What is the Definition of a Small and Marginal farmer in India?

Answer: For the census, the government divides land holdings into five categories: marginal (less than one hectare), tiny (1-2 hectares), semi-medium (2-4 hectares), medium (4-10 hectares), and big (more than 10 hectares). Small-scale farmers are integral to India’s agricultural and rural economies. At the time of the 1990-91 Agricultural Census, 78 per cent of the country’s farmers were small-scale farmers, classified as marginal and sub-marginal farmers who owned or cultivated less than 2 hectares of land.

According to the RBI, a ‘Marginal Farmer’ is a farmer who cultivates up to 1 hectare of agricultural land (as an owner, renter, or sharecropper) (2.5 acres).

A farmer farming agricultural land of more than 1 hectare and up to 2 hectares (as owner, renter, or sharecropper) is referred to as a “small farmer” (5 acres).

70% of rural households still rely on agriculture as their primary source of income, with 82 percent of farmers being small and marginal.