41% of India’s total grain is produced from small farms which includes 49% of rice, 40% of wheat, 29% of coarse cereals and 27% of pulses and over half of total fruits and vegetables despite being dependent on monsoon. The marginal holdings also had higher cropping intensity compared with that of the small, medium and large farmers. Dairying accounts for more than 50% of the household income of the landless and 30% of that of the marginal and small landholders. In fact, at the lower end of marginal and small farmer category are those who are ‘near landless’ i.e. they owned land between 0.002 and 0.200 hectares only and accounted for more than 31% of rural households in 1991-92. This is again down as of now.

IIMA recommendations

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad in a detailed report published in 2006 suggested that a peasant farming system using modern technology of production was better than allocating the land to corporates for farming. The paper titled “ Corporate Farming in India : Is it a must for Agricultural Development “ (by Prof Sukhpal) Singh says that corporate farming should be discouraged in India and instead suggested farming by marginal farmers and peasants. The paper reads:

“If agricultural growth is to realise the virtuous circle of growth and distribution, only a peasant farming system using modern technology of production can achieve it, as the East-Asian experience has shown. Not only is it more competitive compared to the capitalist/corporate farming system, but also peasants do respond and adopt new technologies of production whenever opportunity arises. The experience of the Green Revolution in Punjab is an excellent example of this.”

The IIM Ahmedabad report by Prof Sukhpal Singh quoting the findings of noted agri economists Mani and Pandey also suggested increasing the land holding size at the lower end to make the holdings viable. The report further reads as :

“This can be done by provision of term credit........

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