Agricultural production depends upon certain crucial inputs
e.g., water, fertilizer etc. In the less developed regions of South Asia
in general, and the indo-Pakistan sub-continent in particular, the use
of these inputs depends not only upon the financial affordability but
also upon the institutional accessibility of farmers to these inputs.
Besides high economic costs, bureaucratic controls and corruption
regarding the distribution of inputs have created problems of limited
accessibility, especially to the small farmers. In the absence of any
credit, information and/or input distribution networks, the use of these
inputs, and related productivity gains, become confined to that class of
farmers which not only has better access to these inputs but is capable
of using them in the best possible way e.g. use of water and fertilizer
in the appropriate amount and at the appropriate time. This paper
attempts to study how input use and input productivity vary across farm
sizes, with some reference to the infrastructural and institutional
factors, whose development play an important role in improving the
distribution and productivity of inputs. For such an analysis, a
comparison of the two Punjabs i.e. Pakistani and Indian Punjabs,
presents an ideal framework, Separated by a national boundary since
1947, the two Punjabs enjoy a common history and culture, similar
agricultural practices and agro-climatic conditions, Government policies
in the two Punjabs, however, have not only differed between the two
provinces at the same time, but also over time in the same province. It
may be noted that due to certain policy measures, land distribution,
tenancy conditions, promotion of agricultural co-operatives and
provision of infrastructural features, such as roads and electricity,
are relatively more improved in Indian than Pakistani Punjab.
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