Agrarian Distress in a Drought-Prone Region

Agrarian Crisis has emerged in India after the initiation of economic reforms in 1991. The economic condition of the rural poor has become worse than perhaps at any other time since mid-1960s. The incomes from cultivation are inadequate and the farmer was not in a position to face the risks caused by weather, credit, market and technology. The increasing farmer suicides in different parts of the country were considered to be the indication of distress situation prevalent among the rural people in general and farmers in particular. This book attempts to analyze the agrarian distress in a drought-prone Marathwada region on the basis of primary data collected from 530 farmers. The book contains the discussion on income from and cost of cultivation, consumption expenditure and indebtedness of farmers. It minutely examines the changes occurred in input use, technology and farm practices followed by farmers over the period. It also discusses the changes in the productivity of agricultural crops and the size of marketed surplus of agricultural produce with the farmers over the period. The book concludes that distress situation was prevalent among the farmers of the drought-prone region.