India’s growing farm crisis Record high fuel prices and the surging costs of fertilisers are hitting India’s 263 million farmers and other agriculture workers, who together make up about half of India’s 1.3 billion people Top producers (food grains and cash crops) Fertiliser use (kg/hectare) Below 100 100-150 150-200 200-250 INDIA New Delhi Haryana Wheat Punjab Wheat Uttar Pradesh Wheat, sugar cane Assam Tea West Bengal Rice, Jute Andhra Pradesh Cotton, oilseed Tamil Nadu Oilseed, coffee Kerala Spices Karnataka Coffee, spices Maharashtra Cotton Gujarat Cotton 250 miles 400km PAKISTAN NEPAL BHUTAN Fertilizer use (million metric tons) Production Imports 41.3 13.6 Import price change (May-Oct) Urea UP 48.4% Ammonia 39.4% 13.4% Phosphates Potash 11.5% Diesel 18% (Jan-Oct) Sources: CARE Ratings, Farmfutures.com, Reuters Picture: Getty Images © GRAPHIC NEWS