When India went into a rigorous nationwide lockdown in late March, in response to the coronavirus epidemic, it was hugely disruptive for many communities. One of those that was particularly affected was the community of farmers.
Given that 50 per cent of India’s population of 1.3 billion depends on agriculture as a source of livelihood, this had serious consequences for the income stability of over 600 million people. And the lockdown was enforced just at the time that the farmers were ready to take their rabi (winter) crop, harvested in early spring, to the mandi s.
In terms of the number of farmers who gained from the remedial measures, this is arguably one of
Watch Rajalakshmi Nirmal’s account of the backstory