BANGALORE/SOTAI/DARJEELING -- India's government on Monday partially relaxed its lockdown in rural areas, allowing farmers to return to fields neglected for almost four weeks and giving a wisp of hope to the world's largest rural population, one that has suffered particular hardship under the stringent quarantine.
But the damage has been done. India's agricultural supply-chain has been severed, and farmers will have difficulty finding extra hands, materials and, eventually, buyers.
