Dynamics of Tenancy Relations Among the Small- and Medium- Scale Farmers of Telangana State

Abstract

Historically, agricultural tenancy relations are understood from an economic perspective considering the ‘land’ as a fundamental unit in determining the nature of contracts and overall agrarian structure. However, the current study focuses on all agricultural resources such as land, water, labour, livestock and other inputs, which are shared/exchanged between two contracting partners in agricultural production. The current study predominantly relied on the qualitative data collected using anthropological tools of data collection to understand the dynamics of resource-sharing relations between small- and medium-scale farmers of Nizamsagar Mandal, Telangana State. Emphasis is laid on understanding the dynamic nature of tenancy relations by conducting a detailed study on the terms and conditions of oral/informal resource-sharing contracts among farmers in the study area. The study reveals that especially among the small- and medium-scale farmers, the significance attached to the land as a determining factor in tenancy relations is found losing its relevance as other agricultural inputs are gaining importance in overall agricultural production. Further, diversity in contexts under which each farmer shares/exchanges agricultural resources is found to determine the terms and conditions of contracts, thereby reflecting the dynamic nature of tenancy relations in this region.