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Abstract
The study reconfirmed prevalence of reverse tenancy in dryland agriculture in Southern
India in the recent years (2009-11) as was in the mid-seventies. Household level panel data
collected from six villages by ICRISAT under its Village Level Studies (VLS) and Village
Dynamics Studies (VDS) program were used. Area under tenancy has increased in the
recent years, mostly in the form of share cropping. Panel Data Probit analysis revealed that
likelihood of a household to be a tenant is positively linked with number of agricultural
worker, bullock ownership and male-headed household. Land ownership, age and education
of household head, and dependence on non-farm income had negative association. Crop
yield and profitability were generally higher in owned land than that of land under tenancy.
Reduction of reverse tenancy in dryland agriculture will require risk reducing technologies
(drought-resistant varieties, supplementary irrigation) and availability of critical inputs (for
example, bullock for intercultural operations).