Publication: Does Land Fragmentation Increase the Cost of Cultivation?: Evidence from India

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Date
2016-04-28
ISSN
0022-0388
Published
2016-04-28
Author(s)
Monchuk, Daniel
Nagarajan, Hari K.
Singh, Sudhir K.
Abstract
To appreciate overall impacts of fragmentation, underlying channels, and potential heterogeneity by holding size, we distinguish average fragment size and mean inter-fragment distance as two aspects of this phenomenon. Estimating a cost function with associated input demand equations on a large nationally representative Indian survey, robust to endogeneity, suggests that fragmentation’s main impact is to reduce mean plot size below the threshold for mechanization. Higher inter-fragment distances increase costs for larger holdings, but by a much smaller magnitude. Implications as to when programs to consolidate holdings may make sense and ways to ensure their sustainability are discussed.
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