Landowners as Non-farm Workers: A Case of Small Farmer Migrants in Karnataka

Abstract

Based on a household survey among a sample of small farmers from different parts of Karnataka who had migrated to various urban areas of the state, this chapter maps characteristics of farmer migrants, to understand the direct and indirect drivers behind farmers’ decision to migrate and to examine how they fare with a switch in occupation and location. Multi-fold and long-term agrarian crisis on the one side and urban opportunities on the other, result in small farm holders switching to non-farm occupations. Relatively better infrastructure, muted caste hierarchy and employment options for the whole family provide a pull towards the city. More often, small farmers are pushed to migration by ecological changes, indebtedness, land acquisition or social conflicts, with varied and unpredictable changes in their quality of life.