Farm income and wages fell in demonetisation year, reveals new data

Despite being a bumper monsoon year, farm output grew slower than input costs in FY17, reveals new data

A new set of official data has confirmed that both farmers’ incomes from crop cultivation as well as wages of farm labourers have contracted in 2016-17, the year when demonetisation took place. 

This is unusual, especially since the year had witnessed above-normal monsoon, which was distributed well across regions. Earlier, data had shown wage stagnation in that year.

On the positive side in agriculture as a whole, output from fishing and livestock grew the fastest in 2016-17. The growth was nearly 10 per cent over the previous year. 

The value of meat from livestock, milk and milk products, and fish