India, July 7 -- The annual migration of farm workers from North Karnataka has begun weeks earlier than residents say it ordinarily would, with inadequate monsoon rainfall leaving fields unsown, newly planted crops withering and rural employment disappearing. Across districts including Vijayanagara, Yadgir and Raichur, families are leaving villages in search of work, extending a long established pattern of seasonal migration that local officials and community leaders say has become more widespread this year.

The movement is most evident in Kudligi taluk of Vijayanagara district, where rain fed farming is the principal source of livelihood. Around 200 families from Shrikanthapura Thanda, Govindagiri, Bandebasapura Thanda and neighbouring ...