India, April 19 -- S ome of the world's first agricultural societies emerged here, about 9,500 years ago. The country now stands on the brink of an agricultural crisis. The unchecked drilling of deep wells has caused dramatic cases of land subsidence, triggering giant sinkholes across farms, with 684 appearing just in the "bread basket" region of Konya. Major lakes have vanished, or are shrinking rapidly. Climate change is intensifying the crisis. The country recorded its lowest rainfall levels in 50 years, in 2025, with rainfall at 26% below the long-term average. Turkey's bustling mines, meanwhile, continue to use thousands of litres of water per kg of gold extracted. Mining for gold, copper, silver and manganese also releases cyanide into water bodies, poisoning them. And agriculture, which accounts for 75% of total water consumption (according to a 2025 drought hotspots report by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification), has in many cases shifted from low-water-intensity crops such as chickpeas to guzzlers such as corn, sugarcane and avocado, because they offer higher profit margins. Last month, the government announced a 10-year plan that focuses on stronger wastewater treatment systems, implementing digital monitoring of water resources and improving resilience to climate change. "A clear water deficit is carrying over from one year to the next across much of the country," Mikdat Kadioglu, a climate scientist with Istanbul Technical University, said in news interviews in February. "This signals the new normal under climate change."...