AGRICULTURE

For an analysis of agriculture in the area, we resorted to a sampling of 10% of the total
households in every village. Keeping in line with the objectives of the RUCHI project we
incorporated the following variables in our questionnaire for our analysis of agriculture:
1. Land Holding (In Bighas).
2. Per Bigha Yield of major crops.
3. Per Bigha Expenditure (Annual) on Pesticides.
4. Per Bigha Expenditure (Annual) on Fertilizers.
5. Per Bigha Expenditure (Annual) on Seeds.
For the analysis part, we divided the villages into three progressive clusters, based on their
altitude and topography.
1. Cluster 1 (Plain Villages): Villages in the immediate vicinity of the Baddi industrial
area, up to Barotiwala. Henceforth referred to as the Lower Baddi Region.
S.No Village Name
1 Jharmajri
2 Khabri Sandoli
3 Haripur Sandoli
4 Chatipura
5 Palankhwala
6 Palankhwala (SC)
7 Dograwala
8 Dasaura Majra
9 Lower Sandoli
10 Upper Sandoli
11 Kunjahal



2. Cluster 2 (Semi Hilly Villages): Villages stretching from Barotiwala up to Haripur
Mahua. Henceforth referred to as the Upper Barotiwala Region.
S.No Village Name
1 Surajpur
2 Majhotu
3 Damuwala
4 Upper Bated
5 Lower Bated
6 Upper Tipra
7 Lower Tipra
8 Kotla
9 Haripur Mahua **


3. Cluster 3 (Hilly Villages): Villages stretching from Haripur Mahua to Thedpura.
Henceforth referred to as the Haripur Region.
S.No Village Name
1 Kandol
2 Pipalta-Tujhar
3 Dhanyon
4 Thedpura


The analysis will focus on the following results:
1. Classification of farmers (As per Land Holding).
2. Average productivity of major crops (Per Bigha).
3. Average annual expenditure on major crops (Per Bigha).
4. To put forward region wise and farmer wise suggestions.


ANALYSIS
1. Classification of Farmers

(i) Lower Baddi Region:









As can be observed from the table above, 58 out of the 72 samples (80.55%) were farmers in the
small to middle level category with a land holding of up to approximately 11 bighas. 12 farmers
were in the large farmers category with a land holding of more than 11 bighas Villages around
the Baddi area have a high proportion of large farmers (16.75%).
(Note: Farmers with a landholding of more than 11 bighas are considered to be large farmers)
(ii) Upper Barotiwala Region:





Classification of Farmers (Lower Baddi)
Land Holding (In Bighas) No. of
Families

<= 1.00 1
1.01 - 10.83 58
10.84 - 20.67 7
20.68 - 30.50 4
30.51 - 40.33 0
40.34 - 50.17 1
50.18+ 1








In the Upper Barotiwala villages a total of 37 families were surveyed, out of which 30 families
(81.08%) were in the small to medium farmer families. 7 families were large farmer families
(19%).
(Note: Maximum size of land holding was 20 bighas in this region)
(iii) Haripur Region:
Classification of Farmers (Haripur Region)
Land Holding (In Bighas) No. of Families

1.01 - 4.00 3
4.01 - 7.00 3
7.01+ 3
Total 9

In the Haripur Region, we surveyed a total of 9 families out of which 9 families (100%) were in
the small to medium farmer category (with a land holding of up to 10 bighas). The proportion of
big farmers, excluding for our survey samples, in the Haripur region is lesser compared to other
areas. Landholders in this region own lands in other villages and employ tenants to till their land
(based on our interaction with a landlord in Haripur Mahua).

2. Average Productivity of Major Crops:

Classification of Farmers (Upper Barotiwala)
Land Holding (In Bighas) No. of
Families

<= 1.00 6
1.01 - 5.75 14
5.76 - 10.50 10
10.51 - 15.25 5
15.26+ 2

(i) Lower Baddi Region:







As we had mentioned above and also in the introduction part, the big land owners practice only
namesake agriculture in the lower Baddi region. Since agriculture has been their historical
mainstay, they cannot let go of it altogether. So they practice agriculture without due
consideration for productivity. In the following table we show for the average productivity of
wheat and maize in the Baddi region, excluding the farmers with land ownership of 20 bighas or
more.
Per Bigha Yield (Excluding Big Farmers)
Crops Average Productivity
(Quintals/Bigha)
Wheat 1.3293
Maize 1.2973


In the table above, we observe that the yield for both wheat and maize has gone up by 11.3 %
when farmers with land holding of less than 20 bighas are considered. This is a significant
improvement although the yield would further improve when only the medium and small farmers
are considered, given that small farmers practice agriculture with a lot more prudence.

