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Climate change heightens risk of Indian farmer suicides
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.
www.newagebd.net
Climate change heightens risk of Indian farmer suicides
Agence France-Presse . Beed, India 09 June, 2025, 20:01
Farmers plant rice saplings in a field on a hot summer day on the outskirts of Amritsar, June 9, 2025. | AFP photo.
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.
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.’
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.’
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 $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?’
Agence France-Presse . Beed, India 09 June, 2025, 20:01
Farmers plant rice saplings in a field on a hot summer day on the outskirts of Amritsar, June 9, 2025. | AFP photo.
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.
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.’
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.’
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 $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?’
Saif
Senior Operative
- 13,242
- 7,264
- Origin
- Axis Group
India’s Maruti-Suzuki cuts near-term EV production amid rare earths crisis
Maruti Suzuki has cut near-term production targets for its maiden electric vehicle e-Vitara by two-thirds because of rare earths shortages, a document showed, in the latest sign of disruption to the auto industry from China’s export curbs. India’s top carmaker, which said on Monday it had not...
en.prothomalo.com
India’s Maruti-Suzuki cuts near-term EV production amid rare earths crisis
- Maruti to cut production in first half of FY25-26 by two-thirds
-
- Aims to make up lost ground later to meet full-year target
-
- China’s curbs on rare earth exports have hit global car industry
-
- Indian auto companies yet to see magnet supplies resume
-
AFP New Delhi
Published: 11 Jun 2025, 13: 22
India's car Maruti Suzuki AFP file photo
Maruti Suzuki has cut near-term production targets for its maiden electric vehicle e-Vitara by two-thirds because of rare earths shortages, a document showed, in the latest sign of disruption to the auto industry from China’s export curbs.
India’s top carmaker, which said on Monday it had not seen any impact yet from the supply crisis, now plans to make about 8,200 e-Vitaras between April and September, versus an original goal of 26,500, according to a company document seen by Reuters.
It cited “supply constraints” in rare earth materials that are vital in making magnets and other components across a range of hi-tech industries.
Maruti still plans to meet its output target of 67,000 EVs for the year ending March 2026 by ramping up production in subsequent months, the document said.
China’s curbs on some rare earth exports have rocked the global auto industry, with companies warning of severe supply chain disruptions. While some companies in the United States, Europe and Japan are seeing supplies easing as they secure licences from Beijing, India is still waiting for China’s approval amid fears of production stoppages.
Launched amid much fanfare at India’s car show in January, the e-Vitara is crucial to Maruti’s EV push in the country, marking its entry in a segment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government wants to grow to 30 per cent of all car sales by 2030 from about 2.5 per cent last year.
The setback could also hurt parent Suzuki Motor, for which India is the biggest market by revenue and a global production hub for EVs. The bulk of the made-in-India e-Vitaras are earmarked for export by Suzuki to its major markets like Europe and Japan around summer 2025.
Maruti told reporters last week the rare earths issue had no “material impact” on the e-Vitara’s launch timeline. Chair RC Bhargava said there was “no impact at the moment” on production, local media reported on Monday.
Maruti and Suzuki did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
Maruti shares trading on the Indian stock exchange fell as much as 1.4 per cent to the day’s low after the news.
Maruti is yet to open bookings for the e-Vitara with some analysts warning it is already late to launch EVs in the world’s third-largest car market where Tesla is also expected to begin sales this year.
Under its previous plan “A”, Maruti was to produce 26,512 e-Vitaras between April and September - the first half of the fiscal year. Under the revised plan “B”, it will manufacture 8,221, the document showed, indicating a two-thirds cut in its production schedule.
However, in the second half of the financial year – between October and March 2026 - Maruti plans to ramp up production to 58,728 e-Vitaras, or about 440 per day at its peak, versus a previous target of 40,437 for those six months under plan A.
Two supply chain sources confirmed Maruti’s plan to scale back e-Vitara production because of rare earth magnet shortages but were not privy to the exact numbers.
The rare earths crisis comes as Maruti is already grappling to recover market share lost to Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra’s feature-rich SUVs. These companies also lead India’s EV sales. Maruti’s share of India’s passenger vehicle market is down to 41 per cent from a recent peak of about 51 per cent in March 2020.
Suzuki has trimmed its sales target for India to 2.5 million vehicles by March 2031 from 3 million previously, and scaled back its lineup of EV launches to just four, instead of the six planned before, as competition in the South Asian nation intensifies.
Published: 11 Jun 2025, 13: 22
India's car Maruti Suzuki AFP file photo
Maruti Suzuki has cut near-term production targets for its maiden electric vehicle e-Vitara by two-thirds because of rare earths shortages, a document showed, in the latest sign of disruption to the auto industry from China’s export curbs.
India’s top carmaker, which said on Monday it had not seen any impact yet from the supply crisis, now plans to make about 8,200 e-Vitaras between April and September, versus an original goal of 26,500, according to a company document seen by Reuters.
It cited “supply constraints” in rare earth materials that are vital in making magnets and other components across a range of hi-tech industries.
Maruti still plans to meet its output target of 67,000 EVs for the year ending March 2026 by ramping up production in subsequent months, the document said.
China’s curbs on some rare earth exports have rocked the global auto industry, with companies warning of severe supply chain disruptions. While some companies in the United States, Europe and Japan are seeing supplies easing as they secure licences from Beijing, India is still waiting for China’s approval amid fears of production stoppages.
Launched amid much fanfare at India’s car show in January, the e-Vitara is crucial to Maruti’s EV push in the country, marking its entry in a segment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government wants to grow to 30 per cent of all car sales by 2030 from about 2.5 per cent last year.
The setback could also hurt parent Suzuki Motor, for which India is the biggest market by revenue and a global production hub for EVs. The bulk of the made-in-India e-Vitaras are earmarked for export by Suzuki to its major markets like Europe and Japan around summer 2025.
Maruti told reporters last week the rare earths issue had no “material impact” on the e-Vitara’s launch timeline. Chair RC Bhargava said there was “no impact at the moment” on production, local media reported on Monday.
Maruti and Suzuki did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
Maruti shares trading on the Indian stock exchange fell as much as 1.4 per cent to the day’s low after the news.
Maruti is yet to open bookings for the e-Vitara with some analysts warning it is already late to launch EVs in the world’s third-largest car market where Tesla is also expected to begin sales this year.
Under its previous plan “A”, Maruti was to produce 26,512 e-Vitaras between April and September - the first half of the fiscal year. Under the revised plan “B”, it will manufacture 8,221, the document showed, indicating a two-thirds cut in its production schedule.
However, in the second half of the financial year – between October and March 2026 - Maruti plans to ramp up production to 58,728 e-Vitaras, or about 440 per day at its peak, versus a previous target of 40,437 for those six months under plan A.
Two supply chain sources confirmed Maruti’s plan to scale back e-Vitara production because of rare earth magnet shortages but were not privy to the exact numbers.
The rare earths crisis comes as Maruti is already grappling to recover market share lost to Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra’s feature-rich SUVs. These companies also lead India’s EV sales. Maruti’s share of India’s passenger vehicle market is down to 41 per cent from a recent peak of about 51 per cent in March 2020.
Suzuki has trimmed its sales target for India to 2.5 million vehicles by March 2031 from 3 million previously, and scaled back its lineup of EV launches to just four, instead of the six planned before, as competition in the South Asian nation intensifies.
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