About 52 per cent of an estimated 90.2 million agricultural households in India are indebted, says a Government survey aimed at capturing the condition of agricultural households.

Andhra Pradesh had the highest share of indebted agricultural households in the country (92.9 per cent), followed by Telangana (89.1 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (82.5 per cent), says the Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households – 70{+t}{+h} round (January–December 2013), by the National Sample Survey Office, released here on Friday.

The survey found that about 60 per cent of the outstanding loans taken by the agricultural households were from institutional sources, including banks (42.9 per cent), cooperative societies (14.8 per cent) and government (2.1 per cent).

The survey also found that only a “very small” segment of households went for crop insurance, a key reason being “lack of awareness”. The farm sector in India has been bearing the brunt of unpredictable weather conditions year after year, leading to rising instances of farmer suicides in the affected States.

About 45 per cent of agricultural households in India belong to the Other Backward Classes, 16 per cent to the Scheduled Castes and 13 per cent to the Scheduled Tribes. About 44 per cent of the surveyed households said they had MGNREGA job cards, while only 36 per cent had BPL (below poverty line) cards.

Land matters

Most households said the principal source of their income largely depended on the extent of land possession. About 56 per cent of households having less than 0.01 hectares said wage/salary employment was their key source of income, 23 per cent reported livestock as key income source, while most households that owned over 0.40 hectares said cultivation was their principal source of income.

The survey defines an agricultural household as one receiving “value of produce of more than Rs. 3,000 from agriculture and having at least one member self-employed in agriculture during the last 365 days”.

The survey was conducted in 4,259 villages across India and covered 35,200 households in agricultural year July 2012-June 2013, an official release said.

Key findings

The top 3 States in indebtedness are – AP, Telangana and Tamil Nadu

60% of the outstanding loans are from institutional sources including banks

44% of the households surveyed have MGNREGA job cards

Very small segment of households opt for crop insurance