ABSTRACT
Against the backdrop of consumerism, it is pertinent to investigate the adequacy of incomes to meet the consumption expenditure of farm families in the country. Thus, this study was initiated to examine whether farm families in India and Karnataka were in a position to meet their family consumption expenditure from their earnings. The data and results of NSSO surveys on agriculture and National Statistical Accounts formed the data base for the study. The consumption expenditure of families in general and rural families in particular in the country has risen over the years. The analysis based on the NSSO surveys on agriculture revealed the inadequacy of farm income for meeting the consumption expenditure of farm families in almost all states in the country. But farm families in developed states (agriculture) in the country were better positioned than farm families in the other states as they were able to earn substantial income from agriculture, which met a high proportion of their family consumption expenditure. In Karnataka, the scenario was better than the All-India average situation. The aggregate household income (from all sources) in Karnataka exceeded the consumption expenditure among small and large farm families. But, when agricultural income alone was considered, large farm families were in a better position vis-à-vis other farm types as they managed to meet their family consumption expenditure to the extent of 78.45 percent from agricultural income. However, small and medium farm families were able to meet only 58.75 and 54.81 percent of their consumption expenditure from farm income. This implies that agriculture income is not fully supporting the livelihoods of farm families. Therefore, farm families have to diversify their income sources to non-farm ones. The state can also develop new policies and programmes, as suggested in the chapter, to augment incomes.
