Microeconomic Aspects of Farm Household Production and the State of Vulnerability: Empirical Evidence from a Village Economy of Punjab

Punjab played a pioneering role by ushering in agriculture-led growth with a public policy support system in the form of rural infrastructure and positive price policy but ultimately trapped in agrarian crisis. The sustainability of the intensive agricultural production system in Punjab became ecologically and economically costly. To find answers of the agrarian crisis and economically costly model of agriculture, this paper examines the microeconomic aspects relating to farm households at the village level by census study. This study examines the microeconomic aspects of monoculture cropping pattern relating to 734.50 acres operational landholding and seventy farm households in a village. The marginal and small farm households were experiencing the state of vulnerability by adopting modern agricultural practices and cropping pattern while examined by the total earnings (farming+ livestock) and total expenditure of the farm households. The study endorsed the view that model of Punjab agriculture which introduced in the mid-sixties requires fundamental changes in the context of ownership of land, cropping pattern and practice of farming.