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Farmland by caste: Scheduled Castes operated 11.8% of farm holdings and 8.5% of the area in 2015-16

How much of India’s farmland do Scheduled Castes hold, and how has that changed?

By The Dalit ProjectUPDATED OCTOBER 28, 2026

Key takeaways

In 2018-19, Scheduled Caste (SC) households were 21.7% of rural households and owned 10.2% of the land rural households owned. Exhibit 1
SCs operated 11.8% of farm holdings and 8.5% of the area operated in 2015-16, against 11.3% and 7.0% in 1980-81. Exhibit 2
The average SC holding fell from 1.15 hectares in 1980-81 to 0.78 in 2015-16; for all holdings it fell from 1.84 to 1.08. Exhibit 3
92.3% of SC holdings in 2015-16 were below 2 hectares, against 86.1% of all holdings; 0.3% were 10 hectares or more. Exhibit 4

Farm holdings operated by Scheduled Castes (SCs), their number and area, in each Agriculture Census from 1980-81 to 2015-16, and by State and Union Territory (UT) and by size class from 1995-96, against all holdings; and the land owned by rural SC households against other households in July 2018 to June 2019, from the National Sample Survey’s 77th round.

of the area of India’s farm holdings operated by Scheduled Castes, 2015-16: 8.5%
average SC holding, against 1.08 ha for all holdings, 2015-16: 0.78 ha
of the land rural households owned held by SC households, who were 21.7% of them, 2018-19: 10.2%

Exhibit 1

In 2018-19, Scheduled Caste households were 21.7% of rural households and owned 10.2% of the land rural households owned

Share of rural households and of the land they owned, %, and average land owned per household, hectares, by the household’s social group, rural India, July 2018 to June 2019.

Social group	Rural households	Land owned	Average owned per householdhectares
Scheduled Tribes	12.3%	14.1%	0.586
Scheduled Castes	21.7%	10.2%	0.242
Other Backward Classes	44.5%	47.2%	0.543
Others	21.6%	28.5%	0.677
All	100.0%	100.0%	0.512

Note: A sample survey of rural households, July 2018 to June 2019, with the household’s social group as it states it. The National Statistical Office notes that shares may not add up to 100 because of rounding.

Source: National Statistical Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, NSS Report No. 587: Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holdings of Households in Rural India, 2019 (NSS 77th round), Statement 2.4, dated September 2021. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 28 Oct 2026.

Exhibit 2

Holdings operated by Scheduled Castes as a share of all holdings, and their area as a share of all area operated, %, India, each Agriculture Census from 1980-81 to 2015-16.

Holdings operated by Scheduled Castes as a share of all holdings, and their area as a share of all area operated, %, India, each Agriculture Census from 1980-81 to 2015-16.
Year	SC share of holdings	SC share of area operated
1980-81	11.3%	7.0%
1985-86	12.4%	7.7%
1990-91	12.6%	8.0%
1995-96	12.7%	8.2%
2000-01	12.6%	8.2%
2005-06	12.4%	8.4%
2010-11	12.4%	8.6%
2015-16	11.8%	8.5%

Note: All holdings include institutional ones, such as government farms, cooperatives and trusts, which the census gives under no social group.

Source: Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, All India Report on Agricultural Census 1980-81, Table 3.5 and Table 3.6; All India Report on Agricultural Census 1990-91, Table 4.2 and Table 4.4; and Agriculture Census 1995-96 to 2015-16, “Number & Area of Operational Holdings by Size Group”. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 28 Oct 2026.

Exhibit 3

The average Scheduled Caste holding was 0.78 hectares in 2015-16, against 1.08 hectares for all holdings

Average area operated per holding, hectares, Scheduled Castes and all social groups, India, each Agriculture Census from 1980-81 to 2015-16.

Average area operated per holding, hectares, Scheduled Castes and all social groups, India, each Agriculture Census from 1980-81 to 2015-16.
Year	Scheduled Castes (Hectares)	All social groups (Hectares)
1980-81	1.2	1.8
1985-86	1.1	1.7
1990-91	1.0	1.6
1995-96	0.9	1.4
2000-01	0.9	1.3
2005-06	0.8	1.2
2010-11	0.8	1.2
2015-16	0.8	1.1

Note: Worked out from each round’s total area and number of holdings. All holdings include institutional ones, such as government farms, cooperatives and trusts, which the census gives under no social group.

Exhibit 4

78.2% of Scheduled Caste holdings in 2015-16 were marginal, below 1 hectare, against 68.5% of all holdings

Holdings in each size class as a share of all holdings of the group, %, and the Scheduled Caste share of the class’s holdings and area, %, India, Agriculture Census 2015-16, from the smallest class up.