(ii) Upper Barotiwala:

Major Crops Average
Productivity
(Quintals per
Bigha)
Wheat 1.1739
Maize 1.1478


Per Bigha Yield for Upper Barotiwala
Crops Average Productivity
(Quintals per Bigha)
Wheat 1.2003
Maize 1.2181


The upper Barotiwala region shows more productivity in both the crops than the Lower Baddi
region. But when the big farmers are excluded from the lower Baddi analysis, the productivity in
wheat and maize falls short by 9.70% and 6.10% respectively. Since the sample for the latter
analysis in Baddi focused on the farmer group which is identical to the one surveyed in the
Upper Barotiwala region, the filtered comparison seems to be a better reflector of the fact that
farmers in Barotiwala are falling behind the Lower Baddi farmers due mainly to the shortage of
irrigation facilities. There is an absence of irrigation facilities in the form of bore wells, irrigation
tanks are also not there and in some villages farmers cant even rent water from bore wells in
neighboring villages. Acute shortage of water and pest attacks hence lower the agricultural
productivity in this region.

(iii) Haripur Region:






The per bigha yield for the Haripur Region is the highest compared to the other two regions
mainly on account of the better availability of water (comparative). But the point to be
Crops Average
Productivity
(Quintals per Bigha)
Wheat 1.9333
Maize 1.7315


considered here is that a sample size of 9 might not be the true reflector of the productivity, an
increased sample size would be required for a more nuanced study of productivity. Still, the
Haripur region shows productivity that is at least 50% more than the productivity in lower Baddi
region sans the big farmers.

3. Land Holding wise Productivity: Wheat and Maize

(i) Lower Baddi






















Average Wheat Yield (Lower Baddi Region)
Land Holding (In Bighas) Average Wheat Yield
(Quintals per Bigha)


<= 1.00 2.00
1.01 - 10.83 1.34
10.84 - 20.67 .55
20.68 - 30.50 .14
30.51 - 40.33 .
40.34 - 50.17 .08
50.18+ .45

Average Maize Yield (Lower Baddi)
Land Holdings (In Bigha) Average Maize
Yield (Quintals
per bigha)


<= 1.00 1.00
1.01 - 10.83 1.33
10.84 - 20.67 .45
20.68 - 30.50 .13
30.51 - 40.33 .
40.34 - 50.17 .06
50.18+ .40



It can be observed from the tables above that the per bigha productivity for Wheat and Maize is
decreasing as the land holding size increases, i.e. small and medium farmers are getting their
lands to produce more with a productivity multifold more than large farmers, calling for a focus
on the small farmers.


(ii). Upper Barotiwala:


Average Wheat Productivity (Upper Barotiwala)
Land Holding (In Bighas) Average Wheat
Yield (Quintals
per Bigha)


<= 1.00 1.38
1.01 - 5.75 1.25
5.76 - 10.50 1.18
10.51 - 15.25 1.47
15.26+ .05












The trend can be seen to be followed in the Upper Barotiwala villages as well, although there are
some variations to the contrary in the wheat productivity the productivity change in maize further
solidifies the fact that small landholders are doing better than big landholders.

(iv) Haripur Region:


Average Wheat Productivity (Haripur Region)
Land Holding (In Bighas) Average Wheat
Yield (Quintals
per Bigha)
Mean

<= 1.00 .
1.01 - 4.00 1.75
4.01 - 7.00 2.30
7.01+ 1.75





Average Maize Productivity (Upper Barotiwala)
Land Holding (In Bighas) Average Maize
Yield (Quintals
per Bigha)


<= 1.00 1.75
1.01 - 5.75 1.11
5.76 - 10.50 1.12
10.51 - 15.25 1.04
15.26+ .

Table 1
Land Holding (In Bighas) Average Maize
Yield (Quintals
per Bigha)


<= 1.00 .
1.01 - 4.00 1.42
4.01 - 7.00 2.33
7.01+ 1.44



In the Haripur region, since all the farmers surveyed were small farmers, the productivity does
not vary greatly with the land holdings. Some subtle variations are noticeable, but even the
lowest productivity of 1.75 quintals per bigha is still higher than the samples in the Baddi and
Barotiwala region.

4. Per Bigha expenditure on Inputs (Fertilizers, Seeds and Pesticides): Small farmers
are generally believed to spend more (per hectare) on fertilizers and other inputs for their
farms. We set out to find what is the per bigha expenditure on inputs in the three clusters
and observe that the small farmers in all the three clusters spend more on inputs
(fertilizers, pesticides and seeds) than big farmers. But this analysis only partly explains
the high per bigha yield of small farmers as the correlation between inputs and yield is
not significant.
(i) Lower Baddi























Per Bigha Fertilizer Expenditure (Lower Baddi)
Land Holding (In Bighas) Average
Fertilizer Exp
(In Rs. per
Bigha)
Mean

<= 1.00 1080.00
1.01 - 10.83 835.60
10.84 - 20.67 672.89
20.68 - 30.50 455.00
30.51 - 40.33 .
40.34 - 50.17 400.00
50.18+ 300.00


