Tenancy Relations in Backward Agriculture - A Study in Rural Assam

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This study is an attempt to explore the typical tenancy contracts in rural Assam tracing back to the history of evaluation in the pre-British era and to provide empirical answers to a number of theoretically established propositions that are subjected to much controversy The book lays out a broad theoretical discussion on the issues involved in the sharecropping efficiency and interlinked credit transactions. The empirical evidence and the subsequent economic reasoning suggest that the Marshallian and related disincentive effects of sharecropping are of limited importance in the study area and so this institution can not necessarily be interpreted as detrimental to the overall development of the rural economy of Assam. The study also highlights the informal credit arrangements in rural Assam with its possible inter linkages to land and labour markets and brings out the potential threat of land alienation that is emanating from the practice of informal credit transactions under the system of usufructuary mortgage of land. Finally, an attempt has been made to explain the incidence of tenancy in Assam within a theoretical framework by identifying the key variables determining the extent of tenancy. It has been argued that family resources, particularly the owned land, the number of agricultural workers and bullock endowment, and human resources, specifically the level of education of the farmers, influence the leasing decision in rural Assam.

PRAVAT KUMAR KURI (b. 1963) born and educated in West Bengal. He obtained his Master degree in Economics from the University of Burdwan and was awarded with University Gold Medal & Jowhar Memorial Medal (1986). He did his M. Phil (1993) from Jadavpur University, Kolkata and Ph.D. from the University of Burdwan (2000). He started his teaching career as Lecturer at Government College, Itanagar, in 1992 and after that he taught Economics at the post- graduate level of Arunachal University more than a decade. Dr.Kuri is currently working as Reader in the Department of Economics, North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong. He was also an Associate Fellow, Inter-University Centre of UGC at Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla. He is co-author of a book Land Reform in Arunachal Pradesh and published a number of research articles in reputed journals of Social Science. Dr. Kuri is actively engaged in research and participated in a number of National and International Seminar/Conferences. His areas of research interest include Agricultural Economics/ Institutional Economics/ Resource and Environmental Economics.

Of all the problems of agriculture, the problem of the relation of the farmers to the land he cultivates is perhaps of vital interest. Is it preferable to a farmer to own the land he tills, to take it on lease, or to work on it as a wage earner? If he takes it on lease, is it better to lease it on lease, is it better to lease it on cash rent, fixed rent in (kind) or under sharecropping? There is no second opinion as to the merits of owner farms over tenant-farms. From all social and economic considerations, it is better to own a farm than to operate it under tenancy in whichever form, although it cannot be disputed that under certain circumstances tenants may be found to be better farmers than owners. Over the years, agrarian institution of tenancy has been approached from different perspectives by different schools of thought both theoretically as well as empirically with wide variability in conclusions and policy prescriptions. In this backdrop, Pravat Kumar Kuri made an indepth study on the tenancy relations in backward agriculture with special reference to Upper Assam to provide empirical answers to a number of theoretical puzzlements on the subject. The broad focuses of this book are on typical terms and conditions of tenancy in Assam, the issues relating to sharecropping efficiency and the informal credit arrangement under sharecropping. Moreover in a systematic effort, the author provided a broad theoretical sketch to explain the leasing behaviour of farmers by identifying the important variables determining the extent of tenancy. Carefully selected issues with competent analysis have made this book an integrated and comprehensive volume on tenancy relations in Assam.

Tenancy is an important agrarian institution in the State of Assam. During the last few decades several changes have been taking place in the agrarian economy of the State together with the changes in its institutional domain. In spite of the great changes, the agrarian institution of tenancy in Assam has remained largely understudied. This is either due to the scarcity of any systematic records of land tenure or due to the prevalence of concealed tenancy, which might have restricted to undertake any extensive empirical research based on primary survey. Under the circumstances, any comprehensive study on the institution of land tenancy in Assam is a formidable task where tenancy exists with considerable diversities and extreme complexities. This study attempts to cover the important features of tenancy in the State of Assam tracing back to its history of evolution in the Pre-British period. Based mainly on a primary survey, the study attempts to throw some lights on the current theoretical and empirical debates relating to the institution of tenancy.

**Contents and Sample Pages**