Socio-Economic Conditions of Marginal Farmers (A Study with Special reference to Puducherry Region) Kumar A. Hari*, Mageshwari R.A.** *Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting & Finance, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda (Evening) College, Mylapore, Chennai, India **Assistant Professor, Department of Business Administration, Theivanai Ammal College for Women, Villupuram Online published on 4 April, 2015. Abstract Agriculture is an important sector of Indian economy as it contributes about 17% to the total GDP and over 60% of the population depending on it for their livelihood. The most disquieting feature of Indian rural economy has been the growth in the number of agricultural labourers engaged in crop production. The rapid growth has helped Indian agriculture mark its presence at global level. India stands among top three in terms of production of various agricultural commodities like paddy, wheat, pulses, groundnut, fruits, vegetables, sugarcane, tea, jute, cotton, tobacco leaves, etc. However, on marketing front, Indian agriculture is still facing the problems such as low degree of market integration and connectivity, accessibility of reliable and timely information required by farmers on various issues in agriculture. Also, the agricultural marketing sector is characterized by fragmented supply chain. Huge postharvest losses, multiple market intermediaries; higher transaction cost, lack of awareness and several other socio-economic factors are some of the acute problems being faced by the Indian agriculture. They get unusually low wages, conditions of work put an excessive burden on them and employment which they get is extremely irregular. This article deals with these major aspects of the agricultural labour. Top Keywords Agricultural Production, Crop Cultivation, Socio Economic condition of farmers, living standards and problems of marginal farmers. Top |