An Analysis of Climate Change Impact on Farmers in Punjab, India

This report analyzes the significant impact of climate change on the farmers of Punjab, India, highlighting the adverse effects on their economic prospects and psychological well-being. The analysis reveals that erratic rainfall and increased temperatures have severely impacted crop production, leading to reduced incomes for farmers. The shift from traditional crops like rice and sugarcane to less profitable alternatives such as paddy, coupled with challenges in dairy farming due to climate-related changes, has further exacerbated the economic hardships. The report also explores the psychological toll on farmers, including increased debt, stress, and in some cases, suicides. The study emphasizes the need for adaptation strategies and mitigation measures to address the challenges posed by climate change to the agricultural sector and the well-being of farmers in Punjab. The report uses various sources to support the findings, including research papers and news articles, and concludes that climate change has far-reaching consequences for both the economy and the mental health of farmers in the region.

Running head: CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT
AN ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE FARMERS OF
PUNJAB, INDIA
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT
As stated by Ahmad et al. (2019), climate change is one of the most important wicked
problems that the world is presently and the root causes of the same are largely man-made in
nature. Bandumula, Mahajan and Kumar (2018) are of the viewpoint that some of the important
effects of climate change are increase in global temperature, rise of the sea level, disruption of
the natural ecosystem, loses of the natural habitat of the animals and plants, increased natural
disasters and others. In this relation, it needs to be said that the agricultural sector in comparison
to the other industries of the world is the one which had been affected the most by climate
change because of its extensive reliance on climate or seasons (Kumar & Sidana, 2018).
According to Cnbc.com (2020), climate change had reduced the overall productivity of the
agricultural sector by more than 4.9% and if adequate measures are not being undertaken then
this is likely to get reduced even further. This has important implications for the nations like
India which still relies heavily on the agricultural sector for the growth or the development of its
national economy.
The state of Punjab in India had been affected the most within the concerned nation on
account of climate change. This can be explained on the basis of the fact that 94% of the arable
land in Punjab is being used for cultivating rice and sugarcane which require optimal conditions
for their cultivation like temperature, rain and others (Praveen & Sharma, 2019). However,
climate change while making the seasons more erratic in nature had also enhanced the average
global temperature, changed the rain patterns and others which had adversely affected the
cultivation of sugarcane, rice and other important crops that the farmers of the state of Punjab
have raised over the years (Dar, Aggarwal & Kaur, 2017). In addition to these, erratic rainfall
had reduced the income of the rabi and kharif crops in Punjab by more than 14.9% and this in
turn had enhanced the poverty rate within the state to 31.7% which without climate change

2CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT
would have been only 22.6% (Hindustantimes.com, 2020). Furthermore, climate change has had
a very negative effect on the economic and psychological well-being of farmers in Punjab, India
by adversely affecting the cultivation of crops within the concerned state. The purpose of this
paper is to undertake an analysis of the impact of climate change on the farmers of Punjab, India.
The most important impact of the process of climate change on the farmers in Punjab,
India can be attributed to the fact that it had adversely affected their economic prospects by
reducing the agricultural production. Brar et al. (2017) are of the viewpoint that the farmers of
Punjab over the years have mainly relied on the cultivation of the seasonal crops, namely, rabi
(sown in winter and harvested in spring) and kharif (monsoon crops) for their livelihood. Adding
to this, Praveen and Sharma (2019) have noted that in the earlier time rice and sugarcane were
the main crops cultivated by the farmers of Punjab and more than 94% of the arable lands of the
state were devoted to the same. However, at the same it needs to be said that the cultivation of
these crops require a certain amount of rain, adequate temperature and others which the farmers
are presently not getting and thereby they have to switch over to the cultivation of paddy which
over the years was the secondary crop in the concerned state since it yielded low economic value
(Shah, 2018).
As a matter of fact, because of the erratic rain that the state is presently receiving on the
score of climate change, it is seen that more than 4-5 feet of water gets logged in the fields which
in turn destroys the rice crops and thereby makes it difficult for them to cultivate the same
(Sandhu et al., 2019). The practice of cultivating paddy rather than rice on account of rice used
by the farmers of Punjab had reduced the income of the farmers by more than 21.9% which in
turn had given rise to the different economic issues faced by them (Hindustantimes.com, 2020).
More importantly, over the years Punjab was one of the largest producers of rice in the nation of

3CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT
India however in the face of the increased cultivation of paddy rather than rice had given rise to a
scarcity of rice in the entire nation (Khan et al., 2019). Thus, it can be said that the aspect of
climate change while adversely affecting the economic prospects of the farmers had also affected
the entire nation itself by reducing the production of rice in the entire nation of India.
Sharma et al. (2018) are of the viewpoint that the process of climate change while
adversely affecting the production of some of the staple crops within Punjab like rice, sugarcane
and others had also adversely the production of milk and other dairy products by the farmers of
the concerned state. Adding to this, Kumar and Sidana (2019) have noted that the farmers of
Punjab over the years for the enhancement of their income had resorted to the practice of dairy
farming so to compensate for the unstable produce from the cultivation of crops. However, at the
same time it needs to be said that in order to derive the required benefits or for that matter the
economic value from the practice of dairy farming, the farmers required adequate amount of
grass, temperature and others for the rearing of their cattle. This presently had become a bit
problematic for the farmers in the state under discussion here since because of the process of
climate change the metabolic process of the cattle had changed significantly, the farmers are
facing difficulty in raising the grass that the cattle eat and others (Sharma et al., 2017). This in
turn had reduced the amount of milk and the other dairy products produced by the farmers of the
state of Punjab which had aggravated the situation of the farmers since already their income from
the cultivation of staple crops had declined exponentially and is at an all time low. As a matter of
fact, it had been seen that in the face of climate change, the dairy production of the state of
Punjab had declined by more than 23.4% and this in turn had worsen the situation of the farmers
of the concerned state (Hindustantimes.com, 2020).

4CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT
As discussed by Dar, Aggarwal and Kaur (2017), the process of climate change while
adversely affecting the economic condition of the farmers of the state of Punjab in the nation of
India had also taken a toll on the psychological wellbeing of these individuals as well. Adding to
this, Kumar and Sidana (2018) have noted that economic prosperity is an important factor which
greatly determines the psychological wellbeing of the individuals and it is seen that the
individuals with a stable source of income are able to have a high level of psychological
wellbeing. In the particular context of the farmers of Punjab it is seen that these individuals
rather than having a nuclear family have a large family and their entire family depends on the
productivity of the land for their sustenance. More importantly, because of the unstable returns
from the land or due to poor cultivation in some of the seasons, the farmers of Punjab take bank
loans which they intend to pay off from the cultivation of crops in the next season (Sharma et al.,
2018). However, presently because of the problem of climate change, the returns from the land
had reduced significantly which in turn is making it very difficult for the farmers to repay the
loans that they have taken from the banks and also to sustain their family. This in turn had
adversely affected the psychological wellbeing of the farmers and it is seen that many farmers
are committing suicide so as to escape from this particular situation (Sandhu et al., 2019). For
instance, in the year 2016 itself it was seen that more than 905 farmers in the state of Punjab
committed and this is likely to increase even further in the face of the economic and other issues
that they are presently facing on the score of climate change (Praveen & Sharma, 2019). Thus, it
can be said that climate change while adversely affecting the economic condition of the farmers
of Punjab had also negatively affected their psychological wellbeing as well.
To conclude, the agricultural sector more than the other industries had been adversely
affected by climate change. The farmers for the cultivation of crops require adequate climatic

5CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT
conditions however the process of climate change by changing the global temperature, rainfall
patterns and others had given rise to the condition wherein the farmers are not getting suitable
condition for the cultivation of their crops. This in turn had reduced the amount of crops
cultivated by the farmers, forced the farmers to resort to the cultivation of secondary crops and
others which had significantly reduced their income. This had also taken a toll on the
psychological wellbeing of the farmers and forced them to commit suicide so as to escape the
situation. These aspects of the impact of climate change on agriculture become apparent from the
above analysis of the same in the particular of the farmers in Punjab, India.

6CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT
References
Bandumula, N., Mahajan, G., & Kumar, R. M. (2018). Farm level and aggregate economic
impact of direct seeded rice in Punjab. J. Exp. Biol. Agric. Sci, 6.
Brar, H. S., Sharma, A., Gill, J. S., & Sharma, S. (2017). Perception of Punjab Paddy Growers
towards Climate Change. Indian Journal of Extension Education, 53(4), 80-83.
Cnbc.com, (2020). UN report identifies where global harvests will rise and fall by 2050.
Retrieved 5 March 2020, from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/17/un-report-shows-
climate-change-effect-on-farming.html
Dar, M. U. D., Aggarwal, R., & Kaur, S. (2017). Effect of climate change scenarios on yield and
water balance components in rice-wheat cropping system in Central Punjab,
India. Journal of Agrometeorology, 19(3), 226-229.
Hindustantimes.com, (2020). Punjab agriculture to suffer most due to climate change: expert.
Retrieved 5 March 2020, from https://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/punjab-
agriculture-to-suffer-most-due-to-climate-change-expert/story-
iMfAurEIuodTceu4bE4w9J.html
Khan, M. T., Joshi, P. K., Kishore, A., & Pandey, D. (2019). Policy Measures for Reducing
Vulnerability to Climate Extremes in Agriculture: Lessons from the Case of Unseasonal
Rainfall in Haryana and Punjab, India. In Climate Smart Agriculture in South Asia (pp.
165-182). Springer, Singapore.

7CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT
Kumar, S., & Sidana, B. K. (2018). Farmers’ perceptions and adaptation strategies to climate
change in Punjab agriculture. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 88(10), 1573-
1581.
Kumar, S., & Sidana, B. K. (2019). Input-Use Efficiency of Adopters of Climate Resilient
Technologies in Paddy and Wheat Crop in Punjab Agriculture. Climate Change and
Environmental Sustainability, 7(1), 51-60.
Naqvi, S. A. A., Ashfaq, M., Adil, S. A., & Ahmed, A. (2017). Current agricultural production
system of Punjab is vulnerable to climate change: Impact assessment. J. Agric.
Res, 55(1), 125-135.
Praveen, B., & Sharma, P. (2019). Climate Change and its impacts on Indian agriculture: An
Econometric analysis. Journal of Public Affairs, e1972.
Sandhu, S. S., Kaur, P., Gill, K. K., & Vashisth, B. B. (2019). The effect of recent climate shifts
on optimal sowing windows for wheat in Punjab, India. Journal of Water and Climate
Change.
Shah, D. (2018). Climate Change and Indian Agricultural Sector: Adaptation, Mitigation and
Impact Assessment. Mitigation and Impact Assessment (April 3, 2018).
Sharma, P., Kaur, L., Mittal, R., Kaur, S., & Kaur, S. (2017). A study on Farm women awareness
for climate variability and its effect on water resources in Punjab. Current Journal of
Applied Science and Technology, 1-9.

8CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT
Sharma, P., Kaur, L., Mittal, R., Kaur, S., & Kaur, S. (2018). Relationship of Socio-Economic
Characteristics with Level of Farmers' Awareness about Climate Change Effect on Water
Resources. Indian Journal of Extension Education, 54(2), 26-31.