Articles by Ranjit Singh Ghuman

Farmers' unions and political parties have been demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan minimum support price (cost plus 50%) to address agrarian crisis and farmers' distress. But they have not raised demands for the implementation of the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers, which have the potential to provide lasting solutions.

Census 2001 recorded a substantial shift of rural workforce from agriculture to non-agricultural sectors during 1991-2001, in Punjab. Figures suggest that 60.6 per cent workers in Punjab are now engaged in non-agricultural activities and 46.5 per cent rural workers in Punjab have been absorbed by the non-farm sector. Such a transformation of rural economy of Punjab seems unprecedented in the face of low growth rate of employment in secondary and tertiary sectors during 1991-2001. This paper, based on an empirical study of three villages in three districts of Punjab, however, reveals the wide variations that exist with regard to the proportion of rural non-farm workers between census data and ground realities. According to this study, nearly 16 per cent of the rural workers in Punjab are engaged in the rural non-farm sector as compared to 46.5 per cent recorded by Census 2001.