This paper addresses two fundamental goals of sustainable development of agriculture - the profitability of farming and the livelihood sustainability of marginal and small farmers using data from the NSSO 70th round on Situation Assessment Survey of India 2012–13. The results show lower economic efficiency for small and marginal farmers in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, and Maharashtra compared to the national average. Further, at all India, around 60% of the households are unable to earn subsistence level of income. Within this group of farmers those with diverse incomes are better-off compared to the ones who solely depend on agriculture. Despite higher share of wage income in eastern states, a significant proportion of households are unable to earn a subsistence level of income, indicating inefficiency of wage income to uplift their economic situation.
