Farming happiness

A significant 72 per cent of farmers ‘like’ farming as a profession, according to a recent nationwide survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS). This is greater than the 60 per cent figure reported in an official 2003 National Sample Survey round. True, the two surveys may not be entirely comparable in terms of their sampling methodology. Yet, with almost three-fourths of farmers showing interest in farming and 50 per cent saying they are ‘satisfied’ about their present economic condition, the findings suggest things aren’t as gloomy in the Indian countryside as commonly believed. In fact, the CSDS survey of 5,350 farming households across 18 states found that only 15 per cent of farmers felt their situation had worsened over the last five years.

The survey findings are in line with increasing evidence that the farm sector has staged a turnaround of sorts in the last decade. These gains — resulting both from higher output growth rates for most crops as well as improved terms of trade for agriculture — may have not accrued uniformly. The CSDS survey reveals that the proportion of those who like farming is much higher among medium/large farmers (85-86 per cent). Also, the satisfaction level with their present condition is 71 per cent for farmers in central India, while only 35 per cent for their eastern counterparts. Similarly, 78 per cent of farmers in West Bengal have an overall negative assessment of their situation, whereas the corresponding ratios are just 16, 22 and 23 per cent in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

The major conclusion one may draw from the survey, along with other ground-level reports, is that the size of landholdings matters a lot today. The reason that small and marginal farmers — who are more preponderant in eastern India — are less happy is that their holdings have become fragmented to the point of becoming unviable. These farmers want to exit and they should be encouraged to. The right way to do it is by creating more non-farm jobs in food processing, construction, manufacturing and services, while simultaneously promoting an active market in the leasing of land. Many states now do not even permit such leasing, which happens illegally. If farmers with small holdings can legally lease these out with assured resumption of possession at the end of the tenancy contact period, their interests will be fully secured. The ones leasing in land can farm larger plots and reap the gains from economies of scale and mechanisation just as in other industries. India can well do with fewer farmers wanting to farm more, while those not in a position to are given viable alternatives that makes them happier than now. It requires fundamentally new land reforms focused on minimum holdings size rather than ceilings.