Vol. 12, Special Issue 10 (2023)

Author(s):
Manunayaka G and K Ponnusamy

Abstract:
Farming in India is practised by farmers belonging to various social groups. Small and marginal farmers account for 86.20 percent of the total farmers (Situation Assessment Survey, 2019). Majority of them belong to disadvantaged groups like Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Non SC/ST households are relatively more involved in agriculture as compared to the SC/ST households (Xavier Institute of Social Service, 2019). Scheduled Castes are the most backward in socio-economic development. SCs account for 11.84 percent of the total operational holdings and their average size of operational holding is 0.78 ha (Agricultural Census, 2015-16). This tiny farm size may not guarantee sustainable living. Farm labour is the major source of income from which they derive more than 40 percent of total income (SAS, 2019). Social exclusion, restrictions in access to productive resources, institutional credit, input, market, and discrimination by employers/contractors and other social factors apart from seasonal nature of agriculture force these downtrodden people to migrate in search of wage related jobs (Deshingkar and Start, 2003). SCs have the highest share of income from wage employment, which makes them more vulnerable to unemployment. This is an alarm signal for the policy makers to act towards empowerment of SC community before there is a large scale shift in labour from agriculture to other sectors threatening the food security of the nation.