Survey on Land and Livestock Holdings, 1991-92 - A Brief Review - ಆರ್ಬಿಐ - Reserve Bank of India
Survey on Land and Livestock Holdings, 1991-92 - A Brief Review
The Survey on Land and Livestock Holdings 1991-92, carried out in the 48th round of |
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the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), is the fifth in the series of similar surveys conducted. The Survey is one of the main sources of data on livestock and poultry held by the household sector and mechanisation of agriculture. This note attempts to present the major findings of the Survey published in Sarvekshana, Vol.XXII, No.1, 76th issue, July-September 1998. |
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I.0 |
Household Operational Holdings |
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Estimates of number of households and operating holdings and area operated in 1991-92 |
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are given in Table 1. The following salient observations can be made from the Table. |
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The above findings of the Survey suggests that agriculture continued to be the dominant |
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occupation for around two-thirds of households in India. The continuation of agriculture as a source of livelihood for about two-thirds of population is perhaps indicative of failure of development strategy followed in India. |
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1.1 |
Trends in Household Operational Holdings in Rural Area |
Estimates of certain key characteristics of household operational holdings in rural area |
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(based on various land holding surveys) are given in Table 2. The table reveals the following points: |
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The rise in the number of operational holdings and decline in its size over the years may |
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be attributed to the growing pressure of population on land, in-adequate non-farm employment opportunities and breaking up of joint families. |
1.2 |
Size Distribution of Household Operational Holdings in Rural Area |
Size-wise distribution of household operational holdings and area operated in the rural |
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area are presented in Tables 3 and 4. The following observations can be made from the Tables : |
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The above findings of the Survey indicate that there is a gradual reduction in skewness in |
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the size of operational holdings. In a nutshell, the Indian agriculture is characterised by the predominance of small and marginal farmers. |
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2.0 |
Growth of Livestock and Poultry |
Data on number of livestock and poultry in 1971-72, 1981-82 and 1991-92 (based on |
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different rounds of NSS survey) are presented in Table 5. The following observations can be made from the Table: |
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The rapid growth of poultry farming during the last two decades was mainly brought |
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about by the rise in poultry stock in the marginal, small and semi- medium holdings. |
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2.1 |
Changing Composition of Cattle Population |
Data on changing pattern of cattle population are presented in Table 6. From the Table |
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the following observations can be made : |
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One of the probable reasons for the fall in the stock of working cattle in 70s may be on |
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account of the extensive growth of mechanisation in agriculture. Along with the falling requirement of bullock power, it appears that cattle rearing had slackened during the 70's. However, the expansion of the coverage of the 'operation flood' campaign during 80's was accompanied by a concomitant increase in the cattle population with a shift in its composition towards in-milk cattle. |
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There has been a positive association between in-milk bovine stock and size of household |
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operational holdings. However, the positive association gradually weakened during the last two decades since 1971-72. This may be due to the fact that with the marginal and small holdings becoming less and less viable for crop production, the households with such holdings are turning to dairy farming in greater proportions. |
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2.2 |
Changes in Livestock : Inter-State Comparison |
Inter-state comparison of changes in livestock reveals the following : |
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3.0 |
Mechanisation of Agriculture |
Data on the estimated number of agricultural implements and machinery are presented in |
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Table 7. The following inferences can be made from the Table. |
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The rapid rise in the use of agricultural implements and machinery has implications for |
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financing. |
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3.1 |
Changing Pattern of Tractor Ownership |
Data on operational holding size- wise ownership of number of tractors in 1971-72, |
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1981-82 and 1991-92 are given in Table 8. From the Table the following observations can be made regarding the changing pattern of ownership of tractors : |
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One of the possible reasons for the rise in the number of tractors owned by the marginal, |