Size class	Area operated	Of SC holdings	Of all holdings	SC share of the class’s holdings	SC share of the class’s area
Marginal	below 1 hectare	78.2%	68.5%	13.5%	13.1%
Small	1 to 2 hectares	14.1%	17.6%	9.5%	9.5%
Semi-medium	2 to 4 hectares	5.6%	9.6%	7.0%	6.9%
Medium	4 to 10 hectares	1.8%	3.8%	5.6%	5.5%
Large	10 hectares and above	0.3%	0.6%	5.7%	5.3%

Note: Size classes are by area operated, as the census sets them. Shares of each group are worked out from the five size classes added together. All holdings include institutional ones, such as government farms, cooperatives and trusts, which the census gives under no social group.

Source: Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Agriculture Census 2015-16, “Number & Area of Operational Holdings by Size Group”. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 28 Oct 2026.

Exhibit 5

In 28 of the 30 States and UTs shown, the average Scheduled Caste holding in 2015-16 was smaller than the average for all holdings

Holdings operated by Scheduled Castes, their share of the State’s holdings and of its area operated, %, and the average holding, hectares, SC and all, Agriculture Census 2015-16, States and UTs with any SC holdings, alphabetically.

Table of 30 States and UTs. Andhra Pradesh: 727,916 SC holdings, 8.5% of holdings, 6.2% of area, 0.68 against 0.94 hectares; Assam: 143,474 SC holdings, 5.2% of holdings, 5.1% of area, 1.05 against 1.09 hectares; Bihar: 1,915,364 SC holdings, 11.7% of holdings, 8.9% of area, 0.30 against 0.39 hectares; Chhattisgarh: 485,419 SC holdings, 12.1% of holdings, 8.1% of area, 0.83 against 1.24 hectares; Dadra and Nagar Haveli: 252 SC holdings, 1.7% of holdings, 0.7% of area, 0.56 against 1.38 hectares; Daman and Diu: 293 SC holdings, 3.7% of holdings, 2.9% of area, 0.28 against 0.36 hectares; Delhi: 92 SC holdings, 0.4% of holdings, 0.1% of area, 0.38 against 1.39 hectares; Goa: 671 SC holdings, 0.9% of holdings, 0.3% of area, 0.32 against 1.10 hectares; Gujarat: 163,448 SC holdings, 3.1% of holdings, 2.9% of area, 1.77 against 1.88 hectares; Haryana: 24,800 SC holdings, 1.5% of holdings, 1.1% of area, 1.58 against 2.22 hectares; Himachal Pradesh: 219,176 SC holdings, 22.0% of holdings, 13.9% of area, 0.60 against 0.95 hectares; Jammu and Kashmir: 99,040 SC holdings, 7.0% of holdings, 7.6% of area, 0.65 against 0.59 hectares; Jharkhand: 379,418 SC holdings, 13.5% of holdings, 10.0% of area, 0.82 against 1.10 hectares; Karnataka: 973,172 SC holdings, 11.2% of holdings, 9.4% of area, 1.14 against 1.36 hectares; Kerala: 564,671 SC holdings, 7.4% of holdings, 2.6% of area, 0.06 against 0.18 hectares; Madhya Pradesh: 1,178,482 SC holdings, 11.8% of holdings, 8.4% of area, 1.12 against 1.57 hectares; Maharashtra: 1,029,708 SC holdings, 6.7% of holdings, 6.2% of area, 1.24 against 1.34 hectares; Manipur: 3,140 SC holdings, 2.1% of holdings, 2.5% of area, 1.36 against 1.14 hectares; Meghalaya: 480 SC holdings, 0.2% of holdings, 0.1% of area, 0.42 against 1.29 hectares; Odisha: 742,330 SC holdings, 15.3% of holdings, 11.9% of area, 0.74 against 0.95 hectares; Puducherry: 1,317 SC holdings, 3.9% of holdings, 3.7% of area, 0.58 against 0.62 hectares; Punjab: 63,002 SC holdings, 5.8% of holdings, 3.6% of area, 2.25 against 3.62 hectares; Rajasthan: 1,047,745 SC holdings, 13.7% of holdings, 11.7% of area, 2.32 against 2.73 hectares; Sikkim: 3,767 SC holdings, 5.3% of holdings, 2.6% of area, 0.62 against 1.27 hectares; Tamil Nadu: 798,674 SC holdings, 10.1% of holdings, 7.8% of area, 0.58 against 0.75 hectares; Telangana: 700,029 SC holdings, 11.8% of holdings, 8.9% of area, 0.76 against 1.00 hectares; Tripura: 115,853 SC holdings, 20.2% of holdings, 15.0% of area, 0.37 against 0.49 hectares; Uttar Pradesh: 4,038,217 SC holdings, 17.0% of holdings, 11.0% of area, 0.48 against 0.73 hectares; Uttarakhand: 123,800 SC holdings, 14.0% of holdings, 8.7% of area, 0.53 against 0.85 hectares; West Bengal: 1,797,603 SC holdings, 24.8% of holdings, 20.4% of area, 0.62 against 0.76 hectares.

