Rajasthan’s farming sector is hitting rock bottom as groundwater dries up

Supiyar Kanwar’s family grew wheat until the water ran dry. Digging deeper holes didn’t fix it. They switched to mustard, but the water table fell further. Their millet crop also dried up. They looked into micro irrigation, but after many failed tube wells and low water, they couldn’t afford it. Now, half the family has moved to the city to work in factories.

Thousands of farming families in Rajasthan have suffered similar fates under a policy that makes it the only state still overusing water, even as wells run dry.

A six-month deep dive into agricultural data by Mongabay India shows that Rajasthan, India’s largest state by area, is racing toward a groundwater crisis. While other states have slowed water extraction, as of 2023, Rajasthan was pumping 16.74 billion cubic metres annually, of which 80% was used for irrigation. Farmers face failing crops, dried-up wells, and rising debts.

For decades, water-hungry wheat ruled the fields. Now, as water sources vanish, even drought-resistant crops like mustard and millet struggle under erratic rainfall and rising temperatures. With no clear solution in sight, families are leaving for the cities. Groundwater reserves that took millions of years to form are vanishing in decades. The looming question remains: What happens when the...

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