https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03066150.2025.2537260 Accumulation in small-scale horticulture: entrepreneurial farming and the regional state in South India (Andhra Pradesh)

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Shift from groundnut to horticulture :   In Rayalaseema (esp. Anantapur), groundnut cultivation declined after the 1990s due to falling profitability. Farmers shifted toward high-value horticulture, particularly sweet orange, encouraged by state policy  .

Role of the regional state:   Since the early 2000s, successive Andhra Pradesh governments promoted horticulture as a solution to agrarian crisis through subsidies (micro-irrigation, sprayers), debt waivers, canal irrigation investments, and marketing reforms like rythu bazaars. The state actively created infrastructure for horticulture, rather than simply “rolling back” interventions .

Emergence of small-scale entrepreneurial farmers:   Many small and OBC (Backward Caste) farmers took up sweet orange cultivation, cultivating entrepreneurial practices of self-governance, risk management, and market engagement. Farming became tied to ideas of talent and enterprise, reinforcing social status distinctions  .

Patterns of accumulation and inequality:   Horticulture allowed some small farmers to accumulate capital and avoid proletarianisation. However, gains were uneven:   OBC farmers made modest upward mobility,  Reddy caste farmers retained dominance,  Scheduled Castes had negligible participation due to resource constraints,  Reliance on groundwater made accumulation precarious  .

Market structures:   Instead of global corporate agribusiness, local and regional merchant networks dominated trade. Farmers often sold to “Sirivel Muslim” traders from Kurnool district, who extracted value through informal practices (e.g., taking 20% of fruit gratis). Farmers avoided APMC markets due to high costs and commissions  .

Technological and labour change:   Mechanisation, micro-irrigation, and input-intensive cultivation reduced demand for wage labour, especially women’s agricultural work. This contributed to declining female participation in farm labour  .

Governance and neoliberalism:   The study argues that horticulture in Andhra Pradesh reflects a neoliberal governmentality: the state promotes market-oriented farming and “self-help” discourse, while embedding new technologies and infrastructures that discipline farmers into entrepreneurial behaviour  .

Broader implications  Horticulture stabilises smallholder livelihoods in dry regions but intensifies ecological stress (groundwater depletion) and social differentiation.  The agrarian question of accumulation remains central in India—not just labour.   Regional states, not only national policy, are crucial drivers of agrarian transformation  .

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