State/UT	SC holdings	SC share of holdings	SC share of area	Average SC holdinghectares	Average, all holdingshectares
Andhra Pradesh	727,916	8.5%	6.2%	0.68	0.94
Assam	143,474	5.2%	5.1%	1.05	1.09
Bihar	1,915,364	11.7%	8.9%	0.30	0.39
Chhattisgarh	485,419	12.1%	8.1%	0.83	1.24
Dadra and Nagar Haveli	252	1.7%	0.7%	0.56	1.38
Daman and Diu	293	3.7%	2.9%	0.28	0.36
Delhi	92	0.4%	0.1%	0.38	1.39
Goa	671	0.9%	0.3%	0.32	1.10
Gujarat	163,448	3.1%	2.9%	1.77	1.88
Haryana	24,800	1.5%	1.1%	1.58	2.22
Himachal Pradesh	219,176	22.0%	13.9%	0.60	0.95
Jammu and Kashmir	99,040	7.0%	7.6%	0.65	0.59
Jharkhand	379,418	13.5%	10.0%	0.82	1.10
Karnataka	973,172	11.2%	9.4%	1.14	1.36
Kerala	564,671	7.4%	2.6%	0.06	0.18
Madhya Pradesh	1,178,482	11.8%	8.4%	1.12	1.57
Maharashtra	1,029,708	6.7%	6.2%	1.24	1.34
Manipur	3,140	2.1%	2.5%	1.36	1.14
Meghalaya	480	0.2%	0.1%	0.42	1.29
Odisha	742,330	15.3%	11.9%	0.74	0.95
Puducherry	1,317	3.9%	3.7%	0.58	0.62
Punjab	63,002	5.8%	3.6%	2.25	3.62
Rajasthan	1,047,745	13.7%	11.7%	2.32	2.73
Sikkim	3,767	5.3%	2.6%	0.62	1.27
Tamil Nadu	798,674	10.1%	7.8%	0.58	0.75
Telangana	700,029	11.8%	8.9%	0.76	1.00
Tripura	115,853	20.2%	15.0%	0.37	0.49
Uttar Pradesh	4,038,217	17.0%	11.0%	0.48	0.73
Uttarakhand	123,800	14.0%	8.7%	0.53	0.85
West Bengal	1,797,603	24.8%	20.4%	0.62	0.76

Note: All holdings include institutional ones, such as government farms, cooperatives and trusts, which the census gives under no social group. States and UTs as the census gave them in 2015-16.

Source: Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Agriculture Census 2015-16, “Number & Area of Operational Holdings by Size Group”. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 28 Oct 2026.

What’s next

The next update

We will update these figures on release of the next Agriculture Census tables by social group. This is version 1.1.0.

What the data can’t tell us yet

Who owns the land SC holders farm, or how many SC households farm no land: the census counts holdings, not owners or the landless.

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About this data

What this shows: The number and area of farm holdings Scheduled Castes operate, in each Agriculture Census from 1980-81 to 2015-16, by State and size class from 1995-96, and the land rural SC households owned in 2018-19.
Source: Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India; Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India; National Statistical Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, 4 documents, Number & Area of Operational Holdings by Size Group, Table 3.5, Distribution of holdings by various social groups for each major-size classes, 1980-81; Table 3.6, Distribution of operated area in various social groups by major size classes, 1980-81, Table 4.2, Distribution of holdings by All Social Groups and Major Size classes in India, 1985-86 and 1990-91; Table 4.4, Distribution of operated area by All Social Groups in India for Major Size Classes, 1985-86 and 1990-91 and Statement 2.4. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 28 Oct 2026. Every source
What it does not show: Who owns the land SC holders farm, or how many SC households farm no land: the census counts holdings, not owners or the landless.
Last updated: 28 Oct 2026 · Next expected update: on release of the next Agriculture Census tables by social group
Corrections: Changelog (version 1.1.0) · Corrections policy

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