Agrarian Society and Agrarian Reform

An agrarian society is one relying for its subsistence on the cultivation of crops through the use of plows and draft. An agrarian system is the way of life of common peasant farmer around world. For
these farmers cultivation is a family affairs and they tile their farms as his forefathers. They cannot produce much more than meeting the livehood of their . There is little hope for the hundreds of millions who work in their feild with almost bare hands. Majority of rural population is engaged in Traditional farming. This type of farming is based on factors of production that have been used by farmer for many generations: the future possibilities are very limited.
An agrarian society is built on maintaining itself through farming and the production of food. An agrarian society focuses its economy primarily on agriculture and the cultivation of large fields. How much the nation’s population depends on agriculture economically also define an agrarian society. It’s not that in this society all people engage themselves in agricultural practices, but majorly it is practiced and stressed upon while other means of livelihood exist too.
Agrarian Reform
Agrarian reform is closely related to redistribution of land but also provisions of roads, rural , electricity, rural credit , extension services. Traditional agrarian system of farming needs to apply the most recent knowledge, technology produces an abundance of food even if the land is poor. Agrarian reform need for commercial farming practices if we want to change the face of rural people. Agrarian reform can include credit measures, training, extension, land consolidation etc. The World Bank evaluates agrarian reform using 5 dimensions:
(1) stocks and market liberalization
(2) land reform (including the development of land markets)
(3) agro-processing and input supply channels
(4) urban finance
(5) market institutions.
Procedure for Agricultural transformation
(a) Diversified or mixed farming
(b) Divergence to specialization: modern commerical farming
(1) Diversified or mixed farming
The diversified or mixed farming means farming of animals, crops cultivation, agroforestry etc are good together in very planned manner. The farming of crop can be both subsistence and commerical in nature. Mixed farming is common worldwide, in spite of a tendency in agribusiness, research and teaching towards specialized forms of farming. In this stage staple crop no longer dominates and new crops such as fruits, vegetables can be introduced in the slack season to take advantage of both idle land and family labour. Use of better seeds, fertilizer, and irrigation to yields staple crops like wheat, maize and rice can free part of the land for cash crop cultivation. It stablizes the income of the farmer because the farner is not depending solely on one activity. Should one activity fail ( due to low price or pests or disease) , the farmer can still get income from the other activities. Diversified farming can also minimize the impact of staple crops failure and provide a security of income previously unavailable.
(2) Divergence to Specialization: modern commerical farming
It is the most prevalent types of farming in advanced industrial nations. It involved in response to and parallel with development. Commercial farming is practiced for the purpose of making a profit. It involves the rearing of animals and or growing of crops on a large scale to increase production and profits. Technology and machinery are used with a few workers to operate them. This type of farming often involves monoculture, the growing of a single type of cash crop such as flowers or coffee. General rise in living standard, biological and technological progress, and the expansion of national and international markets have provided the main impetus for its emergence and growth. Pure commerical profit becomes the criterion of success, and maximum per hectare yields derived from synthetic ( irrigation, fertilizer, pesticides, hybrid seeds etc) and natural resources became the object of farm activity.
Condition Necessary for Agricultural transformation
(a) take full advantage of new and better opportunities.
(b) the decision-making process must remain on the farm.
(c) government must create a friendly environment for change.
(d) policy-makers must base their decision and policies on the behavior of farmers.
(e) note that the subsistence farmer may react differently from commerical farmers to economic stimulants.
Importance of Agriculture for Development

* Security for food.
* Source for the demand of Industrial products.
* Source of foreign exchange earnings.
* Employment opportunities for rural people.
* Improving rural welfare.
* The creation and expansion of the infrastructure.
* The lions share in national income.
* This increase the purchasing power of developing country consumers who typically spend more than two thirds of their income on food.
* Lower food prices improve nutrition, allowing an increase in labor productivity in every sector.
* Lower agricultural prices allow cost reductions to industries that use agricultural inputs.
* It increases demand for the output of other sectors.
* It demand for inputs to agricultural production such as fertilizer, transportation, commerical services, construction and technological inputs and demand for consumer goods and services, as a rural standards of living increases.