ANNOUNCEMENTS
The sustenance of the livelihood of its 2/3rd population engaged in agriculture is imperative for any economy. This study defines sustenance of agriculture by its ability to create a surplus. As surplus is that part of output which is left after all inputs (labour and non-labour) are deducted from it. Emphasising the use of labour inputs in doing so, human labour hours are divided as on-farm work hours and off-farm work hours. The idea is that even off-farm hours of family members require energy that the farm has to produce. In the results, it is observed that such consumption is a source of unsustainability in the farms. Another reason for unsustainability is the small sizes (between 1 to 5 acres) of farms on which crops are sown. As a solution to the first problem, lower family labour and higher hired labour, for which energy has to be provided only for on-farm work hours. The second cause of sustainability requires that policy measures should be targeted towards the land market so that the problem of small farm sizes and also fragmented farm sizes can be solved. This is true for both organic as well as inorganic farms.
The data also reveals that the probability of an inorganically producing household being sustainable is 87.5% as compared to 60% of its organic counterparts. Two reasons for the same were observed. Firstly, smaller number of household members and secondly, engagement of atleast one member of the family in non-agricultural work.
