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Land and livelihoods in rural India: Does farm size matter?

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  • Singh, Sukhpal

Abstract

This paper examines the question of role of land in rural livelihoods and that of small farms in the Indian smallholder and large landlessness context by focusing on the issue of size of the farm. It reviews evidence on the changing profile of farms globally and in India from the perspective of small and landless farmers. The paper argues that the size of the farm is not an issue for modern and sustainable agriculture and makes inferences about managing land in a sustainable way, including institutional approaches like group approaches and contract farming, from a smallholder and farm worker perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Singh, Sukhpal, 2018. "Land and livelihoods in rural India: Does farm size matter?," Indian Journal of Agricultural Marketing, Indian Society of Agricultural Marketing, vol. 32(3).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:injagm:399578
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.399578
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    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/399578/files/IJAM%2032%20%283%29%20_%20full%20_%20%28164%2B4%20pgs%29-pages-15-28.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Benziger, Vincent, 1996. "Small fields, big money: Two successful programs in helping small farmers make the transition to high value-added crops," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(11), pages 1681-1693, November.
    2. Agarwal, Bina, 2018. "Can group farms outperform individual family farms? Empirical insights from India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 57-73.
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