Economic Analysis of Production of Maize in Meghalaya and Constraints Associated with it

The present study was undertaken to estimate the costs and returns structure of maize cultivation and identifying the prominent production constraints in West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya. A sample of 60 farmers was randomly drawn from six villages of Mawthadraishan and Nongstoin block of the selected district. The costs and returns per hectare were calculated on the basis of cost concepts and Garett ranking method was used for employed for determination of constraints in maize production. The overall cost of cultivation was found to be ` 37185.22 per ha and the major cost components were manures (48.25%) and human labour (34.73%). The overall net return was evaluated at ` 19038.20 with small, medium and large farmers having similar returns with the exception of marginal farmers gaining a net return of only ` 13889.83 which was 27.04 per cent lower than the average return among the sample farmers. It may be attributed to their heavy dependence on labour and lack of investment on irrigation, plant protection and better-quality seeds. The realised average yield was found to be 23.65 q/ha which was abysmally low compared to other maize producing states of India. A positive trend between the return over cost ratio and the operational holding was observed with an average of 1.51. The prominent constraints as perceived by the farmers were unfavorable weather conditions, the incidence of pests and diseases and costly fertilizers and manures with the Garrett’s score of 64.70, 62.75 and 54.40 respectively

Varying the Profitability and Cost of Cultivation: A Spatio-Temporal Economic Analysis

The several policies and initiatives has been taken to cope up the problem of agrarian distress, farmer suicides and to increase the farm employment across the different size classes of farming community The government of India (2016-17 budget) has set a policy target of doubling farmers’ income by 2022 by ensuring the food security and income. The present study has explored the trend and pattern of cost of cultivation of paddy and wheat crop across some major producing states over the time period as cost of cultivation is treated one side of the coin while farmers’ income is the other side of the coin. The trend and pattern of different cost, profit, growth rate and efficiency of inputs have estimated across states over time. The descriptive analysis has been done using the CCS data published by CACP. There exists spatio-temporal variation in different costs, profit and growth. Thus a detailed review is needed to identify the state-wise important determinants (inputs) for the cultivation and after identifying the inputs supportive action is required through public policies

Resource Use Efficiency Among Aerobic and Conventional Rice Farms in Eastern Dry Zone of Karnataka: A Comparative Analysis

The efficiency with which farmers use available resources is very important for agricultural production. This study examines the comparative resource use efficiency (RUE) between aerobic and conventional rice farms in Eastern Dry Zone (Zone-5) of Karnataka. Cross-sectional data were collected from 100 rice cultivating farmers (50 in Aerobic farms and 50 in Conventional farms) using snow ball sampling technique. Cobb-Douglas production function, Marginal analysis of resource utilization, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) were some of the analytical tools used in the study. The mean aerobic farm size was 0.43 ha while in Conventional rice, it was 0.63 ha. The physical water use efficiency (WUE) in aerobic farms (3.84 q/acre inch) was higher than conventional farms (1.64 q/acre inch). Also, the economic WUE was higher in aerobic farms (1643.54 `/acre inch) compared to conventional farms (269.41 `/acre inch). RUE indicated that, resources were not optimally utilized in both Aerobic Rice Cultivation (ARC) and Conventional Rice Cultivation (CRC). Bullock labour, machine labour, seeds and irrigation were underutilized in ARC, whereas, FYM was underutilized in CRC indicating that usage of additional amount of these inputs leads to increase in the returns. The DEA revealed that aerobic rice cultivating farms were more technically and economically efficient compared to conventional rice cultivating farms. Effective policies to promote and create awareness about aerobic rice can boost the rice production and productivity sustainably. The focus should be given to optimal allocation of resources which enhances the farm productivity and returns

Optimum Farm Plan for Higher Net Income in Southern and Eastern Dry Zone of Karnataka

The present study was focused on deriving an optimum farm plan which would enhance the farm income in different farming systems in Southern and Eastern dry zones of Karnataka. Data collected from 240 respondents selected using random sampling technique from two districts viz. Mandya and Kolar. The dominant farming systems identified in the study areas were crop + dairy, crop + sheep rearing, Crop + dairy + sericulture, and crop + dairy + horticulture. Linear programming technique was used to work out the maximum attainable return. In Mandya district, crop + sheep farming system were providing an annual income of ` 92468 per farm with the total expenditure of ` 175400, whereas, an optimal plan can fetch a return of ` 278810 per farm with the similar expenditure. In Kolar district, crop + dairy was giving annual income of ` 168216 per farm with the total expenditure of ` 150000 and through an optimum plan, a farmer could earn ` 327996 per farm. Mandya district In farming system with the component of crop + dairy + sericulture, farmers were realizing an annual income of ` 296433 per farm with the total expenditure of ` 274947, where optimization can provide the farmer an income of ` 640487 per farm with similar expenditure and this system is turned out to be most remunerative among all the farming systems

