Tenancy and Agricultural Productivity in Southern India: Nature, Extent, Trends and Determinants

The study reconfirmed prevalence of reverse tenancy in dryland agriculture in Southern India in recent years (2009-10 and 2011-12) as was in the mid-seventies. Household level panel data collected from six villages by ICRISAT under its Village Level Studies (VLS) and Village Dynamics Studies (VDS) programme were analysed. Area under tenancy has increased in recent years, mostly in the form of sharecropping. Panel Data Probit analysis revealed that likelihood of a household to be a tenant is positively linked with bullock ownership and large farm size while age and education of the household head, and dependence on non-farm income had a negative association. Determinants of extent of tenancy (rented in area) were measured through Panel Data Feasible Generalised Least Square (FGLS) regression analysis. Results indicated that an additional bullock increased rented-in area by 0.22 ha. On the other hand, large farmers had 0.47 ha more area under rented-in compared to other tenants. There was negative relationship between rented-in area and age and education of the household head indicating that educated and elderly people participated less in the tenancy market. Input use level, crop yield and profitability were generally higher in own land than that of rented-in land in the mid-seventies. In recent years, we observed mixed (inconclusive) outcome for input use, crop yield and profitability. Reduction of production risks in one of the study villages has not only reduced tenancy but also abolished reverse tenancy.