Issue for October - December 2011 - National Institute of Rural ...

446 S.Mohanakumar, R.VipinkumarTable 6 : Landholding Structure of Sample HouseholdsSize of Holdings No. of Farmers % share of area Average size(cents*)of holdingsLandless 2 0.00 0.001 to 50 8 6.19 27.0051 to 100 10 23.54 82.10101 to 150 2 7.82 136.50151 to 200 2 9.80 171.00201 to 250 2 14.10 246.00251 to 300 1 8.60 300.00> 300 3 29.95 348.33Total 30 100.00 126.61**Note : 1.Out of 30 sample households, 29 of them belonged to marginal farmer category. Sincethe average size of landholdings is too small in Kerala in general, using standardclassification as marginal (0-1hectare), small (1-2 hectare), semi-medium (2-4 hectare),medium (4-10 hectare) and large (>10 hectare) would not reveal holdings size and itsdensity below one hectare of land. Therefore, further disagregation of landholdings isused.* Cent is the unit of land measurement prevalent widely in Kerala and one cent is 1/100 thof an acre and 2.47 acre constitutes a hectare.** Average size of holdings refers to average of all size of holdings.Source : Primary survey.day from commodities brought to the marketfor sale. For a bunch of banana, ` 3 was thethen prevailing levy. Prior to the entry of APTC,60 per cent of farmers were selling theirproduce to the local market and another 17per cent to the small shops in the village,which is also part of the local market. Only 20per cent of farmers, who had relatively largequantity, could take their produce to the citymarkets. A noteworthy feature of marketintervention of VGP was that 80 per cent ofsample farmers reported to have expandedthe area under cultivation, especially underbanana and to a lesser extent coconut, afterthe APTC’s intervention. Obviously, arearesponse of a perennial crop like coconut isnot as immediate as annuals like plantain andbanana. Another 10 per cent of sample farmersresponded that they had made farming moreintensive while another 10 per cent reportedthat they had become full timers in farming asthey were assured of a stable andremunerative price by APTC. On an average, afarmer who sold banana and coconut to APTCin VGP could receive ` 26,788 per annum fromAPTC in 2009. The APTC, besides interveningin the market, imparts training to farmers onmodern cultural practices while helping thefarmers avail of extension services throughagricultural universities and the agriculturaloffice in VGP. Further, APTC is also reachingout to other crops and areas in the primaryproduction sector for the comprehensivedevelopment of the farm sector.Journal of Rural Development, Vol. 30, No. 4, October - December : 2011