11
Table 2.5: Size Distribution of Operational Holdings and Area Operated
Sl.
No.
Size Groups
Operated Area (in '000 ha.)
1970-71 1976-77 1980-81 1985-86 1990-91 1995-96 2000-01* 2005-06* 2010-11
1 Marginal
14599 17509 19735 22042 24894 28121 29814 32026 35410
% to Total
(8.99) (10.72) (12.05) (13.39) (15.04) (17.21) (18.70) (20.23) (22.25)
2 Small
19282 20905 23169 25708 28827 30722 32139 33101 35136
% to Total
(11.88) (12.80) (14.14) (15.62) (17.42) (18.81) (20.16) (20.91) (22.07)
3 Semi-Medium 29999 32428 34645 36666 38375 38953 38193 37898 37547
% to Total
(18.48) (19.85) (21.15) (22.28) (23.19) (23.85) (23.96) (23.94) (23.59)
4 Medium
48234 49628 48543 47144 44752 41398 38217 36583 33709
% to Total
(29.72) (30.38) (29.64) (28.65) (27.04) (25.34) (23.97) (23.11) (21.18)
5 Large
50064 42873 37705 33002 28659 24160 21072 18715 17379
% to Total
(30.84) (26.25) (23.02) (20.05) (17.32) (14.79) (13.22) (11.82) (10.92)
6 All Sizes
162318 163343 163797 164562 165507 163355 159436 158323 159180
% to Total
(100.00) (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) (100.00)
Average
Holdings in
Hectares: All
Sizes
2.28 2.00 1.84 1.69 1.55 1.41 1.33 1.23 1.16
Note:
Figures in parenthesis are % to total.
Source:
Ministry of Agriculture (2012): Agriculture Census 2010-11, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation,
October, p.12.
in the number of operational holdings has increased from 81.8% to 85.0%
during the latest decade; their share in the area operated has risen from 38.9%
to 44.3% during the same period. The average size of holding for all size groups
has fallen from 1.33 hectare in 2000-01 to 1.16 hectare in 2010-11. As we
will presently show, it is the massive increase in the number of operational
holdings under the
marginal
group that stands out.
Apart from the phenomena of marginalisation and fragmentation of
landholdings, a distinct feature of the agricultural scene in India has been
the steady decline in the area cultivated. Analysing the decline in the area
operated, NSSO (2006) writes that “the overall fall over the 42-year period is
about 18.5%, which is roughly equivalent to a 5% fall every decade” (p.21). And
this has happened at higher end of the operational holdings, that is, at medium
and large land-holdings. In a different context, Singh (2006), who has made an
incisive study of agrarian changes, has brought out how, with acute distress
amongst the farm community, it is likely that a good section are withdrawing
from land cultivation:
... the proportion of marginal holdings and the area owned by them
has increased sharply over the years, while it has declined sharply in
the case of large holdings in all the states. This could have happened
