Small Farmers and Agricultural Transformation: A Sociological Study in three Villages of India

Abstract

Agriculture is the fundamental source of subsistence of small farmers who contribute 51 per cent of agricultural production and 70 per cent of high-value crops. However, they constitute the bulk of India's hungry and poor.Agriculture transformation or Commercialisation of subsistence agriculture will enable small farmers to enhance gender equity in agriculture, and to earn a better income.This research aims at finding out the family labour division based on gender both at the subsistence and commercial level; exploring the socio-economic differences between subsistence and commercial farmers that may also explain the vulnerabilities and resiliencies of agricultural transformation.The study conducted 250 interview schedules at the level of households involved in small farms of rice cultivation who were chosen by purposive sampling within three villages of Dibrugarh district during December 2021-March 2022. The descriptive statistics were used for data analysis.The finding of study revealed that the commercial agriculture empower women economically and socially in their families and the community, it encouraged small farmers to live in joint families, and participated in cooperative and social organisations, it obviously generated better income compared with the subsistence agriculture that may give a good indication of the contributions of agricultural transformation to the poverty-reducing level in small farmers' households.The study concluded some recommendations: Optimal use of agricultural land by establishing irrigation and drain systems, and approaching contract farming can enhance competition of small farmers' production in the market.