Differential Effects of Price Increases on Small and Big Cultivators-A Case Study

In the general rise of agricultural prices from the year 1955-58 to 1956-57, that in jowar, raw cotton, and oil seeds was particularly prominent. The benefit of this situation accrued to the farmers of Vidarbha in particular, as Vidarbha, with its rich black soil and suitable timely rainfall, is one of the best tracts in the country for growing cotton, jowar and groundnut. Cotton and jowar together account for about 75 per cent, of sown area in the districts of Akola and Amaravati belonging to this tract.