Browsing by Author "Elsamma, Job"
Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
Results Per Page
Sort Options
ThesisItem Open Access Comparative performance appraisal of VFPCK and kudumbashree beneficiaries in TVM district(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2012) Shruthi, Soman K; KAU; Elsamma, JobThe study entitled “A comparative performance appraisal of VFPCK and Kudumbashree beneficiaries in Thiruvananthapuram district” was undertaken in Nemom block of Thiruvananthapuram district with the objective to compare the performances of VFPCK farmers, Kudumbashree farmers and other farmers in terms of agricultural production, income generation, expenditure, savings pattern, credit utilization and marketing. It also aimed at identifying the constraints faced by the farmers in production and marketing. The required information was collected from 30 each of randomly selected VFPCK, Kudumbashree and other farmers so as to make the total sample size 90. Culinary melon and cowpea which were the two major vegetables grown in the study area were used to compare the production, cost of cultivation and resource use efficiency of the three categories of farmers. A noteworthy feature of the study area is that almost all farmers cultivated in leased land. In the present study cost of cultivation was worked out using A B C cost concepts and resource use efficiency was estimated using Cobb- Douglas production function. Marketing channels of the three categories of farmers were identified and the price spread and efficiency of channels were calculated. Credit utilization, expenditure and savings pattern were also worked out and constraints were ranked using Garrett’s ranking technique. The total cost of cultivation of cowpea calculated on per hectare basis revealed that it was the highest for VFPCK farmers followed by other farmers and Kudumbashree farmers. Cost A2 was estimated as Rs.1,10,150, Rs.54,968 and Rs.1,25,532 per hectare and Cost C3 was estimated as Rs.3,30,613, Rs.2,95,422, and Rs.3,65,867 per hectare respectively for VFPCK, Kudumbashree and other farmers. Labour accounted for 31 per cent of Cost A2 of VFPCK farmers followed by manures (23 per cent) while for Kudumbashree farmers 39 per cent of Cost A2 was contributed by panthalling material and 30 per cent by manures. For other farmers, also, hired labour contributed the major share of Cost A2 (41 per cent) followed by manures (17 per cent). In culinary melon cultivation, Cost A2 per hectare was the highest for other farmers (Rs.84,650), followed by the VFPCK farmers ( Rs.73,438) and Kudumbashree farmers (Rs.32,326). Cost C3 also followed the same trend and was the highest for other farmers (Rs.2,99,004 per hectare) followed by VFPCK farmers (Rs.2,96,223 per hectare) and Kudumbashree farmers (Rs.1,88,389 per hectare). For VFPCK farmers, hired labour accounted for 30 per cent of Cost A2 followed by rent of leased land at 13 per cent while for Kudumbashree farmers, manures (50 per cent) occupied the largest share followed by rent of leased land (22 per cent). For other farmers, labour accounted the major share of Cost A2 (34 per cent) followed by manures (29 per cent). The yield of cowpea was found to be the highest for VFPCK farmers (12,661 kilograms) followed by other farmers (11,007 kilograms) and Kudumbashree farmers (5,215 kilograms). The corresponding gross returns obtained by the three categories of farmers were Rs 4,43,135, Rs 1,82,525 and Rs 3,85,245 per hectare at an average market price of Rs 35 per kilogram. For culinary melon, the highest yield was obtained by other farmers (20,767 kilograms), followed by VFPCK farmers (18,320 kilograms) and the lowest yield was obtained by Kudumbashree farmers (5,817 kilograms). The corresponding gross returns per hectare obtained by the three categories of farmers were respectively Rs.2,07,670, Rs.1,83,200 and Rs.58,170 per hectare at a market price of Rs. 10 per kilogram. The cost of production per kilogram of cowpea was the lowest for VFPCK farmers (Rs. 26.11 per kilogram), followed by other farmers (Rs.33.24 per kilogram) and it was the highest for Kudumbashree farmers (Rs.56.65 per kilogram) at Cost C3 level. The cost of production per kilogram of culinary melon was the lowest for other farmers (Rs.14.39 per kilogram) followed by VFPCK farmers (Rs.16.16 per kilogram) and the highest for Kudumbashree farmers (Rs. 32.38 per kilogram). The production function analysis revealed that expenditure on plant protection chemicals had a significant impact on returns of VFPCK farmers in the case of cowpea while manures showed a positive