Income of farm households 23% higher than non-farm homes: Nabard survey

The income of agricultural households, which account for nearly half the rural households in the country, surged to Rs 1,07,172 in 2015-16 at a annual compound growth rate (CAGR) of 12 per cent since 2012-13.

According to a rural survey carried out by the National Bank for Agricultural & Rural Development (Nabard), while the average annual income levels of non-agricultural households in 2015-16 stood at Rs 87,228, all households (agricultural as well as non-agricultural) reported an average annual income of Rs 96,708.

This is 39 per cent more than Rs 77,112 per annum reported during the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) assessment in 2012-13, Nabard Chairman Harsh Kumar Bhanwala said here on the occasion of Nabard All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey 2016-17 on Thursday.

For the first edition of the survey, to be conducted every three years, data from as many as 40,327 rural households, with a total population of 1,87,518 members, at 245 districts in 29 States was used, he said.

The survey report was released by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar. The income levels of 19 out of 29 States are above the all-India average and 15 States recorded a CAGR of 10.5 per cent between 2012-13 and 2015-16, the survey indicated.

According to Bhanwala, Nabard decided to carry out such surveys every three years as similar surveys like NSSO Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households are conducted at a periodicity of 10 years. "This is because by the time such reports (such as NSSO surveys) come out, the situation would have dramatically changed," Bhanwala said.

According to the survey, 35 per cent of income of agricultural households was from cultivation, 34 per cent from wage labour, 16 per cent from salaries and 8 per cent from livestock. In the case of non-agricultural households 54 per cent came from wages, followed by salaries (32 per cent) and non-farm sector activities (12 per cent).

Agricultural households earned 23 per cent more than that of non-agricultural households, it reported. Significantly, the income from agricultural activities came down substantially from 48 per cent recorded during the NSSO survey.

On an average, agricultural households had an outstanding debt of Rs 1,04,602 whereas that of a non-agricultural household was Rs 76,731. Incidence of indebtedness, measured as a proportion of households reporting outstanding debt at the date of survey, was 52.5 per cent for agricultural households and 42.8 per cent non-agricultural households.

Many other interesting financial aspects are uncovered by the survey. It showed that 88 per cent of households participated in the survey reported having a bank account. About 55 per cent agricultural families reported any savings during the previous year and their average annual savings reportedly were Rs 17,488.

Similarly, 43.5 per cent of agricultural households reported that they borrowed any money during the previous year and 60 per cent of them borrowed from institutional sources. In comparison, in 2012-13, 72 per cent of agricultural households borrowed funds from institutional agencies, including microfinance institutions and self-help groups.

About 26 per cent of agricultural households and 25 per cent of non-agricultural households reported at least one type of insurance cover. The coverage of pension for agricultural households was 20.1 per cent compared to 18.9 per cent for non-agricultural households, the survey report said.

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