Artha Vijnana: Journal of The Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics

B. Gopalakrishna Hebbar , S. Bisaliah

Abstract

Judicious balance in the availability and the use of various farm resources is one of the important dimensions in augmenting the efficiency of a farm production unit. Under supply of a given resource would act as a constraint on maximising returns from production activity, and its oversupply might push its use to a point where marginal returns to this factor would be low. Farm labour in Indian Agriculture exhibits a distinct characteristics of oversupply and under supply, depending on the intensity of seasonality in its requirements. The intensity of seasonality in labour employment is more pronounced in dry farming areas, where uncertainty of rainfall is high and mono-cropping in a dominant system. The spread of various cultivation operations in dry land crop production depends on the quantum and interval between rains, apart from the resources available, and the decisions of the farmers in handling these operations. For example, increased number and frequency of rains spread the land preparation, sowing and intercultivation operations over longer period and delayed rains would push land preparation and sowing to a shorter period.

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S. Bisaliah

Abstract

With the introduction of new production technology into the wheat farming sector in Indian agriculture, a considerable increase in output per acre (about 40 percent in the Ferozepur district of Punjab) has been recorded. This 'new found' growth in Indian agriculture has given rise to two important basic issues in the area of development economics. What are the sources of this 'new found' growth in output? What are the effects of this new production technology on employment and income distribution? . These questions are consistent with shifting emphasis from the narrower considerations of economic growth to the broader issues of economic development such as unemployment, poverty and income distribution. The present study focuses its attention on evaluating the functional income distribution effects of new technology.

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