For the first time, farmer Nandkumar Koparde was unable to harvest even a kilogram of soybean from his two-acre field. “Even in the worst of droughts, we managed at least some produce,” he says.
His small plot can produce as much as 3,200 kilos, but in 2022, despite following his usual sowing method, 45-year-old Koparde found a terrifying new problem coming from the black alluvial soil — whitefly infestation.
Koparde and his wife, Jayashree, 38, immediately sprayed organophosphate insecticide to kill off the pest, but the infestation increased. The attack left leaves yellow and curled, spreading the yellow mosaic disease. The tiny insect can dry out an entire harvest in just two weeks.
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About the author
Sanket Jain
Sanket Jain is an award-winning independent journalist and documentary photographer based in western India’s Maharashtra state. He is a senior People’s Archive of Rural India and an Earth Journalism Network fellow. His work has appeared in more than 35 publications. Sanket is the recipient of the Covering Climate Now Award, One World Media Award, New York University’s Online Journalism Award, and several other national and international awards.
