Lived Anomaly: How to enable farmers in India cope with extreme weather events
CSE’s report Lived Anomaly is about what is happening to farmers in India because of extreme weather events, largely as told by farmers themselves. Its basis is the winter–spring of 2015 and the aftermath. The report is also a peek into the future—what we should expect as our planet continues to heat up due to the incessant increase in greenhouse gas emissions. The report is an assessment of the impact of the unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms in February-April 2015 on agriculture in India. It investigates the effectiveness of response measures—existing relief and compensation mechanisms in the country for farmers affected by such extreme weather events. The report highlights the need for urgent reforms in the agrarian sector, given the expected increase in the frequency of extreme weather events, and cites instances of advancements in crop damage assessment and crop insurance schemes that are more attractive to farmers.