and significant impact on returns of Kudumbashree farmers. For the other farmers, area had a positive and significant positive impact on returns, while plant protection chemicals had a negative and significant impact. The production function analysis of culinary melon revealed that, for VFPCK farmers and other farmers, area had a significant impact on returns while for the Kudumbashree farmers, human labour had a significant positive impact on returns. Among the VFPCK farmers, indebtedness was 76 per cent while it was 70 per cent for Kudumbashree and about 73 per cent for others. Average annual income was the highest for VFPCK farmers followed by the other farmers and was the lowest for Kudumbashree farmers. The largest item of consumption expenditure for all the categories of farmers was food which varied from 31 per cent for VFPCK farmers to 38 per cent for other farmers. Four marketing channels were identified in the study area for vegetables of which channel-I was found to be the most efficient one whereas the net price received by the farmer was highest in channel- III. The important constraints identified using Garrett’s ranking technique were, pests and diseases, water inundation and high costs of labour and inputs for all the categories of farmers.ThesisItem Open Access Economic impact of microbial inoculants on vegetable production in Thiruvanathapuram district(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2016) Jitendra, Ajagol; KAU; Elsamma, JobThe research entitled “Economic impact of microbial inoculants on vegetable production in Thiruvananthapuram district” was undertaken in Neyyattinkara and Nedumangad taluks. The objectives were to study the extent of use of microbial inoculants (MI) in vegetable cultivation, to work out the economics and efficiency of microbial inoculants in vegetable production and to make a comparative analysis with the conventional vegetable production. The crops selected for study were yard long bean and amaranthus. The required information was collected from 30 each of MI using and conventional farmers of yard long bean and amaranthus by simple random sampling so that the sample size became 120. Percentage analysis was used to measure extent of use of MI and economics of vegetable production. Resource use efficiency was estimated using Cobb-Douglas production function and constraints were ranked using Garrett‟s ranking technique. A mixed cropping system was observed in study area. Annual crops like vegetables, tapioca and banana and perennial crop like coconut were cultivated along with yard long bean and amaranthus. Average size of holding of the selected farmers was 46.03 cents. The average area under yard long bean was 17.46 cents and 11.56 cents respectively for MI using and conventional farmers. In case of amaranthus, average area for MI using farmers was 10.83 cents and for conventional farmers it was 6.86 cents. Fifty per cent of respondent farmers purchased MI from agricultural college and about 42 per cent from KVK. Analysis of the extent of use of MI revealed that only 27 and 17 per cent of the respondents were following the recommended rate respectively in yard long bean and amaranthus, whereas, 53 and 70 per cent were applying MI above the recommended rate. 126The total cost of cultivation of yard long bean per hectare was more for conventional farmers than that of MI using farmers. Cost A 1 was estimated as Rs. 1,42,016 ha -1 and Rs. 1,24,611 ha -1 respectively for conventional and MI using farmers and cost C was Rs. 2,60,493 ha -1 and Rs. 2,39,860 ha -1 respectively. The corresponding B-C ratios were 1.46 and 1.51 and net returns were Rs. 51,072 ha -1 and Rs. 1,22,716 ha -1 respectively. Major share of the cost was accounted for hired labour which was 57 and 56 per cent respectively of cost A 1 for conventional and MI using farmers. In the case of amaranthus, cost A 1 estimated for conventional farmers was Rs. 74,113 ha -1 and for MI using farmers it was Rs. 61,730 ha -1 and cost C was Rs. 1,24,947 ha -1 and Rs. 1,05,597 ha -1 respectively. The corresponding B-C ratios were 1.17 and 1.19 and net returns were Rs. 21,469 ha -1 and Rs. 48,662 ha -1 respectively for conventional and MI using farmers. Here also hired labour occupied the highest share for both the categories of farmers which accounted for 68 and 69 per cent respectively of cost A 1 . The yield of yard long bean was found to be more for MI using farmers (6498 kg ha -1 ) and it was 6098 kg ha -1 for conventional farmers. The corresponding cost of production was Rs. 19 per kg and Rs. 23 per kg respectively at cost A 1 . In case