Dynamics of Agricultural Productivity, Land Rent and Land Price Relations in Punjab

The analysis of data for post liberalization period from 1997–98 to 2010–11 revealed the significant dynamics involved in relative changes in land productivity, land rent and land prices in Punjab agriculture. It was observed that in state, due to increased demand of land for agricultural and non-agricultural purposes, both the land rent and price of land increased at a much higher rate as compared to the increase in average land productivity. While the inter-zonal differences in land productivity and land rent declined significantly over the study period, differences in land prices among different zones has been further widened. The low supply of land in comparison to its demand resulted in high rise of land rent and land prices making investments in land market for agricultural activities unviable. The polices aimed at promotion of the non-agricultural sector may help in pulling out a significant proportion of rural population from agriculture, and thus releasing the pressure on agricultural land for dependence.