To make things worse, a cyclone has devastated India's largest port, Kandla, killing more than 1, 000, and a poor crop has sent vegetable prices spiralling up.

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Furthermore, a poor potato crop this year boosted input costs and should continue to be a headwind going forward.

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Far from the farmer bearing the heartache of a colt dying in his arms or poor weather wiping out a crop, he has somehow managed to transfer the risk to you.

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This meant she was unable to use the fertilizer, which led to a poor harvest of her maize crop, which meant less food for her children.

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They impose draconian penalties on suppliers for failing to deliver agreed quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables during the year, which force farmers to grow a much bigger crop than they need as a form of insurance against poor weather and other factors that may reduce their yield.

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The couple remained on the island until 1930, when a desperately low population, crop failures and poor infrastructure, meant living there was no longer sustainable.

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The crop was a mainstay of small, poor family farms.

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In October the Guernsey Farmers' Association announced a fall in milk yields due to sustained wind and rain and poor crop harvests.

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The outlook for the winter wheat crop is also poor, with India's main reservoirs, a source for irrigation canals, one-third below their seasonal average.

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