Commercialization of small holder farming in Assam

Commercialization of agriculture is an activity where farmers produce principally for sale in far off markets, rather than to fulfil their demand for food or to sell in local or nearby markets. Number of different stimuli at different times is responsible for agricultural commercialisation. In Assam about 86% farmers belong to the small and marginal category. These groups should be oriented towards commercialization of their farms for improving their standard of living. The present study attempted to measure the level of commercialization among the small farmers in Nagaon district of Assam. Multistage random sampling method was used to select the respondents. Household commercialization index was used to measure the level of commercialization. The study revealed that the level of commercialization ranged from 63.3% to 74%. It was reported that the higher farm size and access to market encouraged the farmers to go for higher level of commercialization.