India’s “Green Revolution” facing collapse as soils die, water table falls

Nobody was surprised when environmental activists started warning years ago that India’sGreen Revolution was heading toward disaster. But they were astonished as government officials started to agree. "Farmers are committing a kind of suicide," warns G.S. Kalkat, the director of the Punjab State Farmers Commission. "It's like a suicide, en masse."

Kalkat offers an unsettling prediction in a nation whose population is growing faster than any other on earth: If farmers don't drastically revamp the system of farming, the heartland of India's agriculture could be barren in 10 to 15 years. A two-part series on National Public Radio examines the stark situation of input-dependent farmers in Punjab state, with transcripts and photos at its website. Full Story: NPR