Vijay Jodha

Winning bodies of work

Climate change is the invisible adversary that has worst impacted developing countries like India. The majority of people (in the case of India about 70%) are engaged in agriculture, fishing, and other activities that are directly dependent on nature. As global warming plays havoc with weather patterns, rising sea levels swallow up parts of coastal villages, and the melting of Himalayan glaciers cause flash floods, it has become harder for rural folk to make ends meet. My project focuses on India’s farming community where farmers borrow money to lease land or buy seeds and other inputs but are unable to repay loans as weather fails or crops mature early/late (and badly) due to climate change resulting in losses.  Since 1995, the inability to repay loans or keep their farms viable has led to over 300,000 Indian farmers committing suicide.  My four-year-old and ongoing project focuses on the survivors, largely widows, who are the first witnesses to this, largely climate-induced tragedy.

The First Witnesses