In charts: The toll of climate crisis on India’s marginal farmers

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₹27,200) followed by tur dal ( ₹12,100). The median value of loss for paddy during the kharif cycle was ₹8,400 during the last incidence of crop loss owing to extreme weather events, while the same for rabi wheat was ₹9,200, the survey report said. Paddy and wheat are sown by a majority of marginal farmers.

Adverse climatic patterns and the resultant income losses are forcing farmers to make changes to their livelihoods and diversify income streams. The survey showed that 83% of marginal farmers in villages impacted by severe weather conditions in the last five years had changed their livelihood pattern in some way, compared to 61% in unaffected villages. This significant difference shows how climate change is a key driver in farmers seeking alternative income sources.

Among the first subset (those who faced severe weather crises and made changes to their livelihood patterns), 42% said they had to increase their engagement in other part-time occupations, 37% said they were forced to depend more on animal husbandry or livestock, 32% had to look for other earning opportunities outside their villages, while 21% said they or their families had sought work under the government's rural employment scheme. Most attributed these shifts to extreme weather events at least to some extent. What doesn’t help, though, is lack of awareness about climate-resilient farming.

Close to a third (31%) of all respondents who had reported being affected by extreme weather events in the last five years had not adopted any such practices. Adaptation strategies to minimize the impact of climate change is a key part of tackling the issue at hand. About 72% of the marginal farmers said they had accessed some form of agriculture-related technical