In the six years before the pandemic, average farm incomes rose in India but so did farm debts

Agricultural households’ average monthly income increased by 59% to Rs 10,218 in the six years to 2018-’19, per the National Statistical Office’s Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holdings of Households in Rural India 2019 survey, released on September 10.

The income was calculated after factoring in paid-out costs. When imputed costs – ie, use of self-owned inputs like machinery and seed stock, owned animals and unpaid family labour – were factored in, the average monthly income of farmers’ households in 2018-’19 was Rs 8,337, per the 2019 survey.

Further, income varied significantly between farming households disaggregated by the size of land holding, ranging from Rs 7,500 to Rs 61,000. Nearly nine in 10 farmer households were landless, marginal or small, ie they owned less than 2 hectares (about 5 acres) of land. Their average monthly income in 2018-’19 was Rs 9,700. Medium-sized to large farms of over two and 10 hectares, respectively, comprising just 12% of farming households, had an average monthly income of Rs 35,000.

Income also varied greatly between states. In large states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, incomes were lower than the national average. Jharkhand and Odisha reported the lowest at Rs 4,985 and Rs 5,112 per month, respectively….

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