of amaranthus also, MI using farmers obtained more yield (7835 kg ha -1 ) compared to conventional farmers (7306 kg ha -1 ) and the respective cost of production were Rs. 7 per kg and Rs. 10 per kg at cost A 1 . The production function analysis revealed that area had positive and significant impact on returns in all the cases. Expenditure on MI showed a negative and significant impact on returns, which may be due to over adoption of MI. Cost of seeds, cost of panthal material and pest and disease incidence were identified as major constraints in vegetable production. Present study revealed that by using MI, cost of cultivation per hectare of yard long bean and amaranthus can be reduced considerably when compared to 127conventional cultivation and profits can be increased. Since over adoption of MI was observed among respondents, extension machinery must be strengthened to give proper guidance to the farmers on the application of recommended dose of MI.ThesisItem Open Access Economics of organic and conventional pepper production in Idukki district(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2012) Sneha Elizabeth, Varghese; KAU; Elsamma, JobThe research entitled “economics of organic and conventional pepper production in Idukki district” was done in Azutha and Kattapana blocks of Idukki district. The study was undertaken with the objective to study the economics of organic and conventional pepper production, resource use efficiency, adoption of practices, marketing system and constraints in production and marketing of pepper. In this study the cost of cultivation was worked out using the A B C cost concepts. Since pepper is perennial crop, cost of production was studied by considering establishment cost (cost during pre bearing period). The establishment cost was amortized by multiplying it with annuity and an annualized establishment cost was obtained. This cost was added to the maintenance cost to obtain the total cost. Cost of production was worked out considering both rental value of owned land and market rent for leased in land. Allocative efficiency of the resource was estimated using Cobb – Douglas production function. Extent of adoption of recommended practices by organic and conventional pepper growers were analysed. Marketing channel of both organic and conventional pepper was identified and price spread was calculated for organic and conventional marketing channel. For organic pepper cost A was worked out to Rs 82,192 of which hired labour accounted to about 54 per cent, followed by cost of manures (28 per cent). Cost B1, B2, C1, C2 and C3were respectively Rs 83,062, Rs 4,84,420, Rs 1,29,879, Rs 5,31,237 and Rs 5,84,361. For conventional pepper out of Rs 77,230 estimated as cost A, hired labour was again the highest contributor accounting to 62 per cent and cost of manure and fertilizers occupied the second position accounting to 19 per cent of cost A. Cost B1, B2, C1, C2 and C3 were respectively Rs 77,900, Rs 4,70,091, Rs 1,18,910, Rs 5,11,102 and Rs 5,62,212. The gross returns obtained by organic farmers was Rs 3, 41,576 per ha which was 5.26 per cent lower than the conventional system (Rs 3,59,544 per ha). B – C ratio with respect to cost A was as high as 4.16 and 4.66 for organic and conventional farmer. The cost of production worked out to Rs 649 and Rs 572 per kg for organic and conventional pepper respectively when rental value of land was considered. The cost of production was analyzed considering the market rent for leased in land was found to be Rs 238 and Rs 205 respectively for organic and conventional pepper production. Cobb – Douglas production function was used to study the resource use efficiency of both production systems. From the allocative efficiency analysis it is understood that the inputs used in both organic and conventional pepper production is not optimal and could be increased further. Ten per cent and 22 per cent of the recommended practices were only adopted respectively by conventional and organic pepper growers. Climate, disease and pest attack, labour were identified as the major constraints by both organic and conventional farmers. High variability in price was identified as the major marketing constraint. Single export oriented marketing channel was observed for organic pepper and price spread worked to Rs 232 per kg. Various marketing channels of conventional pepper were observed, but the price spread of the local channel alone was calculated due to the complexity of other channels. The local channel observed for conventional pepper was producer – village trader – local retailer – consumer (tourist) and the price spread estimated was Rs 208 per kg with producer’s share of 64.70 per centThesisItem Open Access Economics of rubber cultivation by small holders in Kottayam district(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1981) Elsamma, Job; KAU; Mukundan, KAn investigation on economics of rubber cultivation by small holders was conducted in Kottayam district during the period 1980-81, to evaluate the cost and returns, capital productivity, the resource efficiency of yielding plantations and to study the problems of small growers. Stratified two stage sampling was adopted for the study and data were collected from a sample of 100 cultivators selected randomly. Average size of family for the sample was found to be 5.89. Majority of the sample holdings were under the size group of 0.50 to 1.00 hectares. Total cost of cultivation per hectare for establishing rubber i.e., for seven years was estimated at Rs.11054 in terms of 1980-81 prices. More than one half of this was accounted for by labour. Net returns per hectare was Rs.3234 during the eighth year and Rs.7193 during the 12th year – the year of yield stabilization. Cost of production per quintal of sheet rubber was estimated at Rs.305 during stabilized yield period. Payback period was 9.51 years. Benefit-cost ratio was 2.04 and internal rate of return 24.20 per cent. No serious problems were seen to be faced by the small growers.ThesisItem Open Access Ecosystem valuation of wetlands: a case study of Vellayani lake(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2015) Aswathy, Vijayan; KAU; Elsamma, JobThe study entitled “Ecosystem Valuation of Wetlands: A Case Study of Vellayani Lake” was conducted during the year 2013- 2014 at College of Agriculture, Vellayani. The major objective of the study was to assess the Total Economic Value (TEV) of the Vellayani lake. The main ecosystem services provided by the lake system were provisioning services such as drinking water, fishing, duck rearing, lotus collection, irrigation, bathing and washing; regulatory services such as ground water recharge, stabilising microclimate; cultural services such as bird watching, photography, boat race, religious rituals and training centres in water sports and finally supporting function such as biodiversity conservation. Based on the ecosystem services, relevant stakeholders were identified and valuated using suitable techniques. The income generation activities of the lake such as fishing, lotus collection and duck rearing were valuated using the market price method and it accounted to Rs.1.83 crores year-1. The drinking water supply schemes installed by Kerala Water Authority, Central Public Works Department and College of Agriculture, Vellayani draws nearly 98,677 lakh litres of water from the lake per year, the value of which is Rs. 370.05 crores year-1. Provision of irrigation water by the lake valuated using opportunity cost method accounted to Rs. 20.69 crores year-1. The economic value of bathing and washing in the lake estimated using opportunity cost method was Rs. 0.009 crore year-1. The lake is also a part of religious activities, cultural activities, and recreational activities. The ecosystem service use by Centralized Sports Hostel for Canoeing, Kayaking and Rowing and Ayyankali Boat Race, valuated using public pricing method accounted to Rs.0.24 crore year-1 and Rs.0.07 crore year-1 respectively. People visit the lake for bird watching, photography, enjoying the scenic beauty, enjoy annual boat race and to attend religious ritual, Karkidaka vavubali. The value of recreational and spiritual services valuated using Travel Cost Method was Rs.0.56 crore year-1. The estimation of aesthetic value of the lake employing Hedonic Pricing Method revealed that, the marginal implicit price of getting one cent of land with lake view evaluated at mean property price of Rs. 2,44250/- was Rs. 79171/- and the aesthetic value of the lake was Rs.275.92 crores year-1. This illustrates the preference given by individuals for land with lake view. The monetary valuation of supporting and regulating functions of the lake was done using a double bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation method. The mean stated Willingness to Pay (WTP) was Rs.225.22 year-1 for local residents. The economic value of the lake estimated using Contingent Valuation Method was Rs.2.91 crores year-1. Thus the Total Economic Value, which is the total value of ecosystem service use of the Vellayani lake estimated by summating the value of goods and services provided by the lake was Rs. 672.28 crore year-1. Analysis