76 / 258
[
] 74
small and marginal farmers in particular. Some of these impor-
tant initiatives include: the National Food Security Mission
with time- and target-bound goals to increase production; the
National Horticulture Mission; the National Rural Employment
Guarantee Programme; Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana to incen-
tivize the states to invest more in agriculture; the establishment
of the of National Rained Area Authority; the expansion of insti-
tutional credit to farmers; agribusiness development through
venture capital participation by the Small Farmer Agribusiness
Consortium; watershed development and micro-irrigation
programmes; reform and support for agriculture extension
services; knowledge connectivity through Common Service
Centres and IT initiatives; the establishment of the National Bee
Board; the establishment of the National Fisheries Development
Board; reforms in agricultural marketing and the development
of the market infrastructure; the National Bamboo Mission; and
the revitalization of the cooperative sector.
In addition another renowned business plan, ‘Bharat
Nirman’, has been designed for augmenting and creating
fundamental rural infrastructure. This scheme comprises
various projects on roads, housing, water supply and other
areas which will help the rural population in general, and
small and marginal farmers in particular, to find better oppor-
tunities for income generation, thus leading a dignified life.
The major beneficiaries of these development schemes are
small and marginal farmers, particularly women farmers.
Agricultural output per household, per hectare and per capita in different farm size categories
The value of output, cost of cultivation and net income per hectare by different farm sizes
Source: Chand et al, 2011
Source: GOI 2005, Situation Assessment Survey of Farmers: Some aspects of Farming-2003
Farm size class (ha)
Household size
Per capita land (ha)
Output value (Rs)
Per household
Per capita
Per ha
0.01 - 0.4
5
0.04
4,783
965
25,173
0.4 - 1
5
0.12
12,563
2,364
18,921
1.01 - 2
6
0.24
23,292
3,801
16,780
2.01 - 4
6
0.43
40,403
6,734
15,091
4.01 - 10
7
0.82
77,120
10,558
13,564
>10
8
2.2
137,473
16,782
7,722
All
6
0.22
18,858
3,143
15,426
Income/Cost
Small holdings (<2 ha)
Holdings (>2 ha)
All size holdings
Values of output per hectare (Rs)
13,944
11,333
12,535
Cost of cultivation per hectare (Rs)
6,530
5,252
5,841
Net Farm income per hectare (Rs)
7,414
6,080
6,694
The way forward
The major problem confronting rural areas in general
and farm households in particular is the lack of employ-
ment opportunities and market accessibility. It is a fact
that the productivity of these farm families is higher, but
their actual land holding is less, which means they do not
produce enough to meet their food and other needs. There
is a need to create job opportunities in the farm sector
through activities such as increased investment in irriga-
tion, watershed development, wasteland development, land
reclamation and consolidation and post-harvest raw agri-
cultural produce processing.
In addition, there has to be a greater focus on the accelerated
development of the rural non-farm sector and the develop-
ment of clusters around towns/market centres. A growing
farm sector, better rural infrastructure and connectivity, skill
development, adequate power supply and easy availability of
credit would help in the creation of more employment oppor-
tunities in the rural non-farm sector and, in turn, enhance
the income of farm households. In view of this there is a need
for a more comprehensive approach to the economic wellbe-
ing of farmers, to make available the latest technology which
is accessible and sustainable. Efforts should concentrate on
improvements in the income of farm families, not only to meet
their consumption requirements but also to enhance their
capacity to invest in farm-related activities.
D
eep
R
oots