Farmers Distress Index:
The Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) in India has developed a unique early warning system known as the “farmers’ distress index.”The index is currently being worked out in the form of a mobile or desktop application.
- The purpose of this index is to minimize agrarian distress, including crop loss, failure, and income shocks, which have led to an increase in farmer suicides.
- The index’s methodology involves monitoring local newspapers, news platforms, and social media for reports of distress, followed by telephonic interviews with small and marginal farmers to assess early signs of distress using standardized questions.
- The index allows for targeted interventions, such as focusing on improving women’s incomes if the distress is gender-based.
- The index will have values from 0-1. A value between 0-0.5 will indicate ‘low distress’, 0.5-0.7 will indicate ‘moderate’ distress and above 0.7 will indicate ‘severe’ distress. If the index is severe, it will identify which component, among the seven, is more severe and contributes maximum to farmers’ distress.
