4.5 Commercialization of Agriculture

• 1900-1939 area under irrigation doubled
• 1947 : 25% total cropped ar was under public irrigation
• Public investment was guided by profitability factor + extreme contingencies

Features of Agricultural Investment

• Favoured rich farmers
• Imran Ali - Punjab canal colonies benefited most from it
• Aggregate yields were static
• Indigo never functioned as a proper plantation economy
• Planters forced cultivators and were exploitative and coerive -> Rebellion 1859 : 7.5 Indigo Rebellion 1859-1860
• Along w/ Indigo they were forced to cultivate other cash crops
• Cotton boom 1860s -> inc in demand and investment when the American Civil War ended so did the boom. Demand dried, prices of good inc, unemployment rampant, inflation.

Jute in East IN

• Jute economy crashed in 1930s
• By end 80% cropped acreage was still food crops
• 1920s Calcutta based Marwaris started investing in Jute that challenged British capital but it was limited to low investment/ smaller mills.

Cotton Industry

• 3 phases
• begin 1870s - 1880s
• 1890s diversifiation beyond Bombay viz Sholapur, Kanpur
• 1930s withstood depression then expanded

PYQs

1. Bring out the pattern of commercialization of agriculture in the 19th century. Was it a forced process for the vast majority of poorer peasants? [1986, 60m]

• Commercialization of Agriculture

1. What do you mean by commercialization of Indian Agriculture? Discuss its result. [2006, 60m]

• Commercialization of Agriculture

1. To what extent did the process of commercialization of agriculture affect the rural scene in India? [2010, 30m]

• Commercialization of Agriculture
• Impact of revenue reforms on Rural society