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Foundation for Agrarian Studies
FAS UPDATES
SPIA Country-Level Stocktaking Exercise in SI-One-Day Consultation: A Report
October 13, 2026, Event Report
Fertilizer Use in Andhra Pradesh: Why West Godavari Matters
October 12, 2026, Research Blog
SPIA Country-Level Stocktaking Exercise in South India: One-Day Consultation
October 1, 2026, Public Event
Young Scholars' Conclave 2026
December 2-4, 2026, Public Event
YSOSS 4 Seminar 3
September 24, 2026, Online Event
YSOSS 4 Seminar 2
August 20, 2026, Online Event
PARI Survey: FAS Team Revisits West Godavari
August 3-7, 2026, Field Visit
FAS Young Scholars’ Online Seminar Series 4
July-November 2026, Online Event
About Us
Milestones
2003-2005
Foundation for Agrarian Studies (FAS) is registered as a charitable trust in India (2003)
2003-2005
FAS conducts its first surveys
in three villages in
Andhra Pradesh (2005)
2006-2010
FAS publishes the first volume
of the Agrarian Studies Series, Essays on
Agrarian Relations in Less-Developed Countries
2006-2010
FAS publishes the first volume of the survey series, Socio-Economic Surveys of Three Villages in Andhra Pradesh: A Study of Agrarian Relations (2010)
2006-2010
FAS conducted surveys in Tripura (2005), Maharashtra (2007), Rajasthan (2007, 2010), M.P. (2008), Karnataka (2009), West Bengal (2010)
2011-2015
FAS launches its peer-reviewed journal, the Review of Agrarian Studies (RAS) (2011)
2011-2015
The Foundation's office relocates to Bengaluru, and a small full-time research staff begins operating from the new office (2012)
2011-2015
FAS marks its tenth anniversary with the conference On Agrarian Issues in Kochi, Kerala
2016-2020
Sandipan Baksi appointed as Director at FAS (2018)
2016-2020
The conference on “Small-Scale Farming in India: Results from Field Surveys” is held in Thiruvananthapuram (2016)
2016-2020
FAS hosts its first Annual Public Lecture, delivered by M. S. Swaminathan (2018)
2021-2025
The Young Scholars' Online Seminar Series (YSOSS) is launched in April (2022)
2021-2025
The International Conference on Agrarian Change is held in Thiruvananthapuram from November 6–9 (2025)
2026-
FAS conducts a one-day Consultation on "The Dynamics of Agricultural Innovation in North India".
Who We Are
The Foundation for Agrarian Studies (FAS) is an independent research organization focused on multidisciplinary agrarian research.
The Team
A core team of research and coordination staff, along with a wide network of research collaborators from across the globe.
Impact
Long-lasting contributions to academic and policy thinking on rural India. Creating networks of young scholars.
Field Visits
Photographs captured during field visits in rural India
Field Visits
Photographs captured during field visits in rural India
Field Visits
Photographs captured during field visits in rural India
Events
Documenting major events conducted by the Foundation
Events
Documenting major events conducted by the Foundation
Events
Documenting major events conducted by the Foundation
Visitors
Scholars, media professionals, and academics visiting FAS.
Visitors
Scholars, media professionals, and academics visiting FAS.
Visitors
Scholars, media professionals, and academics visiting FAS.
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Geographical Span
Some Critical Findings
Small-scale Farming
Small-scale Farming
Small farmer households in India are unable to generate adequate incomes to maintain a minimum standard of living.
Public policy support is urgently needed to deliver economies of scale to small farmers.
Small farmers engage with input outcome and labour markets.
Public policy support is urgently needed to deliver economies of scale to small farmers.
Small farmers engage with input outcome and labour markets.
Women in Rural Economies
Women in Rural Economies
Women in rural India are not withdrawing from the labour force.
They deploy their labour very differently from men.
The gender wage gap continues to persist in rural India, and women face significant disadvantages in accessing credit.
They deploy their labour very differently from men.
The gender wage gap continues to persist in rural India, and women face significant disadvantages in accessing credit.
Rural Labour Force
Wage Stagnation in Rural India
There are no pure agricultural wage workers in rural India, with most workers engaged in both agricultural and non-agricultural activities. Agriculture alone cannot absorb the rural workforce.
Wage rates in rural India have been stagnating for more than a decade in real prices, across regions and gender.
Wage rates in rural India have been stagnating for more than a decade in real prices, across regions and gender.
Science and Technology
Science and Technology
Science and technology have the potential to bring about progressive social change in the countryside.
The agrarian structure plays a critical role in shaping the adoption of modern technologies and their implications.
The agrarian structure plays a critical role in shaping the adoption of modern technologies and their implications.