BackPercentage of landless households in rural India falls: NSSO
The results of the survey titled are based on a sample survey in 4,529 villages spread over rural areas of all states and Union territories.
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New Delhi: The percentage of landless households in rural India declined between 2002-03 and 2012-13 while those with marginal landholdings rose during the same period despite a severe drought in 2009, according to the latest survey by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO).
Typically, in a drought situation marginal farmers who are defined as households having more than 0.002 hectare but less than or equal to 1 hectare of land, sell their land to survive the economic loss and become landless.
Analysts say the fact that marginal landholdings rose is most likely because of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, which dissuaded farming households from selling their land. The scheme offers 100 days of employment a year to at least one member of every rural household. Instead of selling their land to survive, farmers seem to have sold their labour during the drought year of 2009, said Pronab Sen, chairman of the National Statistical Commission said. “This completely establishes the importance of the MGNREGS," he added.
Between 2000 and 2012 there were three droughts (2002, 2004, 2009) and one monsoon deficit year (2012). The 2009 drought was the most severe with cereals production declining for the first time in six years to 218.11 million tonnes in 2009-10 from 234.47 million tonnes a year ago.
The results of the survey titled “Land and Livestock Holdings in India" are based on a sample survey in 4,529 villages spread over rural areas of all states and Union territories.
According to NSSO, the information was collected in two visits from the same set of sample households. The first visit was made in January-July 2013 and the second in August-December 2013. A total of 35,604 households were surveyed on the first visit and 35,337 on the second.
The land use pattern shows that the estimated land area used for crop production was around 94.7% during July–December 2012 and around 79% during January-June 2013. The percentage of land used for non-agricultural purposes was 2.83% and 13.85% in these two periods, respectively.
The highest percentage of area was used for growing cereals in both July-December 2012 (56.21%) and January-June 2013 (57.74%). The next major use of land was for production of oil seeds (13.75% and 7.34%) and pulses (6.30% and 10.20%) in the two seasons, respectively.
At all India level, the major source of irrigation was ground water, covering 67% of irrigated land area during July-December, 2012 and 71% during January-June 2013.
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