Indian farmers are already paying the price for climate change

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Editor's note: This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center. On an afternoon in August, Amritlal Patel stood in the courtyard of his mud-and-stone house watching the rain pour. The roof of his house in Mayar village, Rajasthan, was barely held together by hundred-year-old wooden square columns rising from the ground.  Amritlal looked relieved. The rain meant he might still have a chance to earn back the thousands of rupees he spent sowing his summer crops a month ago on his small farm. His soybean and maize were on the brink of death due to a lack of rainfall. The year had already been bad: an unprecedented heatwave in March stunted his wheat crop, while his spring crop of mung bean was hit by yellow mosaic, a disease that is likely spreading fast due to climate change.   The rain also meant that Amritlal, who is in his late forties, would get to spend some more time in his village with his family.  For over three decades, Amritlal has travelled from his home and farm to cities for work. The small amount of …