How increased mechanization, volatile prices and stressed farm incomes are leading to a consolidation of agricultural land in Punjab
Patiala/Sangrur/New Delhi: A farmer selling his farm equipment is a telltale sign of distress. But Maghar Singh doesn’t regret doing it. Six years ago, he sold his tractor, harvester and other equipment, and rented out his 8 acres (3.2 hectares) of land in Patiala in south-eastern Punjab where he used to grow a variety of crops. The income from rent is modest—Rs.4 lakh a year—but he believes he is better off than his neighbour who is still toiling on his 6 acres of farm.
This is a trend that is fast catching up among farmers in Punjab, a state that is considered the granary of India. The situation is a far cry from the heyday of the Green Revolution in the late 1960s. After years of intensive farming, agriculture now is looking at zero to negative growth rates. It is state where the potential of irrigation and multi-cropping has been fully realized.
Now, prices of key crops such as rice, wheat and cotton and volatile prices of cash crops like potato, barley and basmati rice are lower than before—for a variety of domestic and international reasons—affecting farm incomes.
Yet, Punjab is witnessing a trend unlike anywhere else in the country. Across the country, small holders say farming is no longer a viable occupation, but land holdings are becoming increasingly fragmented due to growing family sizes, showing that farms continue to be occupied in spite of their shrinking sizes.
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