Agricultural program planning to reflect potentials of small farms with applications to Mysore State, India

Small Farmer Development Agencies (SFDA) have been established in selected districts of Mysore and other states to coordinate the activities of relevant government agencies. This dissertation concerned the program results that might potentially be achieved if the resource constraints, production capabilities, and motivations of the small farmers themselves are taken adequately into account. Possible reasons why small farmers fail to respond to assistance programs were diagnosed. A general approach was suggested for selecting representative farmers, analyzing their potential responses to such help as more credit and irrigation, and assessing the aggregate implications in terms of program benefits and resource needs. This approach was then illustrated to the extent possible with available farm data from a distributory in the Tungabhadra Irrigation Project in Mysore State. The Tungabhadra illustration drew on survey data for 40 small farms and related production input-output information that had been synthesized from several sources. Irrigated land area and operating capital were found to be the resources that most severly constrained farmers from achieving higher incomes.