IMPACT OF OUT-MIGRATION ON AGRICULTURE: A CASE STUDY OF RURAL GARHWAL, INDIA

The linkage between migration and its impact on agriculture has attracted much academic and policy attention. Hence, the objective for the present study is to understand the pattern of farm activities between households with out-migrated males and households with non-migrants and also to test the hypothesis that migration entails more investment in farm activities and also to see whether migration has impact on cereal production or not. Primary data has been collected in rural area of Garhwal, in India. Majority of the households own agricultural land and negligible percentage of the households in the study area have abandoned agriculture. The mean area of agricultural land owned is higher among households with non-migrant husbands than the households with out-migrant husbands. Moreover, the mean land on which farming is done is higher among the former than the latter. It has been found that, people mostly grow cereals and there are certain agriculture related factors that are significantly associated with cereal production like total land use, having bulls, investment etc. Apart from this, investment in agriculture is negatively associated with the perception of future abandonment of agriculture. The agricultural responsibilities and work are now shouldered by the females in the households.