Per Bigha Pesticide Expenditure (Lower Baddi)
Land Holding (In Bighas) Average
Pesticides Exp
(In Rs. Per
Bigha)
Mean

<= 1.00 600.00
1.01 - 10.83 427.29
10.84 - 20.67 420.70
20.68 - 30.50 393.33
30.51 - 40.33 .
40.34 - 50.17 60.00
50.18+ 416.67




Average Seeds Expenditure (Lower Baddi)
Land Holding (In Bighas) Average Seeds
Exp (In Rs. Per
Bigha)
Mean

<= 1.00 1000.00
1.01 - 10.83 750.07
10.84 - 20.67 565.52
20.68 - 30.50 220.00
30.51 - 40.33 .
40.34 - 50.17 360.00
50.18+ 283.33







(ii) Upper Barotiwala:


Average Fertilizer Expenses (Upper Barotiwala)
Land Holding (In Bighas) Average
Fertilizer Exp


<= 1.00 520.00
1.01 - 5.75 362.00
5.76 - 10.50 230.71
10.51 - 15.25 308.33
15.26+ 35.00







Average Pesticides Expenditure (Upper Barotiwala)
Land Holding (In Bighas) Average
Pesticide Exp
(In Rs. Per
Bigha)
Mean

<= 1.00 356.67
1.01 - 5.75 109.68
5.76 - 10.50 81.24
10.51 - 15.25 102.67
15.26+ 50.00







Average Seeds Expenditure (Upper Barotiwala)
Land Holding (In Bighas) Average Seeds
Exp (In Rs. per
Bigha)


<= 1.00 1650.00
1.01 - 5.75 401.13
5.76 - 10.50 302.93
10.51 - 15.25 258.33
15.26+ 100.00



(iii) Haripur Region:


Per Bigha Fertilizer Expenditure (Haripur Region)
Land Holding (In Bighas) Average
Fertilizer Exp


<= 1.00 .
1.01 - 4.00 475.00
4.01 - 7.00 172.00
7.01+ 173.33


Per Bigha Pesticides Expenditure (Haripur Region)
Land Holding (In Bighas) Average
Pesticides Exp
(In Rs. Per
Bigha)


<= 1.00 .
1.01 - 4.00 750.00
4.01 - 7.00 677.78
7.01+ 704.17



Per Bigha Seeds Expenditure (Haripur Region)
Land Holding (In Bighas) Average Seeds
Exp (In Rs. Per
Bigha)


<= 1.00 .
1.01 - 4.00 733.33
4.01 - 7.00 827.11
7.01+ 296.67


5. Regression Analysis: A regression analysis is used to study the fitness/validity of a
statistical model. In our analysis till now, we have observed that small farmers have a
better yield on the both crops and also spend more on inputs. But since inputs have no
significant correlation with the crop yield, we test the validity of the small farmer
argument by using a two step regression analysis. First, we see the combined effect of all
the inputs on the crop yield. Second, we see the combined effect of all the inputs,
including land on the crop yield. We analyzed wheat yield in our model.

We observe from our analysis that for the Lower Baddi region, land ownership plays a
vital part in deciding the crop yield as the model without land explains for 10.4 % of the
crop yield whereas, when including for land it explains for 27.8% of the crop yield. This
helps to solidify the argument that land does play a significant part in deciding the crop
yield in the Lower Baddi region given the comparatively skewed land ownership patterns
there. For the upper Barotiwala region, land does not play a part in deciding crop yield as
the model excluding land explains for 45.7% of the crop yield and including land it
explains for 46.7% of the crop yield. Thats a minimal increase of 1%. For the Haripur
region, given the uniform crop yield for all the 9 samples, the model is not significant
which implies that factors other than land and inputs account for the crop yield in that
region.





(i) Lower Baddi:













(ii) Upper Barotiwala:














(iii) Haripur Region:
Regression Analysis Excluding Land (Lower Baddi)
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
1
Regression 3.925 3 1.308 2.397 .077
b

Residual 33.846 62 .546

Total 37.771 65

Regression Analysis Including Land (Lower Baddi)
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
1
Regression 10.839 4 2.710 6.138 .000
b

Residual 26.932 61 .442

Total 37.771 65

Regression Analysis Including Land (Upper Barotiwala)
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
1
Regression 4.754 4 1.188 5.250 .003
b

Residual 5.433 24 .226

Total 10.186 28

Regression Analysis excluding land (Upper Barotiwala)
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
1
Regression 4.661 3 1.554 7.030 .001
b

Residual 5.525 25 .221

Total 10.186 28
























Regression Analysis Excluding Land (Haripur Region)
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
1
Regression .565 3 .188 .883 .540
b

Residual .640 3 .213

Total 1.205 6



Regression Analysis Including Land (Haripur Region)
Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
1
Regression .875 4 .219 1.327 .472
b

Residual .330 2 .165

Total 1.205 6