Village Dynamics Studies Research Articles

Measurement of Farm Productivity of Rice: A Case of Bangladesh

The focus of this study is to assess rice production in the different category of farms in Bangladesh. The relevant data were collected from secondary source collected by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) under the Village Dynamics Studies in South Asia (VDSA) project. A total of 280, 318, 365 and 349 sample farmers were selected for the years of 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively and the selected farmers were categorized into marginal, small, medium and large categories. Descriptive statistics were used to measure the profitability of rice production. In the study areas, rice farming was profitable for the selected years for all category of farmers but large and medium scale farmers received more profit than small and marginal farmers. Per hectare net return from rice production by small farmers was Tk.31324.28 in 2009 and Tk. 21776.97 in 2012 which provides a decreasing picture of profit for them. Cobb-Douglas stochastic cost frontier analysis was used to measure economic efficiencies. The regression result shows that estimated values of the relevant coefficients i.e., fertilizer cost, machinery cost, human labour cost, seed cost and herbicides cost had the positive and significant impact on the gross return of rice production and the coefficient of pesticide was negatively significant. So, there is a scope for increasing return from rice production by increasing human labour, seed, fertilizer, machinery and herbicide uses since the coefficients of these parameters were positive and significant. The study will help to policymakers for the development of all category rice farmers especially the small and marginal farmers of Bangladesh.

Rural labour employment and livelihoods in tribal villages of eastern India

This study examines the changing employment and livelihood patterns of rural labour households in tribal villages of eastern India. The study is based on the high frequency panel data collected under the ICAR-ICRISAT project on Village Dynamics Studies in eastern India from 2010 to 2014. The findings revealed that the work participation rate of landless labour households had a declining trend whereas that of land owning labour households had a mixed trend in tribal villages of Jharkhand. The employment in the farm sector declined for males but increased for women. Employment in non-farm sectors registered an increase in both the genders and the magnitude of the increase was higher in the non-farm sector as compared to the farm sector. Similar trend was observed for wage rate which showed faster growth in the non-farm wage compared to the farm wage. Both the sectors witnessed an increase in the labourer’s wages during the past four years, however, the increase was much higher in the non-farm sector than the farm sector. The study also indicated that male labourers were employed at higher wages than their female counterparts in both sectors but the difference was narrowed down during last four years. A wage determinant analysis revealed that a healthy, educated, landowning adult male labour is likely to get higher wages than others. Non-farm wage employment is emerging as the most important source of income on labour households contributing 63 to 74% to their total income. The survey further revealed that income from farming constituted only 6 to 13% of the total income of labour households, but it showed increasing trend due to implementation of various mega agricultural development projects in the state.

Seasonal Migration and Moving Out of Poverty in Rural India: Insights from Statistical Analysis

Rural households in many countries have used temporary or seasonal migration as a strategy to cope with natural shocks such as drought, means of employment and income generation during lean season, and to move out of poverty. This paper studies the linkages between migration, employment in economic activities, asset accumulation, and poverty reduction among rural households in a droughtprone village of India over the last four decades. The Dokur Village of Mahbubnagar District in Telangana State of India experienced persistent drought over a decade. To cope with this situation, many households of the village temporarily migrated to the nearby and faraway cities. ICRISAT had conducted household surveys in Dokur under the Village Level Studies (VLS) and Village Dynamics Studies (VDS) program since 1975. The present study has used the VLS-VDS dataset (1975–2012) and reorganized sample households into 46 dynasty households. Based on their participation in migration, sample households were grouped into two categories: migrant and non-migrant households. Household income was computed by sources for all households for all the study years. Contribution of migratory income and remittances to the total household income was quantified. To identify the factors responsible for migration decision, probit analysis was carried out. For each year, sample households were grouped into poor and non-poor category using both lower (USD 1.25 ppp per day per person) and upper (USD 2.00 ppp per day per person) poverty line. The study revealed that seasonal out-migration helped many households to come out of poverty even though they had experienced a decade of drought. In-depth analysis of asset accumulation behaviour of the households over time revealed important insights regarding their coping mechanism and the process of moving out of poverty.

Adoption of Modern Rice Cultivation Practices in Bihar, India: Micro-level Evidences from Village-Level Studies

This study was conducted to understand the adoption of improved technologies and cultivation practices in rice production in Bihar. The study is based on the high-frequency field-level data being collected under ICAR-ICRISAT project on village dynamics studies in South Asia. The findings of the study show that the adoption of modern technology is directly related to the size of holding. The inverse relationship between productivity and farm size has ceased to operate in recent years. This study reaffirms this trend. The study suggests for designing appropriate and implementable agrarian policies with strong monitoring and evaluation framework to accelerate the speed of adoption of modern technologies to enhance rice productivity in eastern India in general and Bihar in particular.

Rural labour employment and their livelihoods in Bihar: Micro-level evidences from selected villages

This study examines the changing employment and livelihood patterns of rural labour households in Bihar. The study is based on the high-frequency panel data being collected under the ICAR-ICRISAT project on Village Dynamics Studies in eastern India. The findings of the study indicate that there has been a decline in the proportion of labour households in the total number of rural households, but the transition of the labour force from the farm to the non-farm sector is clearly evident. However, the number of land-owning households among the labour households has increased. The study shows that employment opportunities for males in both the farm and non-farm sectors have increased with a higher magnitude in the non-farm sector than in the farm sector. By contrast, women’s employment in the farm sector has declined, though their employment in the non-farm sector has increased. Both the farm and non-farm sectors have witnessed an increase in the wages of labourers during the past four years, but the increase has been much higher in the non-farm sector (65 %) than in the farm sector (15 %). The study further indicates that male labourers are employed at higher wages than women labourers in both the farm and non-farm sectors. The wage determinant analysis reveals that a healthy, educated and land-owning adult male labourer is likely to get higher wages than others. The study also shows that labour households face several constraints and their access to institutional credit is abysmally low in Bihar. They primarily depend on non-institutional sources for meeting their credit needs. It has been observed that about one-third of the labour households borrow mainly to meet consumption and medical expenses. Various programmes for the welfare and development of the weaker sections are being implemented by different government departments. However, the erstwhile flagship development schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Indira Awas Yojana (IAY), Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and Self-help Group (SHG) schemes have virtually ceased to operate in the villages under study. Hence, there is a need to revive these projects by laying greater emphasis on the upliftment of the weaker sections of society.

Revisiting Tenancy and Agricultural Productivity in Southern India: Insights from Longitudinal Household Surveys

The study reconfirmed prevalence of reverse tenancy in dryland agriculture in Southern India in the recent years (2009-11) as was in the mid-seventies. Household level panel data collected from six villages by ICRISAT under its Village Level Studies (VLS) and Village Dynamics Studies (VDS) program were used. Area under tenancy has increased in the recent years, mostly in the form of share cropping. Panel Data Probit analysis revealed that likelihood of a household to be a tenant is positively linked with number of agricultural worker, bullock ownership and male-headed household. Land ownership, age and education of household head, and dependence on non-farm income had negative association. Crop yield and profitability were generally higher in owned land than that of land under tenancy. Reduction of reverse tenancy in dryland agriculture will require risk reducing technologies (drought-resistant varieties, supplementary irrigation) and availability of critical inputs (for example, bullock for intercultural operations).