Tenancy, Non-Resident Households and Institutions used to access inputs: An Investigation of Two Villages in the West Godavari District

Abstract

The primary goal of this study is to understand agrarian changes and institutions that cultivators use to access inputs. One of the evolving features of the agrarian structure is the increasing presence of tenant households and households that own but do not cultivate land. One important implication of the significant presence of tenant households is the method used to access inputs in the rural market. The study investigates who leases land and who leases out land in the agrarian economy. It uses primary surveys conducted in two villages in the West Godavari district in 2014. During the survey, a detailed enumeration of all households was carried out. The increase in the non-resident households that own land is a major reason for the rise in tenancy in the surveyed area. A significant proportion of households that enter tenancy are pure tenants or households with no land ownership but entering the land-lease market. The entry of these households might have led to an exorbitant increase in rental costs. The survey also highlights the importance of commission agents in providing input and connecting non-resident households with potential lessees. The above features could have implications for agrarian transformation.