Pattern of agricultural land lease in Punjab

The present paper analyses the pattern of agricultural land lease in Punjab. Primary data pertaining to the year 2015-16 were collected using personal interview method from a sample of 80 farmers from four districts of the state through multi stage random sampling technique. The study revealed that around 60 per cent of the farmers leased in land for cultivation, while about 40 per cent leased out their land. The magnitude of farmers operating leased-in and leased-out land was the highest in central plain zone with an area of 73.68 and 40.48 hectares respectively, which constituted about 48 per cent of the total leased-in and 43.75 per cent of the total leased-out land. While, average leased-in land operated by the sampled farmers was 3.18 hectares which was 15 per cent higher than the average owned land, the average area leased-out was 2.81 hectares which was 31.80 per cent less than the average owned land. Legalization of land leasing will help in improving agricultural efficiency by enhancing the access of land for optimum utilization of labour and available resources.