Indian Journal of Economics and Development

The study of the levels and pattern of income of the marginal and small farmers in Punjab becomes important in the wake of the most debated concern of agrarian stress in the state economy. For this, a primary study on marginal and small farmers was undertaken in the three agro-climatic zones of the state. Despite the grim agricultural situation in the state, crop and dairying still seemed to be contributing a major share to the total income of the farmers, followed by non-farm activities. The net per capita annual income of marginal and small farmers was as low as 15361 and 26625. A picture of the income inequality in the rural economy of Punjab further points towards the existing rural distress that is likely to affect the future growth of this sector. It was observed that the bottom 50 percent of the marginal and small farmers shared just 28 percent of the total income as against the upper 50 percent that shared about 72 percent of the total income. Reframing the existing farmer support schemes and making them small farmer specific along with stringent measures for their rightful implementation seemed to be the only way to make possible the easy survival of the smaller farmers.