Why Indian farmers can’t escape the trap of monocropping

In Simbroh village of Punjab’s Patiala district, 70-year-old Gurjant Singh looked out over his five-acre farm with a mix of pride and resignation. When he began farming in 1978, he cultivated a variety of crops – bajra, vegetables, cotton and pulses. But since the late 1980s, he has been narrowing his focus.

Because of government price support for select crops, the higher market risks associated with diverse crops and an attempt to increase production, Singh has been mainly growing rice and wheat.

This kind of monocropping, often attributed to the Green Revolution – launched in the 1960s, which transformed India’s agricultural landscape by introducing high-yielding seed varieties, chemical fertilisers and advanced irrigation methods – is not specific to just Simbroh or Punjab. It has been adopted by farmers in most Indian states.

But experts warn that monocropping – cultivating a single crop on the same field year after year, often in a defined row pattern – leaves farmers exposed to market and climate fluctuations. In addition, studies have shown that monocropping depletes soil nutrients and increases vulnerability to pests and diseases.

Over the past six months, this reporter, as a part of the Environmental Data Journalism Academy fellowship, conducted a data-driven investigation into the impact of monoculture on farmers and soil. This three-part series presents our...

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