SUBSISTENCE TENANCY 47 conditions are obviously unfavourable to the tenants resulting in their exploitation, and the lessor-lessee relation is unhealthy and inimical to agricultural development. The purpose of the present paper is to discuss the different aspects of subsistence tenancy in the backward agrarian setting of North Bihar. The paper tries to answer questions such as who leases out, who leases in, what is the lessor-lessee relation in a subsistence share-cropping system and seeks to explain the functioning of the lease market in a situation of backward agriculture and the mode of exploitation inherent in the system. The study is based on a three-village survey (Manika-1, Manika-2 and Dwarikanagar) in North Bihar (Mushahari Block, MuzafFarpur district) where subsistence tenancy is widely prevalent. It is worth noting here that this area, on account of the severe exploitation of subsistence tenants, witnessed some effects of Naxalite movement during the seventies. The survey was conducted in 1979-80 through a questionnaire covering 20 per cent of the total number of cultivators in the three villages under study. For the purpose of analysis, the total number of cultivators selected for the study were divided into five groups, namely, pure owner, combined owner, combined tenant, pure tenant and rent receiver. The definations of these five are given below: (1) Pure owner: One who cultivates his land fully, neither leasing in nor leasing out. (2) Combined owner: One who cultivates a portion of his land and leases out the rest. (3) Combined tenant: One who cultivates his own land as well as some leased-in land. (4) Pure tenant: One who has no land of his own and cultivates only leased-in land. (5) Rent receiver: One who leases out all his land, and instead of ownership, gets some rent. The area under study is predominantly paddy growing, and rice is the stapple food of the people. All the tenants in the area understudy were found to have cropsharing arrangements. The main reasons for preferring this type of tenancy arrangement, according to respondents, were: (i) the subsistence nature of their farming and (ii) the risks involved in crop production due to frequent flood and/or drought in the area With sliarecropping arrangements, tenants' share of crop produce proves to be a great support to their subsistence, and moreover they arc not obliged to give any fixed amount in case of crop failure. Not one tenant under study preferred cash rent or fixed produce type of arrangement Generally, these two types of tenancy (cash rent and fixed produce) are preferred by tenants who are large holders in a developed area where the risk involved in cultivation is minimum and crop failure is rare. All the tenants in the area were concentrated in the marginal farm size group. Tenants in this group will naturally prefer