Farmers' participation in Contract Farming: A Case of White Onion and Chipgrade Potato Cultivation in Selected Provinces of Western India

In India, there have been controversies surrounding inclusiveness of contract farming arrangements (CFAs). The present paper contributes to the literature on the adoption of CFAs based on the field evidence of white onion and chipgrade potato cultivation in the selected provinces of Western India. Using the cross-sectional research design, primary data was collected from 378 randomly selected farm households using structured schedules along with the discussions with key informants. Descriptive statistics and logit regression results indicate that CFAs were inclusive, as less experienced farmers and farmers with low agricultural asset resource base preferred to cultivate under contract. However, it was found that the wealthier and more experienced farmers were the first ones to join CFAs. Survey results showed that it is generally the farmers who self-select themselves in CFAs. The participation and non-participation in CFAs is not a permanent feature. Farmers decision to contract in the forthcoming season is based on a number of factors viz. agro-climatic conditions, financial position, farmers expectation of returns in the contract and alternatives, theirs and co-farmers past experience. Imperfections in the input and output agricultural markets are the other reasons why farmers feel the need for the CFAs to grow the contract crop. Acknowledgement : This paper is a part of Ph. D. thesis under the guidance of Prof. S.S. Kalamkar and Prof. Deepak Shah st Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, India. Special thanks to Dr. Sudha Narayanan for valuable inputs in finalizing the study objectives and design. Thanks to Ms. Sushma Nayak for the inputs on the draft of the paper. Special thanks to the library staff of D. R. Gadgil library and Symbiosis Central library for facilitating the access to various research papers