Farmers' number comes down in Chhattisgarh

The number has come down by over 12% while the number of farm labourers in the state has soared

The number of farmers in Chhattisgarh has come down by more than 12 per cent while the number of farm labourers in the state has soared during the period.

The final census report was released Thursday evening that underlined that there was a big reduction in the number of farmers in Chhattisgarh that was once known as "rice bowl" of the country. The number had come down by nearly 450,000 during a decade time from 2001 to 2011.

"The number of farmers in 2001 was 3,488,672 in Chhattisgarh and it in 2011 census it was recorded at 3,038,094," Renu Pillai, Census Director for Chhattisgarh, said. During the period, the number of farm farmers in the state had gone up from 1,552,083 to 2,505,999, she added.The number of farm labourers in the state in one decade had increased by a whopping 70 per cent rate.

Agriculture experts in the state said the latest figure of the census 2011 stood testimony to the fact that small and medium farmers in Chhattisgarh had lost their land. This could be to any industrial project or infrastructure development works.