Decreasing Size of Land Holdings

140 million hectare of land is used as agricultural area, as of 2012-13. Over the years, this area has been fragmented into smaller pieces of land.

Marginal Land Holding

• The number of marginal land holdings (less than one hectare) increased from 36 million in 1971 to 93 million in 2011.
• Marginal and small land holdings face a number of issues, such as problems with using mechanisation and irrigation techniques.

Lack of Formal Lease Agreement

• Since smaller land holdings are either fragments of larger holdings which have been passed on within the family or have been informally leased by a large holder, farmers who cultivate these holdings often do not have a formal lease agreement.
• The absence of such land records does not allow these farmers to access formal credit or be eligible for government benefits such input subsidies or crop insurance schemes.

Leased Land Across States

• Of the total agricultural area under operation, 10% of land has been given out on agricultural leases, with the percentage of leased out land varying across states. 34% of the land in Andhra Pradesh, 25% in Punjab, 21% in Bihar and 18% in Sikkim has been leased out.
• In the past, states such as Karnataka and West Bengal have attempted to provide legal rights to tenant farmers by forming electronic records of land holdings and giving tenant farmers the right to their produce.

Laws of Tenancy Across States

• Currently, laws of tenancy of agricultural land vary across different states. States such as Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur completely prohibit the leasing of agricultural land.
• Others such as Bihar, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha allow land leasing only by certain categories of land owners.
• On the other hand, states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Assam do not explicitly prohibit leasing, and allow the tenant to purchase the land from the owner after a specified period of tenancy.
• In Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, there is no legal ban on leasing land. Different states also have different ceilings on the area of land which may be leased.