ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Articles by S H MalikSubscribe to S H Malik

Farm Size and Farmers’ Income, Consumption, and Poverty in India

Using unit-level data from the 70th National Sample Survey round Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households, the paper seeks to determine, for major states, the minimum size of cultivated land at which the average monthly income of farmer households from cultivation exceeds their average monthly consumption expenditure and the minimum farm size at which the average monthly income from all sources exceeds their poverty-line-equivalent income. Further, it examines the contribution of different sources towards their total income across farm-size categories and the incidence of poverty among such households. It then estimates the income support for those households that are not able to meet their average monthly consumption expenditure and which are below the poverty line.

Distribution of Landholdings in Rural India, 1982 to 2013

Changes in the distribution of landholdings in 15 major states between 1982 and 2013 are analysed using the National Sample Survey data. In particular, the following questions are examined: How has the concentration of land, both owned and operated, changed over time? At what level of hierarchy has the concentration of owned and operated land tended to become more pronounced? How have the changes in the land distribution benefi ted the holdings at the bottom 50%?

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