UP PCS Mains-2024

Approach Briefly introduce the small and marginal land holdings. Discuss the small and marginal land holdings that are the result of the inappropriate land reforms. Highlight the major issues related to the small land holdings. Conclude with the suggestions to improve the conditions of the small and marginal landholdings.

Introduction

According to the Agricultural Census conducted by the Department of Agriculture, Co-operation, and Farmers Welfare, small and marginal farmers with less than two hectares of land account for 86.2% of all farmers in India but own just 47.3% of the crop area.

Body

The average land holding size in 1970–71 was 2.28 hectares (Ha), which has come down to 1.08 Ha in 2015–16. The operational holdings are categorized into five size classes as follows:

Category	Land holding size in Hectares (Ha)
Marginal	Below 1.00
Small	1.00-2.00
Semi- Medium	2.00-4.00
Medium	4.00-10.00
Large	10.00 and above

Land reforms in India was brought on the recommendation of Kumarappa committee which included the abolition of zamindari system, it only removed the top layer of landlords in the multi-layered agrarian structure, in most of the states, the laws related to the tenancy reform were never implemented very effectively. By 1961-62, all the state governments had passed the land ceiling acts but the landowners managed to divide the land among relatives and others, including servants, in so-called ‘benami transfers’ which led to the failure of the ‘Ceilings on Land holdings’.

Law of inheritance in Hindu Code bill and other civil codes are the other major cause of land fragmentation. In India, land is considered as the symbol of social prestige, status and identity, where it is seen as just an economic asset for income earning. Political hypocrisy, rampant corruption in public life and leadership failure in the Indian democratic system ultimately led to failure of land reform.

Major issues related to the small land holdings:

• Lack of credit facilities or imperfect credit markets leading to suboptimal investment decisions or input applications, only 14% marginal and 27% small land holders were able to get credit from the Financial Institutions.
• Globalization challenges: Increasing globalization has added to the problems faced by the small holding agriculture. The policies of huge subsidies and protection policies by developed countries have negative effects on small holding farmers in developing countries.
• Impact of climate change: It is a major challenge for agriculture, food security and rural livelihoods for millions of people including the poor in India. Adverse impact will be more on small holding farmers.
• Irrigation problems: Small holding agriculture depends more on ground water compared to large farmers who have more access to canal water. Ground water is depleting in many areas of India. Marginal and small farmers are going to face more problems regarding water in future.
• Pressure of Population: It leads to disguised unemployment, wherein more people are employed than actually needed.
• Lack of Mechanization: According to the Agricultural Machinery and Manufacturers Association in India, tractor penetration is 38 percent for large farmers (with more than 20 acres), 18 percent for medium farmers (5-20 acres) and just around 1 percent for marginal farmers.

Measures to improve the conditions of the small and marginal land holdings:

The government is actively promoting the Farmers Producer Organization (FPO), the aggregation of small, marginal, and landless farmers in FPOs will help to enhance the farmers’ economic strength and market linkages for improving their income.

• Cooperative Farming: Various farmers in a village pool their land together and agree to treat the pooled piece of land as one big farm for the purpose of cultivation, purchase the necessary inputs for the cultivation, and market the crops jointly, they are assumed to have formed a cooperative farming society.
• PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana: Under this scheme, the government transfers Rs 6000 every year to the bank accounts of farmers. With this amount, small farmers can buy the seeds, fertilizers etc.
• Micro irrigation Applications: Micro irrigation techniques are useful not only for small land holdings but also for water conservation.

Conclusion

Thus, the agriculture plays a vital role in India’s economy. 54.6% of the total workforce is engaged in the agricultural and allied sectors and most of them are the small and marginal land holders. While incomes will rise because of the benefits from the agricultural schemes and initiatives but it is not enough to support the small and marginal farmers.