Smallholder Farmers & Climate Change

This report was published in June 2023 by the Nudge Institute, Bengaluru, with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation. It presents information gained from interviews with farmers regarding changes in the climate and the effects of these and other environmental changes on their harvests and households. The survey for this report consists of interviews with 145 smallholder farmers who owned1-3 acres (irrigated) or 3-7 acres (rain-fed) land, used farming practices typical in India and were the decision-makers for their land. The interviews were conducted in eight districts across six states: Satara and Jalna (Maharashtra), Narsinghpur (Madhya Pradesh), Dharwad and Kalaburagi (Karnataka), Sri Sathyasai (Andhra Pradesh), Hanumakonda (Telangana) and Mahendragarh (Haryana). The report’s findings emphasise that rain variability, pest infestations, diseases, weeds, decrease in soil fertility, lack of earthworms and chemical usage are the most significant challenges faced by farmers. It also highlights other issues such as poor price realisation, lesser attention towards smaller farmers from agricultural and formal sectors and a scarcity of resources.