Inadequate knowledge of the how’s of crop insurance add to the woes of cotton farmers besieged as they already are with climate change that poses a significant threat to their livelihoods, specially the smallholders, particularly women, says a new paper.
- Focused on two regions in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat— the largest cotton-growing states in India, where significant volumes of rain-fed cotton are produced—the paper contends that crop insurance could help farmers manage the risks but there is room for improvement in its coverage, affordability and effectiveness.
THE PAPER & FINDINGS: The paper, ‘Building resilience for cotton farmers in India: Evidence from Gujarat and Maharashtra’ says that climate change poses a significant threat to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, especially women, who depend on cotton, and it is a critical risk to the global textile supply chain.
- Crop insurance is an important tool to help farmers manage risk in the face of a challenging market and climate, but in India the picture of agricultural insurance remains mixed.
- The penetration of insurance, and specifically crop insurance, is relatively low compared to other countries.
- The main barriers to using insurance include lack of awareness of local schemes and unaffordability.
- The links between crop insurance and other risk reduction and adaptation measures, including government programmes and community-led initiatives, could also be better understood.
- There is mixed awareness of and use of the different government schemes.
- FGDs (focus group discussions) revealed confusion about what insurance products are available and who provides them.
- Farmers also voiced complaints about the burdensome processes for making claims and expressed lack of confidence in the ability of insurance to provide timely and fair compensation.
- The study has been published by the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).
DATA AND METHODS: The survey, conducted in September 2023, involved 360 cotton farmers equally split between Surendranagar district in Gujarat and Sambhaji Nagar district in Maharashtra.
- These districts were chosen for their cotton production, presence of the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), and contrasting characteristics in terms of average incomes and irrigation use.
This report draws from three data sources:
- a literature review on crop insurance,
- a farmer survey, and
- focus group discussions (FGDs)
All respondents were women, evenly distributed across age groups (18–35, 35–45, and over 45).
- Most had little or no formal education, with only 20% having secondary education.
- Husbands were typically reported as the main earners, and about 70% of respondents had been farming for 11–30 years.
THE CONTEXT: India is the largest producer of cotton globally. In 2023, it produced approximately 5.84 million metric tonnes—almost a quarter of the world’s cotton—across 13 million hectares, engaging almost 6 million farmers.
- It is a crop that holds significant importance for the Indian economy and the livelihoods of many of its farmers. But India’s position as a critical player in the global textile supply chain is being increasingly threatened by climate change.
- India is the seventh most vulnerable country globally with respect to climate extremes.
- Smallholder cotton farmers are particularly vulnerable within this ongoing climate crisis, putting millions of livelihoods at stake
AUTHORS: Alejandro Guarín, Emma Blackmore, Vishal Pathak, Giulia Nicolini, José Morell-Ducós and Laura Kelly.
