides rations for only three of his nine family members.

While the more prosperous farmers are also suffering, their situation is much different. A farmer named Pawan Sahu, for instance, had a successful vegetable-growing business that was completely wiped out. Despite his significant losses, he has other sources of income to fall back on. He has the education and resources to recover. Lakhan and his neighbors, however, do not. For them, this crisis is a matter of life and death.

Organizations like the volunteer-led group Parmarth are trying to help, reaching out to the authorities and providing aid where they can. However, they need more resources and more attention on this "less visible" crisis.

While we can all do our part, the primary responsibility for providing aid rests with the government. Extensive damage surveys must be conducted immediately to include all small and marginal farmers, sharecroppers, and tenants. This is crucial to ensure that adequate relief reaches everyone who needs it. 

This isn't just about helping farmers recover from a bad season—it's about protecting the most vulnerable among us and ensuring they have a fighting chance to plant the next crop and put food on their tables.

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The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, Man over Machine, and A Day in 2071