STATE OF THE INDIAN FARMERS - A MILLENNIUM STUDY

 

The Department had initiated a major study titled “State of the Indian Farmers-A Millennium Study” in December 2000.  Unlike many past studies, which had focused on the agriculture per se, this Study has been conceived with the farmer as its focus.  The Study seeks to record the impact of the transformation induced by  public policy, investments and technological change on the farmers’ access to resources and income as well as the well-being of the farm households at the end of five decades of planned economic development.  It also aims to inquire into the conditions of the Indian farmers at the commencement of the third millennium.  The analytical work carried out as part of the Study would enrich our understanding of socio-economic and professional environment of the farmer, which in turn would help in determining the appropriate future policy directions for welfare of the farmer.  The Study is planned to be conducted in three phases           

            Phase-I of the Study will bring out a series of status papers on various aspects of agriculture impacting the farmers, on the basis of existing data sources and research material.  The output of this phase would provide a historical perspective of last 50 years of agricultural development in the country to the planners in the coming decades.  The draft papers were reviewed and discussed in a conference held at Institute of Social & Economic Change, Bangalore in January 2002. It is proposed to discuss the revised draft of the studies in February 2003. 

            During Phase-II, a countrywide Situation Assessment Survey (SAS) has been planned to obtain a snapshot picture of conditions of farming community as characterized by their professional and socio-economic environment.  This survey is being conducted by the National Sample Survey Organization in about 60,000 farmer households to be selected from all over the country.  The sample survey will be very comprehensive with focus on the farmers rather than the agriculture.  Information is proposed to be collected from farming households in two visits during the period January, 2003 to December,2003.  The fieldwork for the survey has  commenced in January 2003 and is expected to be over by January 2004.  The data base and related information derived from the survey will be used in Phase III of the study.