Value Chain Analysis of Fish in Meghalaya: A Case Study in East Khasi Hills District

This study on ‘Value Chain Analysis of Fish in Meghalaya: A case study in East Khasi Hills district’ has been conducted in 2020-21 with specific objectives (1) To map the actors involved in the value chain of fish business. (2) To estimate the value addition in fish marketing by the value chain actors. The value chain actors were identified and the structure of the value chains was mapped. The study revealed that the most commonly followed method of value addition of fish in the study area are fermenting, drying and smoking. The cost incurred for making fermented fish was observed to be ` 21.50/kg, ` 16.50/kg for dry fish and ` 37.50/kg for smoked fish. Additionally, net profit was found to be highest in value-added fish than compared to fresh ones. Therefore, value addition should be encouraged among fish farmers to increase net profit.

Indian Coffee: A Quadragenary Growth Analysis

Coffee, the favorite beverage of the civilized world, plays a more significant role in India’s trade-dependent agriculture. More than 70 percent (3,08,148 tonnes) of coffee produced in the country was exported in the year 2020. The majority of Indian coffee plantations are in Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The present study overviews the growth trends in the area, production, productivity, and export of Indian coffee from 1980-81 to 2019-20 by employing CAGR estimates. Indian coffee exhibited an overall growth of 1.98, 2.96, 0.98, 4.42, and 10.37 percent in area, production, productivity, quantity, and value of export, respectively, over the last 40 years. Even with significant positive growth in all the components, the Indian coffee sector is experiencing difficulties due to climatic aberrations, bottlenecks in the export business, including quality issues, and heavy competition from traditional and emerging coffee growers and traders in the international market.

Factors Affecting Marketing of Vegetables among Small-Scale Farmers in West Bengal: An Analysis

This study was conducted to identify and analyse factors affecting marketing of vegetables among small-scale farmers in West Bengal. Data collected with structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and regression analysis. Data collected from 80 vegetable growers selected from Cooch Behar using structured interview schedule and analyzed through econometric techniques. Regression analysis showed that the factors like price, production, farm size, extension contact, competition, transportation, etc. determine the arrival of vegetable crops in the market. Correlation analysis among the variables from demand-side showed that population growth, per capita income and production level had positive correlations with market arrival (demand) of vegetable crops. The study recommended higher investment, favourable government policy, quality of produce, post-harvest facilities, etc. for improving overall marketing efficiency.

Growth Rate of Pulses in Eastern Uttar Pradesh a Zone-wise Analysis

Attempts are made in this paper to investigate the trend of pulses in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, as well as their instability and non-linear model. This time series data on pulses pertains to the period 1980-1981 to 2014-15 and includes information on the area, production, and productivity of pulses. Pulses have had negative growth in terms of area, production, and productivity in all three zones of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, namely, the North Eastern plain zone, the Eastern plain zone, and the Vindhyan zone. Since 1980-81, there has been a rise in the area and output of pulses in the Vindhyan zone, as seen by the percentage change. The Eastern plain zone has the most stable pulse crop in terms of instability

Growth and Instability of Exports of Vegetable Products from India

The study examined the growth and instability of vegetable products exports from India during 1996-97 to 2019-20. The results indicated positive and significant growth rates of Indian export for all the vegetable products under study for both the periods and also for the overall period. During overall period, onion fresh and cucumber registered positive and significant growth rates both in terms of export quantity and export value. However, export price of all the products declined significantly during the period of study. In terms of export quantity and value of vegetable products, none of the product showed low instability during the entire study period. In case of export price, low to medium instability was observed in majority of the vegetable products. By analyzing the growth and instability parameters during overall period none of the countries reported to have desirable situation of high growth with low instability in case of export quantity, value and price of vegetable products. The trade liberalization after the entry of WTO led to increase in competition between the countries which resulted into higher instability in the export of products.

Economic Analysis and Feasibility of Rotary Weeder- cum- Fertilizer Drill

Rotary weeder cum fertilizer drill accomplishes both the operations of weeding and fertilizer application simultaneously in a single operation. Performance of developed machine was evaluated in castor crop. Cost has been worked out as per the standard procedure and comparison made in terms of labour saving to determine the economic feasibility of the machines. It had been estimated that the break-even point (BEP) calculated on time and area basis for rotary weeder cum fertilizer drill was 273 h and 53.50 ha, respectively. The payback period calculated on time basis for the rotary weeder- cum- fertilizer drill was found to be a little over 3 years. Cost of weeding and fertilizer drilling through rotary weeder- cum- fertilizer drill can save cost up to 34.22 per cent as compared to the combined cost of existing methods of weeding and fertilizer application methods.