Structural transformation of agriculture in Himachal Pradesh

This paper examines the extent and pattern of structural transformation taking place in agriculture of a predominantly rural and hill state of Himachal Pradesh. It throws light on the distribution of the land among different class sizes as well as social groups and examines the extent and source of inequality in the distribution of landholdings in Himachal Pradesh. Further, an attempt is made to know the contribution of agrarian, technological, and infrastructural variables in the growth of agriculture in the state. Similar to the trend visible at the all-India level, the marginalization of land is taking place in the state. The average size of land is consistently decreasing in the state in every agriculture census and the average size has recoded about thirty five percent decline since the inception of the state in the early 1970s. At the same time, the inequality in the distribution of land is widening in the state. Moreover, the skewness in land ownership is also increasing within the social groups as well. The schedule caste group does not qualify for the medium and large farmers in the state owing to very small size of the land they possess. The highest inequality in the land distribution has been observed among the social group scheduled tribe and over a decade interval this group exhibited a maximum increase in the inequality in land distribution.