‘For them farming may be the last resort, but for us it is a new hope’: Ageing, youth and farming in India

Abstract

Based on an empirical exercise carried out in five villages of Odisha in eastern India, the paper looks into ageing of the farm population and the experiences and responses of farmers of various age groups to farming. The findings of the study indicate that agriculture is greying, farmers are getting older and the youth, particularly of higher and cultivating castes, are averse to farming. The unwillingness of these youths to join farming is mainly attributed to loss of social status, declining profitability in agriculture and discouragement of immediate ‘mentors’, the middle‐aged farmers, caused by the perpetual decline of farm income and loss of social recognition. The hitherto nonfarming youths, belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and service‐rendering castes, especially the female youths, are joining farming to fill this gap, mostly as leased‐in cultivators.

Residents’ future residential preference and its affecting factors in the rapid urbanization zone of rural China from a family life cycle perspective

“…As farmers age and young individuals with higher levels of education show reluctance to engage in agricultural activities, there is a growing inclination among young people to live in urban areas in the future 68 . Our study also reveals that healthier household heads exhibit reduced dependence on their children, making them less likely to choose to live with their children in the future and instead opt for elderly care facilities.…”