Contract Farming in West Bengal: Patterns, Determinants and Policy Implications

Abstract

In order to revive the agricultural sector under the neoliberal regime, contract farming has been emerging as a new agricultural technology in India and in the state of West Bengal, in particular. The present paper is a micro-level comparative study of West Bengal, dominated mainly by small and marginal farmers, which serves as an interesting case for highlighting on the pattern of cropping changes over time. The study highlights on the contract farming models prevailing in the study area, the specific implications of the nature of contracts followed by a detailed discussion on the characteristics of the crop under contract and the structure of contract farming in the study area. The article also attempts to investigate the factors inducing contract farming by different size classes of farmers as well as contract farming through individual agents vis-a-vis cooperatives using a logistic regression model. The study reflects that the success of contract farming as an emerging alternative institution that may alter the existing farm practices as suggested by the recent Farm Bill, 2020, depends much on the nature of the product as well as the contract. JEL Codes: Q12; Q13; Q15; Y10.