Citation

Vakulabharanam V. J. Dev. Stud. 2005; 41(6): 971-997.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00220380500155239

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article analyses the impact of agricultural liberalisation on different farming classes in the region of Telangana in South India. The region has been witnessing significant growth in real agricultural output over the last 15 years. At the same time, as NSS (National Sample Survey) household survey data indicate, there have been significant welfare declines not only for marginal farmers and landless labour, but for other groups as well. There have also been more than a thousand farmer suicides between 1998 and 2002. I argue in this article that during the liberalisation period, that is, post 1990, agricultural growth and increased distress have become mutually intertwined. I use the terms, growth-inducing distress and distress-inducing growth to explain this apparent paradox. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group Ltd.

Language: en

Keywords

India; Asia; South Asia; Andhra Pradesh; Telangana; Eurasia; Eastern Hemisphere; World; economic growth; liberalization; peasant agriculture; rural economy; welfare impact