Introduction
According to the Agriculture Census (2015–16), India's average operational landholding size declined from 2.28 hectares in 1970–71 to 1.08 hectares, with small and marginal farmers accounting for over 86% of total holdings. Furthermore, NABARD's All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS 2021–22) estimates that the average landholding size has shrunk further to approximately 0.74 hectares.
Demographic and Social Factors
- Inheritance Laws and Customary Division: Multi-generational subdivision of ancestral land among all legal heirs, mandated by statutory frameworks such as the Hindu Succession Act, leads to continuous land fragmentation.
- Nuclearization of Joint Families: The rapid transition from joint families to nuclear household units accelerates the physical partitioning and demarcation of agricultural plots.
Economic Drivers
- Inadequate Non-Farm Employment: The limited capacity of the secondary and tertiary sectors to absorb surplus rural labor perpetuates heavy dependency on agriculture, resulting in severe disguised unemployment and plot subdivision.
Legal and Institutional Constraints
- Restrictive Tenancy and Land Leasing Laws: Archaic state tenancy laws create apprehensions regarding the loss of land titles, discouraging landowners from formally leasing out land to facilitate operational consolidation.
- Slow Pace of Land Consolidation (Chakbandi): Stagnant and sluggish implementation of land consolidation schemes by state revenue departments has hindered the contiguous merging of scattered parcels.
Regional and Agro-Climatic Nuance
- Disproportionate Division of Irrigated Parcels: In arid and semi-arid states like Rajasthan, customary partitions (Bantwara) intensely divide scarce fertile and irrigated canal command areas, drastically shrinking economically viable operational plots despite larger statistical averages.
Conclusion
To counteract the economic inefficiencies of micro-holdings and enable mechanization, state governments must enact NITI Aayog's Model Agricultural Land Leasing Act. Additionally, promoting Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and cooperative farming models can help smallholders achieve economies of scale.