In early April this year, unseasonal hailstorms and rain destroyed all crops in about 20 villages in Bikaner’s Arjunsar region in Rajasthan. Bhagirath Karwasra, a farmer in the district, recounted how wheat, mustard, and chana planted last year—which already survived a season of extreme heat and were just days away from harvest—were completely lost. This is not an isolated incident. Across Punjab and Haryana, unseasonal heat has forced the wheat to ripen faster, leading to a yield of smaller grains and rising input costs.
These consequences go beyond the monetary. Farmers also have to put in more physical labour and time on the fields to respond to climatic shifts. During the recent heatwave, farmers have had to conduct additional irrigation cycles to maintain moisture levels, carry out multiple rounds of additional weeding, and stay exposed to the sun for longer hours, risking heatstrokes, dehydration, organ damage, and cognitive failures.
With the El Niño set to descend, forecasts now predict disruptions to India’s already erratic monsoon cycles, and the triggering of extreme events such as floods, droughts, and shifting storm tracks. This will leave farmers, once again, to bear the brunt of the phenomenon.
Join us for this month’s Beyond the Plate session, as we explore how the climate crisis, particularly the El Niño effect, is impacting the people who sustain food systems.
We will be joined by Dr. Ruchika Singh, the Executive Program Director of Food, Land and Water at World Resources Institute (WRI) India; and Arshiya Bose, founder of specialty coffee enterprise Black Baza that works with smallholder coffee growers in BR Hills, the Nilgiris, Palani Hills, and Wayanad, working to adapt to the vagaries of the climate crisis. The conversation will be moderated by Shreya Raman, an independent journalist who writes on gender, labour, health, climate, and policy.
The consequences of the climate crisis are borne unequally. As consumers who only see the end result of a farmer’s harvest in our kitchens, it becomes even more important for us to understand how the climate crisis can adversely impact the health and livelihoods of growers, and understand its potential ramifications on food security.
Arshiya Bose, Founder of Black Baza
Arshiya Bose is the founder of Black Baza, a social and conservation enterprise that works with the smallholder coffee producers in the Western Ghats. She is actively involved in impact-oriented research, citizen science and conservation, and creating equitable markets for smallholder producers.
Dr. Ruchika Singh, Executive Program Director of Food, Land, and Water, World Resources Institute India
Dr. Ruchika Singh is the Executive Program Director of Food, Land and Water at World Resources Institute (WRI) India. She has worked extensively on environmental and development issues. At WRI, she develops strategies to transition towards sustainable food and land use systems with a focus on strengthening food systems.
(Moderator) Shreya Raman is an independent journalist who has written for publications such as BehenBox, Scroll, Foreign Policy, and The Third Pole. Her area of focus includes labour laws, climate, gender, health, and policy. She is the winner of Laadli Media Award for Gender Sensitivity, the Likho Award for Excellence in Media, and the Society of Publishers in Asia Award for excellence in reporting on women’s issues.
Beyond the Plate is an initiative by The Locavore where we engage in meaningful conversations, live events, and dining experiences that look at food beyond the sum of its parts. It is our attempt to narrow the divide between what’s on our plate, where it comes from, how it’s produced, and the deeper stories around it.