Types of Cultivators in India

The term cultivator in India refers to any person directly engaged in the cultivation of land, whether as an owner, tenant, or labourer. Cultivators constitute a significant segment of India’s rural population and are the backbone of the country’s agricultural economy. The nature and form of cultivation vary according to ownership rights, the scale of operations, and access to resources, resulting in different types of cultivators across regions.

Classification of Cultivators

The classification of cultivators in India can be broadly divided on the basis of ownership, tenure, and operational scale.

1. Owner Cultivators

Owner cultivators are individuals who both own and cultivate the land themselves. They possess legal ownership rights and are entitled to all produce and profits derived from the land. This category includes both small and large landowners who personally engage in or supervise farming operations.

Features

• Possess ownership title and legal rights over land.
• Bear full responsibility for investment, risk, and management.
• May employ family or hired labour depending on land size.
• Have better access to institutional credit and government subsidies.

Subtypes

• Marginal Owner Cultivators: Hold less than 1 hectare of land; dependent on family labour and subsistence farming.
• Small Owner Cultivators: Hold between 1–2 hectares; practise mixed or diversified farming.
• Medium and Large Owner Cultivators: Hold more than 2 hectares; often engage in commercial or mechanised farming.

Regional Distribution

Owner cultivation is prominent in states with successful land reforms such as Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, where ownership rights are clear and productivity levels are high.

2. Tenant Cultivators

Tenant cultivators are individuals who cultivate land belonging to another person under a tenancy agreement. They pay rent to the landowner in cash, kind, or as a share of the produce. Tenancy is one of the oldest forms of agricultural arrangements in India.

Features

• Lack ownership rights but have operational control over land.
• Pay rent based on a fixed amount or proportion of yield.
• Often face insecurity of tenure and limited access to institutional finance.
• Dependence on landlords may restrict autonomy in crop selection or investment decisions.

Subtypes

• Occupancy Tenants: Enjoy long-term or hereditary rights and are often protected under tenancy laws.
• Non-Occupancy Tenants: Cultivate land on a short-term basis without permanent rights.
• Sharecroppers (Bataidars or Adhiars): Cultivators who share the produce with the landlord, commonly in a 50:50 ratio.

Regional Patterns

Tenancy is widespread in eastern and southern states like Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh. Post-independence land reforms sought to regulate tenancy, ensuring security of tenure and fair rent practices.

3. Sub-Tenant Cultivators

Sub-tenancy occurs when a tenant leases out part or all of the land to another cultivator. Sub-tenant cultivators thus work on land rented second-hand, lacking both ownership and primary tenancy rights.

Features

• Operate under informal agreements with minimal legal protection.
• Typically poor and marginal farmers.
• Vulnerable to eviction and exploitation due to weak bargaining power.
• Often depend on borrowed capital and informal credit sources.

Legal Aspects

Many states have prohibited sub-tenancy to prevent exploitation and ensure that tenancy rights are retained by the actual tiller. However, in practice, informal sub-tenancy continues in several rural areas.

4. Bargadar or Sharecropping Cultivators

Bargadars, also known as Adhiars or Bhagchasis, are cultivators who work on another’s land in exchange for a share of the produce rather than fixed rent. This traditional system ensures joint participation of landowners and cultivators in production.

Features

• The landowner provides land, and sometimes inputs like seeds or irrigation.
• The sharecropper provides labour and management of cultivation.
• Produce is divided based on pre-agreed proportions (commonly half for each).
• Income and risk are shared between both parties.

Examples

• In West Bengal, the Operation Barga programme (1978) legalised the rights of sharecroppers, providing them with security of tenure and fair share of produce.
• In Bihar and Odisha, sharecropping remains a common arrangement, often informal and unrecorded.

5. Agricultural Labourer Cultivators

These are individuals who do not own land but work as hired labourers on other people’s farms. In some cases, they cultivate small plots of leased or family land in addition to working as wage labourers.

Features

• Receive wages in cash, kind, or part of the harvest.
• Represent the most economically vulnerable group in rural India.
• Depend heavily on seasonal employment.
• Low access to institutional credit or social security.

Regional Distribution

Agricultural labourers are predominant in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh, where population pressure on land is high and average landholding size is small.

6. Tribal and Community Cultivators

In tribal regions, land is often cultivated under community ownership systems or traditional tenure forms where land rights are collective rather than individual.

Features

• Land and natural resources are shared among tribal communities.
• Cultivation practices are often subsistence-based, relying on shifting or settled agriculture.
• Examples include jhum (shifting cultivation) in the North-Eastern states and community paddy fields in parts of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

These systems emphasise ecological balance, social cooperation, and customary rights over formal land ownership.

7. Corporate and Institutional Cultivators

In recent decades, corporate cultivation and institutional farming have emerged due to large-scale investments in agriculture.

Features

• Land is leased, owned, or managed by agribusiness firms, cooperatives, or corporate entities.
• Use of modern inputs, machinery, and scientific management is common.
• Focus on commercial crops, horticulture, floriculture, and contract farming.
• Provide market linkages and employment but may displace traditional small cultivators.

Examples include contract farming arrangements in Punjab, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, where companies collaborate with farmers to produce specific crops such as sugarcane, tomatoes, or cotton.

8. Marginal and Smallholder Cultivators

A significant proportion of Indian cultivators fall into the marginal and smallholder category, owning less than two hectares of land.

Features

• Engage in subsistence or semi-commercial farming.
• Rely heavily on family labour and traditional farming methods.
• Vulnerable to weather fluctuations and market instability.
• Often supplement agricultural income through non-farm activities.

Government schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) and Soil Health Card Scheme aim to support these farmers through financial and technical assistance.

Legal and Economic Perspective

The classification of cultivators is influenced by the land tenure system inherited from colonial times and modified through post-independence land reforms. Key legal measures include:

• Abolition of Zamindari System to establish direct relationship between the state and the tiller.
• Tenancy Reforms to provide security of tenure and regulate rent.
• Ceiling on Land Holdings to redistribute surplus land to the landless.

These reforms were intended to create a class of self-reliant owner-cultivators and reduce rural inequality.

Socio-Economic Importance

Cultivators, irrespective of category, form the cornerstone of India’s agrarian structure. Their role is crucial for:

• Food Security: Ensuring the production of staple crops.
• Employment Generation: Agriculture employs nearly half of India’s workforce.
• Rural Development: Cultivation sustains rural livelihoods and local economies.
• Cultural Identity: Agricultural practices and land relations shape rural traditions and social structures.

Contemporary Challenges

Despite progress, cultivators in India face persistent issues such as:

• Fragmentation of landholdings due to inheritance laws.
• Indebtedness resulting from low productivity and high input costs.
• Climate variability and resource degradation affecting yields.
• Limited access to markets, credit, and technology.