Small farmers cultivate on a farm of less than 2 hectares. Out of the 570 million farms in the world, 475 million are smallholder farms. Globally, these smallholder farms cover 12% of the agricultural land. About 30% of the global crop production for food, animal feed and fuel comes from the smallholder farms. The smallholder farms produce more than 70% of the food calories for the people living in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

The number of smallholder farms in India is increasing. In 2000, there were around 98.1 million smallholder farms. By 2020, the number increased to 126 million. The area under smallholder farms increased from 62 million hectare to 74 million hectares. In 2020, about 86% of the total farms in India were smallholder farms. They operated in about 47% of the agricultural area. Fanzo mentions that farm incomes from Indian smallholders operating in less than 1 ha do not cover household expenditure. About 32% of the households’ incomes of the farm families is derived from wage income. The income from the smallholder farms is influenced by the factors like market availability, supply costs, prices of farm produces, mechanization, irrigation facilities and weather.

The smallholder farms play a significant role in overall food security. At world level, smallholder farms under 2 ha produce 30–34% of food supply on 24% of gross agricultural area. It also provides 26% of the World’s employment. In India, smallholder farms dominate in terms of number of holdings and are increasing. Agriculture and allied activities remains the largest employer in India providing livelihood to 42% of the population. Any development influencing smallholder farms has the potential to impact a large population.