Question

UPSC Prelims 2023 Question:

Which one of the following best describes the concept of 'Small Farmer Large Field'?

1. Resettlement of a large number of people, uprooted from their countries due to war, by giving them a large cultivable land which they cultivate collectively and share the produce
2. Many marginal farmers in an area organize themselves into groups and synchronize and harmonize selected agricultural operations
3. Many marginal farmers in an area together make a contract with a corporate body and surrender their land to the corporate body for a fixed term for which the corporate body makes a payment of agreed amount to the farmers
4. A company extends loans, technical knowledge and material inputs to a number of small farmers in an area so that they produce the agricultural commodity required by the company for its manufacturing process and commercial production

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 2: Many marginal farmers in an area organize themselves into groups and synchronize and harmonize selected agricultural operations

Detailed Solution

Explanation:

The concept of 'Small Farmer Large Field' is a participatory collective action model that aims to improve the livelihood of small and marginal farmers in India by achieving economies of scale and bargaining power in the supply chain.

Small Farmer Large Field Model

The Small Farmer Large Field (SFLF) model was piloted in two villages of Odisha, an eastern Indian state, with 112 farmers who organized themselves into groups and synchronized their operations such as nursery bed management, transplanting, and harvesting collectively to achieve economies of scale. The SFLF farmers also purchased inputs (seed and fertilizer) and sold paddy as a group to increase their bargaining power in price negotiations. The results from this pilot study showed that the participating farmers almost doubled their profits.

The SFLF concept was adapted from the Large Field Model (LFM) of Vietnam, which was also based on the principles of aggregation and achieving economies of scale, through strengthening backwards and forward integration along the supply chain and lowering costs by synchronising key agricultural operations from field preparation to harvest.

Therefore, option (2) is the correct answer.

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