IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/agspub/v3y2014i1p63-107.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Rationalization of Agriculture in Kerala: Implications for the Natural Environment, Agro-ecosystems and Livelihoods

Author

Listed:
  • P.K. Viswanathan

    (P.K. Viswanathan is Associate Professor, Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad, India. Email: pkviswam@gmail.com)

Abstract

This article addresses an older debate which held that the agricultural transformation in the regional economy of Kerala has been mainly driven by ‘peasant rationality’. It is argued in this article that the agrarian transformation driven by peasant rationality has created a dichotomous agrarian society in the state, with a genre of rich farmers who have significantly benefited by the ‘rational’ switch over to commercial agriculture and another segment of subsistence farmers who have been marginalized by the agricultural development process. The article argues that the agricultural development process driven by ‘peasant rationality’ has several ramifications for the sustainable future of Kerala’s agricultural economy. To substantiate this, the article critically examines the agricultural development experience of the state over the past six decades and brings out the impasse affecting the agricultural sector in the emerging context of growing market uncertainties and other challenges confronting the agro-ecosystems and natural environments.

Suggested Citation

  • P.K. Viswanathan, 2014. "The Rationalization of Agriculture in Kerala: Implications for the Natural Environment, Agro-ecosystems and Livelihoods," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 3(1), pages 63-107, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:agspub:v:3:y:2014:i:1:p:63-107
    DOI: 10.1177/2277976014530232
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2277976014530232
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/2277976014530232?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeromi, P.D., 2007. "Impact of Agricultural Trade Liberalisation: Farmers’ Indebtedness and Suicides in Kerala," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 62(2), pages 1-17.
    2. Lekshmi, S. & George, K. Tharian, 2003. "Expansion of Natural Rubber Cultivation in Kerala: An Exploratory Analysis," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 58(2), June.
    3. Viswanathan P K & Amita Shah, 2012. "Gender Impact of Trade Reforms in Indian Plantation Sector: An Exploratory Ananlysis," Working Papers id:5135, eSocialSciences.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Agnes Gold & Stefan Gold, 2019. "Drivers of Farm Efficiency and Their Potential for Development in a Changing Agricultural Setting in Kerala, India," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(4), pages 855-880, September.
    2. Terah Sportel & René Véron, 2016. "Coconut Crisis in Kerala? Mainstream Narrative and Alternative Perspectives," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 47(5), pages 1051-1077, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Agnes Gold & Stefan Gold, 2019. "Drivers of Farm Efficiency and Their Potential for Development in a Changing Agricultural Setting in Kerala, India," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(4), pages 855-880, September.
    2. Daniel Münster & Ursula Münster, 2012. "Consuming the Forest in an Environment of Crisis: Nature Tourism, Forest Conservation and Neoliberal Agriculture in South India," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 43(1), pages 205-227, January.
    3. Zhang, Le & Kono, Yasuyuki & Kobayashi, Shigeo, 2014. "The process of expansion in commercial banana cropping in tropical China: A case study at a Dai village, Mengla County," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 32-38.
    4. Remya Tressa Jacob & Rudra Sensarma & Gopakumaran Nair, 2022. "Is rural household debt sustainable in a financially included region? Evidence from three districts of Kerala, India," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(4), pages 389-405, October.
    5. Varkey, Lisa M. & Kumar, Pramod, 2013. "Price Risk Management and Access to Finance for Rubber Growers: The Case of Price Stabilisation Fund in Kerala," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 68(1), pages 1-22.
    6. Goswami, S.N. & Challa, O., 2007. "Economic Analysis of Smallholder Rubber Plantations in West Garo Hills District of Meghalaya," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 62(4), pages 1-15.
    7. K.P. Krishnan & Venkatesh Panchapagesan & Madalasa Venkataraman, 2016. "Distortions in Land Markets and their Implications to Credit Generation in India," Working Papers id:10562, eSocialSciences.
    8. Indraneel Bhowmik & P. K. Viswanathan, 2021. "Development of the Rubber Sector in North East India: A Case of Missing Innovation and Linkages," South Asian Survey, , vol. 28(2), pages 294-317, September.
    9. Deepika Swami & Prashant Dave & Devanathan Parthasarathy, 2020. "Understanding farmers’ suicidal ideation: a structural equation modeling study in Maharashtra, India," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(4), pages 2175-2200, December.
    10. K.P. Krishnan & Venkatesh Panchapagesan & Madalasa Venkataraman, 2016. "Distortions in land markets and their implications to credit generation in India," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2016-005, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    11. M. Lathika & C.E. Ajith Kumar, 2009. "Indian Stakes in the Global Coconut Scenario by the Turn of the Century," South Asia Economic Journal, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, vol. 10(1), pages 209-221, January.
    12. Kumar, Parmod & Sharma, Anil, 2006. "Perennial Crop Supply Response Functions: The Case of Indian Rubber, Tea and Coffee," Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, vol. 61(4), pages 1-17.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:agspub:v:3:y:2014:i:1:p:63-107. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.