Household Crop Incomes Among Small Farmers: A Study of Three Villages in West Bengal

Biplab Sarkar
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Biplab Sarkar: Assistant Professor (Economics), Centre for Development Studies, PES University, biplabisi@gmail.com

Journal, 2017, vol. 7, issue 2, 62-83

Abstract: This article examines incomes from crop production in West Bengal. Specifically, it analyses the levels and determinants of household crop incomes across regions and socio-economic classes. It is based on an examination of household survey data collected by the Foundation for Agrarian Studies (FAS) in three villages located in different agro-ecological regions of West Bengal. The article discusses how farm business incomes vary across the study villages. We found that there was not much difference in farm business incomes between an advanced village and a relatively backward village in the survey year. This was due mainly to a crash in potato prices in the advanced village. The analysis of potato cultivation across socio-economic classes covers various aspects of potato cultivation, such as the selection of varieties, contract farming arrangements, different components of cost, and marketing channels. In Panahar, where the major commercial crop was potato, diversification to potato cultivation had a negative impact on incomes, as potato prices crashed in the survey year.

Keywords: household crop income; small farmer; PARI; negative incomes; farm business incomes; potato price; West Bengal; village study; crop diversification; risk. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fas:journl:v:7:y:2017:i:2:p:62-83

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