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small and semi- medium households is on account of the development of hiring out of tractor as an occupation. |
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3.2 |
Mechanisation of Agriculture : Inter-state Comparison |
Inter-state comparison of mechanisation of agriculture reveals the following : |
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The above findings suggest that mechanisation of agriculture has not occurred at an even |
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pace across the states. Appreciable progress was achieved only in few states which are agriculturally developed. Hence, there is a need to promote mechanisation in other states. |
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Prepared in the Division of Rural Economics, Department of Economic Analysis and Policy. |
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Item |
Rural |
Urban |
All-India |
1. |
No.of Households (Million) |
116.4 |
41.8 |
158.2 |
2. |
No.of Operating Households (Million) |
93.4 |
10.1 |
103.5 |
3. |
Percentage of Operating Households (%) |
80.2 |
24.2 |
65.4 |
4. |
Area Operated (Million Hectares) |
125.1 |
6.2 |
131.3 |
5. |
Area Operated per Operating Household (Hectares) |
1.34 |
0.61 |
1.26 |
Source : Sarvekshana, Vol.XXII, No.1, 76th Issue, July-September 1998, National Sample Survey Organisation, Govt. of India. |
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Item |
1960-61 |
1971-72 |
1981-82 |
1991-92 |
1. |
Number of Households (Million) |
72.5 |
78.4 |
93.9 |
116.4 |
2. |
Number of Operating Households (Million) |
52.9 |
56.9 |
69.4 |
93.4 |
3. |
% of Operating Households to all Households |
73.0 |
72.6 |
73.9 |
80.2 |
4. |
Area Operated (Million Hectares) |
133.5 |
125.7 |
118.6 |
125.1 |
5. |
Area Operated per Operating Households (Hectares) |
2.52 |
2.21 |
1.71 |
1.26 |
Source : Sarvekshana, Vol.XXII, No.1, 76th Issue, July-September 1998, National Sample Survey Organisation, Govt. of India. |
Table 3 : Percentage Distribution of Number of Operational Holdings - Rural |
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Category of Holdings |
% Distribution of Operated Area |
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1960-61 |
1971-72 |
1981-82 |
1991-92 |
1. |
Nil (operating no land) |
26.9 |
27.4 |
26.1 |
21.8 |
2. |
Marginal (less than 1.0 Hect) |
30.7 |
32.9 |
41.1 |
48.3 |
3. |
Small (1.0 - 2.0 Hect.) |
16.2 |
16.4 |
14.5 |
14.2 |
4. |
Semi-Medium (2.0 -4.0 Hect) |
13.8 |
12.9 |
10.6 |
9.7 |
5. |
Medium (4.0 - 10.0 Hect.) |
9.4 |
8.1 |
6.3 |
4.9 |
6. |
Large (larger than 10.0 Hect.) |
3.0 |
2.2 |
1.4 |
1.1 |
Source : Sarvekshana, Vol.XXII, No.1, 76th Issue, July-September 1998, National Sample Survey Organisation, Govt. of India. |
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Table 4 : Percentage Distribution of Operational Area - Rural |
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Category of Holdings |
% Distribution of Operated Area |
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1960-61 |
1971-72 |
1981-82 |
1991-92 |
1. |
Marginal (less than 1.0 Hect) |
7.1 |
9.3 |
11.6 |
15.5 |
2. |
Small (1.0 - 2.0 Hect.) |
12.7 |
14.9 |
16.7 |
18.6 |
3. |
Semi-Medium (2.0 - 4.0 Hect) |
21.0 |
22.6 |
23.6 |
24.2 |
4. |
Medium (4.0 - 10.0 Hect.) |
31.1 |
30.4 |
29.9 |
26.5 |
5. |
Large (larger than 10.0 Hect.) |
28.1 |
22.8 |
18.2 |
15.2 |
Source : Sarvekshana, Vol.XXII, No.1, 76th Issue, July-September 1998, National Sample Survey Organisation, Govt. of India. |
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(No. in Million) |
Livestock / Poultry |
1971-72 |
1981-82 |
1991-92 |
1. |
Cattle |
175 |
169 |
177 |
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2. |
Buffalo |
51 |
67 |
77 |
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3. |
Bovine |
226 |
236 |
262 |
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4. |
Sheep and Goat |
80 |
103 |
111 |
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5. |
Pig |
4 |
6 |
6 |
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6. |
Poultry |
84 |
148 |
226 |
Source : Sarvekshana, Vol.XXII, No.1, 76th Issue, July-September 1998, National Sample Survey Organisation, Govt. of India. |
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(No. in Million) |
Type of Cattle |
1971-72 |
1981-82 |
1991-92 |
1. |
Working |
73 |
66 |
68 |
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2. |
In-Milk |
27 |
19 |
30 |
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3. |
Others |
69 |
76 |
73 |
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Total |
169 |
161 |
171 |
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Item |
1971-72 |
1981-82 |
1991-92 |
1. |
Tractors (000) |
75 |
486 |
1363 |
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2. |
Power-Tillers (000) |
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249 |
513 |
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3. |
Pumps (Elect & Diesel) (Mill.) |
5 |
1 |
16 |
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4. |
Ploughs (Million) |
62 |
63 |
66 |
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5. |
Working Bovine Stock (Mill.) |
81 |
73 |
73 |
Source : Sarvekshana, Vol.XXII, No.1, 76th Issue, July-September 1998, National Sample Survey Organisation, Govt. of India. |
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Table 8 : Number of Tractors by Category of Operational Holdings |
(No. Per 10,000 Hectares) |
Category of Holdings |
1971-72 |
1981-82 |
1991-92 |
1. |
Marginal |
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6 |
41 |
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2. |
Small |
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17 |
78 |
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3. |
Semi-Medium |
1 |
34 |
105 |
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4. |
Medium |
7 |
63 |
154 |
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5. |
Large |
12 |
58 |
147 |
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All |
6 |
41 |
109 |
Source : Sarvekshana, Vol.XXII, No.1, 76th Issue, July-September 1998, National Sample Survey Organisation, Govt. of India. |