Chandigarh, Feb 4: Agricultural households in Punjab and Haryana are earning monthly incomes comparable to Group D government employees, according to new data presented in the Lok Sabha. While these northern states remain above the national average, they also grapple with some of the highest outstanding loan amounts per family in the country.
Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Ramnath Thakur provided the figures in a written reply to a parliamentary inquiry. The data shows that a farm household in Punjab earns an average of Rs 26,701 per month, while those in Haryana earn Rs 22,841. This stands in contrast to the national average income of Rs 10,218.
However, the prosperity of these agriculturally advanced regions is tempered by significant financial liabilities. The average outstanding loan per farm family in Punjab has reached Rs 2.03 lakh, with over 54 per cent of households under debt. In Haryana, the average debt stands at Rs 1.83 lakh, affecting 47.5 per cent of agricultural families.
“The income estimates are periodically arrived at through the Situational Assessment Survey of agricultural households,” Thakur mentioned in his reply.
The Minister further noted that the national income figure is a composite of various streams. He said the Rs 10,218 average includes receipts from crop production, animal farming, wages, and non-farm businesses. Nationally, the primary drivers of debt include revenue expenditure in farm business and capital investments, which together account for more than half of the total loans taken by farmers.
