Peasant Classes, Farm Incomes and Rural Indebtedness: An Analysis of Household Production Data from Two States

The paper attempts to appraise the extent of the constraint of credit relations on agricultural production and its differential impact across peasant classes. Additionally, the analysis of the structure of rural indebtedness across peasant classes and size-class groups reveal the significance of a debt-relief policy in the current context and also brings out some of the shortcomings of the ADWDRS announced recently by the government. For this purpose, household-level farm production data is used which was collected in 2006 through a primary field enquiry in three regions, one in West Bengal and two in Andhra Pradesh. [WP 410].