30 July - 5 August 2012 - orsam
30 July - 5 August 2012 - orsam
30 July - 5 August 2012 - orsam
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More sophisticated farmers are getting better informed. One Indian firm, Weather Risk, sells<br />
forecasts to some 75,000 subscribers, mostly farmers across 15 states. Each pays just <strong>30</strong> rupees a<br />
month for the information the firm supplies. It looks worthwhile. Sonu Agrawal of Weather Risk<br />
notes growing demand for detail on highly localised conditions and short-term rain and hail forecasts.<br />
Demand for crop insurance is also rising.<br />
Mr Agrawal and others remain sanguine about today‘s dry patch, calling it typical of the sort of<br />
droughts that often show up in historic data stored by insurance firms. But given great gaps in<br />
knowledge about the monsoon, and uncertainties over climate change, the need for more accurate and<br />
complete data seems pressing. Studying the late rains this year will not help Prithi Singh and his<br />
parched plot today. But clarifying which, if any, trend poses the greatest threats to farmers like him<br />
could turn out to be one of India‘s most important tasks.<br />
―Monsoon, or later‖, 28/07/<strong>2012</strong>, online at:<br />
http://www.economist.com/node/21559628?utm_source=Circle+of+Blue+WaterNews+%26+Alerts&utm_campaign=d2e<br />
c3fa36c-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email<br />
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