TENANCY RELATIONS in BACKWARD AGRICULTURE a STUDY in WEST BENGAL

Abstract

Since the early-1990s, with the advent of globalisation in Indian economy, newlinethere had been growing dependence on modern inputs in agriculture associated newlinewith the declining public investment due to growing burden of subsidies newlinecombined with fiscal constraint. The growing capital intensity and the newlinerelatively declining role of the state in input supply resulted a rapid expansion newlineof private investment in agriculture. newlineIn late 1980s, a notable progress of the State of West Bengal was witnessed in newlineachieving food security. This phenomenon could largely be attributed to the newlineenforcement of tenancy reforms and the rapid expansion of groundwater newlineirrigation. One of the dominant causes of growth of rice production in the state newlinecould be attributed to the practice of adoption of higher yielding varieties of newlinemonsoonal Aman paddy and the cultivation of winter Boro paddy, in rotation newlinewith Aman. As we know, Boro cultivation requires controlled irrigation, so it newlineflourished where canal irrigation in the post-monsoon season was adequate. In newlinemany areas that were outside the command areas of the governmental newlineirrigation facilities, private farmers came into the picture to invest newlinecommercially, in the groundwater extraction devices. The growth of private newlinewater market in the post monsoon season consequently led to reverse tenancy newlinei.e., leasing out of land from relatively smaller to relatively large farmers. newlineOur research study examines the development of minor irrigation business and newlinetries to explain the roles of private investment in groundwater extraction newlinemechanism and their impacts on the seasonal tenancy relations in the State of newlineWest Bengal during the last two decades. Our study is based on data collected newlinefrom field surveys conducted in some village households of Burdwan, newlineMurshidabad, Hoogly, Birbhum and West Medinipur districts of the State of newlineWest Bengal. Applying an appropriate Game Theory model, we have shown newlinehow both the small and the large farmers are gaining from the practices of newlineseasonal leasing contracts, without any fear of losing the existing Barga rights. newline