Millions of growers and workers are in distress in Kerala, the plantation capital of India, as domestic and international prices of cash crops crash. The crisis exposes the peculiar nature of Kerala's economy. With two-thirds of its cultivated area dedicated to eight cash crop plantations, it accounts for 46 per cent of the country's plantation produce. This makes it more vulnerable to the vagaries of market than any other state in the country. M Suchitra analyses the challenges faced by the state in the backdrop of the current crisis