Ramesh Patil

Maharashtra’s farm loan and power bill waivers offer immediate relief, but their real test lies in building a more resilient agricultural economy. Agricultural distress is rarely caused by a single factor. For millions of farmers, the crisis is the result of a difficult combination of erratic weather patterns, rising input costs, uncertain markets, mounting debt and inadequate access to affordable credit. In Maharashtra, where agriculture remains the backbone of rural livelihoods, these...

The uneven march of the southwest monsoon is once again exposing the fragility of rain-fed agriculture. The southwest monsoon has never been an equal-opportunity visitor. This year it has arrived with a familiar paradox. While Konkan, Mumbai and large parts of western Maharashtra have been inundated by torrential rain, Marathwada remains trapped in a frustrating cycle of scattered showers followed by long dry spells. For a region where agriculture depends overwhelmingly on the vagaries of the...

Farmers in drought-scarred Latur find their claims trapped in a maze of technicalities and delay. Latur district has long been hostage to the vagaries of the monsoon. With the weather being increasingly defined by erratic temperatures and monsoon patterns, agriculture in Marathwada region is fast becoming a gamble. Each season, farmers stake their livelihoods on the caprice of rain which is either too little or unseasonal, causing crops to wither or rot. The Kharif season of 2025 has followed...