Average size of operational holding
Topic: Land Use, Farming Systems and Cropping Seasons in India · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
An operational holding is all the land one person farms as a single unit, whether they own it or rent it. The average size of operational holding shows how much land a typical Indian farmer works. According to the Agriculture Census 2015-16, the average was 1.08 ha. About 86% of holdings were small or marginal, meaning below 2 ha. Class 7 gives an average of about three-fourths of a hectare (Agriculture Census 2021-22; verify current).
Holdings are shrinking because the population is growing and land is divided among heirs. Farms this small are hard to mechanise. They earn little and make it hard to invest in better farming.
Example
In the crowded Ganga plain of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, each generation splits family land among heirs. Many farmers there now work plots far below 1 ha.
Don't confuse with
- Fragmentation of landholdings: average size measures how much land a farmer has. Fragmentation means that land is broken into small plots scattered in different places.
Related concepts
- Land revenue systems
- Land reforms
- Fragmentation of landholdings
- Consolidation of landholdings
- Unique Land Parcel Identification Number