Are small farmers prosperous in Haryana?

Data from the NSSO 70^th Round on Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households (2012–13) have been used to understand income disparities across regions and land classes in Haryana. There exist high regional disparities in the income among agricultural households; the average annual income in Western Haryana is Rs. 2.52 lakh and that in Eastern Haryana is Rs. 1.18 lakh. The marginal and landless farmers constitute 56% of total agricultural households, but their income levels are 48 to 89% lower than the state average of Rs. 1.73 lakh per annum. Deviations from the regional averages across landholding categories are higher in Western Haryana, where near-landless, marginal and small farmers earn 52%, 23% and 16% less than the regional average income, respectively. Between 2002–03 and 2012–13, the real income of small farm households (with an average land size of 1.4 ha.) doubled from Rs. 70,814 to Rs. 1,61,881 but per hectare income was half of what the large farmers earn.