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Becoming a young farmer in Madhya Pradesh, India

Author

Listed:
  • Sudha Narayanan

    (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research)

Abstract

In India, as well as globally, agriculture faces an apparent generational problem, with youth reluctant to take up farming as an occupation. Yet there has been limited research in India using a generational lens to understand young people's trajectory in farming - their entry into and their continuation in farming. This study draws on in-depth qualitative interviews of a small sample of young men and women in farming communities in Madhya Pradesh. It focusses on young people's experiences in becoming and being farmers, privileging their own perspectives on the challenges they encounter in accessing land, knowledge and other resources and how they negotiate them. The study finds that contrary to popular perception and notwithstanding aspirations to move away from agriculture, several young farmers given a choice would rather engage in agriculture as a full-time activity and seek support to be able to do so. The study underscores the need to treat young farmers, both men and women, as a distinct analytical category from the perspective of policy making.

Suggested Citation

  • Sudha Narayanan, 2020. "Becoming a young farmer in Madhya Pradesh, India," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2020-040, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    • Handle: RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2020-040
    as

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    File URL: http://www.igidr.ac.in/pdf/publication/WP-2020-040.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Roy Huijsmans & Shanti George & Roy Gigengack & Sandra J T M Evers, 2014. "Theorising Age and Generation in Development: A Relational Approach," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 26(2), pages 163-174, April.
    2. Sharada Srinivasan, 2014. "Growing Up Unwanted: Girls’ Experiences of Gender Discrimination and Violence in Tamil Nadu, India," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 26(2), pages 233-246, April.
    3. Ashok Gulati & Pallavi Rajkhowa & Pravesh Sharma, 2017. "Making Rapid Strides Agriculture in Madhya Pradesh: Sources, Drivers, and Policy Lessons," Working Papers id:12011, eSocialSciences.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    youth; agriculture; farming; gender; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q19 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Other
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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