Agriculture accounts for around 18 percent of India’s gross domestic product. India is the world’s second-most populous nation, and in 2010 nearly half were employed in agriculture. Most of the agricultural production is small-scale. Of more than 120 million landowners, 80 percent own parcels of less than two hectares.

Increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather is increasing pressure on natural resources from the growing population. Monsoon rains, which provide 80 percent of India’s precipitation, have been the scantiest in decades. Worse yet, scientists predict that these rains will become even more contracted and unpredictable in the near future.