ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF RAINFED AGRICULTURE: A CASE STUDY OF SOUTHERN ASSAM

Abstract

Despite having a crucial role in nation's food security, empirical literature have uncovered a higher incidence of poverty in regions where rainfed agriculture is predominant - a fact which brings to question the economic viability of rainfed agriculture which has not yet been adequately addressed. Based on a sample of 450 farm households drawn from three districts of Southern Assam, we try to explore the economic viability of rainfed agriculture. About 46.44 per cent of the farm households are found to be economically viable when only paid out costs are considered, however, when imputed costs are also taken into account, the number of viable farms reduces to 26.44 per cent. A multivariate logistic regression was conducted to identify the key determinants of economic viability at the household level. Area of cultivable land, area operated under paddy, proportion of winter paddy area under HYV, cropping intensity and adoption of vegetable farming was found to significantly improve the likelihood of farm viability. Allied activities like fishery and livestock were found to have a critical role in improving farm viability. While the age of household head was found to have a positive influence over farm viability, the same for family size is found to be negative.