Ramesh Reddy, 44, put everything he had into his 3.5 acre tomato farm in June. The farmer from Kolar district in the south of the state of Karnataka invested 320,000 rupees (€3,000, $3,357), borrowing 250,000 rupees at 24% annual interest and pledging his wife's wedding jewelry as collateral. The harvest was meant to repay the loan and cover his son's overdue college fees. But then the farm's irrigation well ran dry. Within three weeks, the tomato plants had turned brown and Reddy could not salvage a single crate. "I have lost everything I invested," he told DW. "I have no money left for the next crop and I don't know how I will repay the loan.
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