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Provisions made by goverment of farmers in early decads

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HOME > RESEARCH > DEVELOPMENT > INDIAN ECONOMY > POLICY IMPERATIVES FOR INDIA’S SMALL FARMERS

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ISSUE BRIEFS AND SPECIAL REPORTSDEC 23 2016



Policy imperatives for India’s small farmers

PREETY BHOGAL

FARM MECHANISATION SCHEMELAND PRODUCTIVITYPRODUCTIONSMALL FARMERSSTORAGE

This paper examines the various constraints faced by India's small and marginal farmers, which severely affect the productivity of their lands, and thus their incomes. These obstacles cover the gamut of farming activities, from production to storage, and accessing markets. A recent government survey has said that four of every ten of the country’s farmers disliked farming, and would prefer another occupation if given a choice. While the government has undertaken a series of reforms in the agricultural sector such as e-Nam and the Farm Mechanisation Scheme, the benefits of these programmes have gone mostly to the large farmers. This paper offers specific recommendations to address the many issues that cause distress to the country’s subsistence farmers.

Introduction



Majority of the farmers in India are small and marginal, often working on landholdings that are less than one hectare or between one and two hectares. Nearly 57.8 percent of India’s rural households are engaged in agriculture. Of them, over 69 percent possess or work on marginal landholdings, and 17.1 percent, on small landholdings. [i] About 72.3 percent [ii] of India’s rural households work as either cultivators or agricultural labourers in the agriculture sector as per the latest Census of 2011. However, the share of cultivators employed in the agriculture sector has declined from 71.9 percent in 1951 to 45.1 percent in 2011, [iii]owing to low productivity, which, in turn, is the result of various factors including adverse weather conditions. The lack of agricultural growth has pushed the rural populations towards the non-farm sector, increasing non-farm rural employment by about 12 percent between 1999-2000 and 2011-2012. [iv] Indeed, the non-farm sector has emerged as a residual sector for people who find agriculture to be risky and lacking in remuneration.