The traditional money lending system as represented by the arhtiyas in rural Punjab is undergoing varied changes. As Punjab’s agrarian crisis is deepening day by day, the entire peasantry has sunk deeply into indebtedness. On the one hand, farmers have become increasingly dependent on the arhtiya for a steady flow of cash not only for agricultural inputs but also for other daily needs crucial to their survival, on the other, capitalist development in the agrarian sector has transformed the rigid caste based arhtiya system into a lucrative economic profession where today even big farmers, after reaping surplus form agriculture, are joining this business. It is time for policy makers, experts and other stake holders to look at these changes closely. This book explores the various dimensions of the arhtiya system and attempts to suggest an alternate marketing system. It also questions the prevalent informal credit market and recommends measures in favour of the hard working debt-ridden peasantry of Punjab.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sukhpal Singh
Dr. Sukhpal singh is Associate Professor, Centre for Management in Agriculture (CMA), Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. He has to his credit 65 research papers in national and international journals and in edited books on issues of agribusiness management and development including contract farming and international agro-trade, besides more then 35 articles in business dailies, weeklies, and magazines. He also has two books (rural marketing; and political economy of contract farming in India) to his credit He has been a visiting a fellow at the IDS, Sussex (UK), and the Chulalongkorn University, Bankok. His research and teaching interests are in vertical co-ordination of agribusiness chains and their governance. He has more than 14 years of teaching, training, research, and consultancy experience in agribusiness. Now, he teaches courses in marketing of agricultural inputs, and franchising in agribusiness, and is researching into issues of small farmer participation in global food and fibre chains.
There are no reviews yet.