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Farm holding size shrinking
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The average holding size in agriculture is shrinking from 2.3 ha in 1970-71 to 1.4 ha in 2000-01.There are large inequalities in incomes of households in irrigated and rainfed regions
Skewed Distribution of Ownership Holdings of Land (2003-04, in %):
|
| proportion |
of |
house |
holds |
|
|
|
|
| Landless |
Less than0.4 ha |
0.4-1 ha |
1-2 ha |
2-3 ha |
3-5 ha |
5-10 ha |
>10 ha |
| 31.12 |
29.82 |
18.97 |
10.68 |
4.22 |
3.06 |
1.6 |
0.52 |
| Proportion |
of |
Area |
owned |
|
|
|
|
|
| landless |
Less than 0.4 ha |
0.4-1 ha |
1-2 ha |
2-3 ha |
3-5 ha |
5-10 ha |
>10 ha |
|
| 0 |
5.11 |
16.89 |
20.47 |
13.94 |
16.59 |
15.21 |
11.77 |
|
|
Gini Co efficient- 0.7605
31% of rural house holds are landless. 60% of house holds own 2 ha or less accounting for 42% of agricultural land. Only 2% of land holdings are 5 ha and above, yet accounting for 27% of agricultural land.
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Agriculture is no longer a preferred occupation for smaller farm households and there is need to create remunerative, sustainable and equity-oriented income generating opportunities outside the agricultural sector to enhance their incomes,” the NCAP study observed.
|
| Region |
Agriculture
% |
Live stock % |
Wages& salaries
% |
Non-farm Business
% |
Per capita income (Rs) |
| All-India |
41.4 |
14.4 |
19.8 |
24.4 |
10,411 |
| Arid |
31.6 |
36.0 |
17.0 |
15.4 |
10,536 |
| Coastal |
28.5 |
7.6 |
24.3 |
39.5 |
13,992 |
| Hilly Areas |
33.8 |
13.6 |
23.1 |
29.5 |
13.263 |
| Irrigated |
44.5 |
18.0 |
16.1 |
21.4 |
10.475 |
| Rainfed |
43.8 |
11.4 |
21.8 |
23.0 |
9,358 |
Source NCAP Study
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Relying on data provided by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) and secondary data analysis the study said farm households obtain 41.4% from agricultural activities while 24.4% of the income is derived from non-farm business and wages and salaries and livestock contributed 24.4% and 19.8% of the income respectively.
Contrary to common perception that agriculture is the dominant source of income for rural farm households, a new study by the National Centre for Agriculture Economics and Policy Research (NCAP), an affiliate body of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has found out that rural households with small land holdings receive a substantial share of their income from non-agricultural sources.
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| “With falling farm sizes and lower yield, the rural marginal and small farmers are increasingly looking towards non-farm sector for earning his livelihood, which also reflects the crisis Indian agriculture faces in the coming years,” the NCAP study said |
The study showed that small land holders tend to diversify more towards non-farm activities while farmers with large land holdings tend to remain in agriculture.
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“Besides the distributional consequences of income sources vary across regions. Agriculture is the largest source of inequality in irrigated and rainfed zones and except in arid zone, it has an equalizing effect on income distribution,” the study said
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“For creating sustainable and remunerative income opportunities in non-farm sector, there is need to promote intensification and diversification of agriculture towards enterprises such as horticulture, animal husbandry and fisheries that generate large returns to land, labour and capital,” the study recommended. |
It has also suggested creation of better infrastructure and market institutions for enhancing productive capacity of rural economy which would strengthen farm-non-farm linkages by reducing transactions costs. F E: Sep 22, 2009
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Youth show low preference for Agriculture as future career: WB study:
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A large portion of youths showed low preference for agriculture as future career. They instead opted for business and government jobs. Only 20 per cent of people who have come out of poverty in one decade up to 2005 cited agriculture as the reason. “Agriculture plays a role in moving people out of poverty provided benefits of government schemes reaches and also access to farm markets. In sum our evidence reiterates the importance of health insurance and other safety net programs to arrest declines into poverty and destitution” the report said. In particular, Soumya Kapoor, a consultant with social development unit of the World Bank said government should look at asset creation as a tool to eliminate poverty, as it seems to have larger benefit. At present, most state-run schemes like NREGS are oriented towards consumption expenditure. TH/BS100609
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Sickness and death in family pushes poor into poverty
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"Death and health shocks (34 per cent) followed by social shocks including family divisions and expenses towards marriages of children (27 per cent) explain a majority of descents into poverty," the World Bank survey said.TH/BS100609 |
