Subah Raman
Small farms remain the backbone of India’s agricultural economy. Officially defined as holdings of less than two hectares, they account for over 85% of all farms and produce a substantial share of the country’s food grains. Yet, in a striking paradox, the very farmers who sustain the nation’s food supply often struggle to earn beyond subsistence levels, constrained by limited irrigation, escalating input costs, and inadequate access to markets.
For decades, a golden rule offered a glimmer of hope: small farms were thought to be ‘inherently’ more productive than big ones. This “inverse farm size-productivity relationship” suggested that the smaller the plot, the greater the yield per acre.
However, a groundbreaking long-term study from researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay) and the University of Hyderabad now challenges this oversimplified narrative. Their research reveals that the path to productivity is paved not with smaller plots, but with smarter support systems.
Myth of the Small Farm Productivity
The study, which analysed data from 1975 to 2014, confirms that small farms did have a productivity edge, particularly in the early years (1975-84). This was driven by “labour intensity”, small farmers poured more family labour, attention, and fertilisers per unit of land.
But here’s the crucial twist: the research proves that even during this period, the productivity scale was not as tilted towards small farms as previously thought. The inverse relationship was never as pronounced in these semi-arid regions as classic theories suggested.
Why the Backbone is Strained
The most alarming finding is what happened over time. As agrarian distress dragged on, the productivity advantage of small farms significantly faded in the later years (2009-2014). The study’s findings mirror the very challenges these farmers face: the high cost of inputs erodes profitability, and a lack of storage leads to distress sales.
The initial drivers of their success became their vulnerabilities. The study also highlights a key survival strategy: “Land-holding farmers doing non-farming activities improves labour efficiency.” This means many small farmers are now forced to seek off-farm work to stay afloat, a testament to the difficulty of achieving profitability.
“The smallholders still matter greatly for food security and rural stability, but they are increasingly vulnerable due to monocropping and high input costs,” says Prof. Sarthak Gaurav from IIT Bombay, a co-author of the study.
The Real Determinants
So, if farm size isn’t the dominant factor, what is? The researchers point to a clear triad: access to inputs, affordable credit, and reliable markets. This directly addresses the core crises smallholders face, limited access to irrigation, rising costs, and poor market linkages.
“The findings prove that the farm size-productivity relationship is complex, context-dependent, and much weaker than previously thought,” the study concludes.
A New Roadmap for Collective Power
Based on these insights, the researchers offer a pragmatic roadmap that aligns with the solutions experts have long proposed: policy interventions, public-private partnerships, and increased investment in infrastructure.
Their key recommendations are:
Improve Collective Access: Prioritise improvements in smallholders’ collective capacity to access markets and inputs.
Promote Farmer Collectives: Help smallholders organise into collectives or producer groups to pool resources, adopt technology, and negotiate better prices.
“The need is to improve their access to appropriate technologies, affordable credit, and reliable extension services,” Prof. Gaurav emphasises.
The strength of this study lies in its foundation, the village-level datasets from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). Tracking farming households across Akola, Solapur, and Mahabubnagar for over four decades, this is one of the world’s longest-running agricultural panel studies. By merging this with meteorological data, the researchers have painted a dynamic picture of how real farms have evolved in response to a changing world.
The message is clear. The romanticised image of the small, inherently productive farmer is giving way to a starker reality. The future of India’s food security does not hinge on keeping farms small, but on ensuring that small farms are no longer left to fend for themselves. The path to productivity is paved not with smaller plots, but with smarter support systems.