Punjab and Kerala were placed at number two and three, respectively.
Uttar Pradesh (Rs 1,630 a month) had the lowest average income in rural areas during 2003 and was preceded by Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Orissa.
With income from non-farm business and farming of animals being negligible, the report said that income from cultivation and wages contributed 85 per cent to the overall earnings of farmer households.
The average monthly income from cultivation was Rs 969 and income from wages was Rs 819. The income from non-farm business, on the other hand, was a mere Rs 236. The income from farming of animals was a paltry Rs 91.
The report shows that farmer households spent 81 per cent of the monthly expenditure on farm business and 13 per cent on non-farm business.
Of the total average monthly expenditure of Rs 198, Rs 160 is spent on farm business and only Rs 13 for non-farm business.
Farmers spent 23 per cent of their average expenses on cultivation or fertiliser and 22 per cent on labour. The report highlights the inter-state differences for the share of labour which varied from 49 per cent in Kerala to a mere 11 per cent in Rajasthan.
Irrigation, however, contributed only 12 per cent to the total expenses of the farmer households.
