FARM SIZE- PRODUCTIVITY RELATIONSHIP: SOME EVIDENCE FROM KERALA

In the past three decades following the implementation of land reforms, the agricultural sector in Kerala has undergone wide-ranging changes in terms of farm size, cropping pattern, cultivation practices and productivity. There has been a phenomenal growth in the number of agricultural holdings leading to the emergence of a large number of very smallholdings. Of course, agricultural productivity also increased significantly during this period. The major question examined in this paper is whether the increase in productivity of land is explained by the decrease in the size of holdings. The agricultural census figures suggest a possible relation between the two. In order to verify this relationship data were collected through a sample survey in a rural locality in Kerala. A size-wise analysis of productivity indicated that it is the large farms, which have higher productivity. However, more detailed analysis using regression methods shows that no firm relationship exists between farm size and productivity. To identify the causal factors of productivity further in-depth analysis of the data was made. It is often held that cultivators having non-farm sources of income have more access to resource for farm expenditure than cultivators whose sole source of is cultivation an