of temporal variation in area of the water body indicated a drastic reduction in area from 558.73 ha in 1973 to 243.39 ha in 2011. The reduction in area was not the result of natural geological process alone, but the major reason is irrational human activities due to demographic pressures. Based on the study it was concluded that the major reason for degradation and loss of wetland services provided by Vellayani lake is the lack of awareness on the value of its ecosystem services, non enforcement of property rights and lack of lake management policies. The major anthropogenic stressors on lake are unsustainable agricultural and fishing activities, watershed impact due degradation and destruction of canals carrying water to the lake and habitat modification. Vellayani lake management policy was formulated based on the study suggests the proper enforcement of property rights by bringing the lake under single management authority with statutory powers including members from line department and stakeholders. The authority may address the present threats on the sustainability of the lake and also chalk out action plan for prevention of further degradation. The low WTP by people indicated that conserving the lake with contribution of stakeholders alone is not practical and so at least one rupee per 70 litres may be fixed as cess to realize a minimum of 13.97 crores per year for the lake conservation. This amount is meager when compared to the TEV of the lake per year. Today’s critical need is to recognize the benefits that could be obtained if the lake is managed in an integrated manner. If not properly managed and degradation and loss continue in the same manner, we are going to lose the invaluable services provided by the lake which cannot be replaced by any other means. Management of lake is a very challenging task and requires actions at many levels and involvement of many stakeholders. The recommendations of the study, along with the values of the ecosystem services of the lake, if properly taken care of, may help in developing sustainable strategies for conservation of this unique freshwater source.ThesisItem Open Access Pepper economy of Kerala in the pre and post WTO regimes(College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2015) Anju, Jacob; KAU; Elsamma, JobThe study entitled "Pepper economy of Kerala in the pre and post WTO regimes" was conducted to examine the structural instability, trade competitiveness, forecasting of pepper exports and changes in economics of pepper cultivation in the light of liberalized WTO regime and to suggest policy measures to improve pepper trade based on the results of the study. The study was based on both secondary and primary data. Secondary data were collected from various published sources and primary data were collected from 30 farmers and 10 traders from Idukki and Wayanad districts. The study covered a period of 34 years from 1980-81 to 2013-14. The analysis was done for two sub periods -pre WTO (1980-81 to 1994-95) and post WTO (1995-96 to 2013-14) period so as to ascertain the changes in pepper economy. The results of the instability index revealed that the instability in area, production and productivity of pepper in Kerala was more pronounced during the post WTO period with 9.27 per cent, 17.41 per cent and 16.36 per cent respectively. The instability in export quantity (29.35%), export value (41.64%) and export unit value (18.87%) in the post WTO period were high when compared to instability in pre WTO period. Instability index for international price during post WTO period was more than that of pre WTO period. In the case of domestic price the instability during the pre as well as post WTO periods were almost the same, which were 21.38 and 21.14 respectively. The forecast for quantity of pepper export from India for the years from 2014-15 to 2017-18 showed an increasing trend. The analysis of trade competitiveness using Nominal Protection Coefficient (NPC) revealed that pepper had competitive advantage in all lustrums except during 1995-96 to 1999-00. The cost of cultivation of pepper increased in the post WTO period when compared to pre WTO period which could be attributed to increase in input costs. The regression of export value with area, production and productivity showed that production had a positive and significant influence on export value of pepper. The major problems faced by pepper farmers were incidence of pest and diseases, unavailability of labour and changes in climate. The problems faced by pepper traders were fluctuating prices and import of pepper from other pepper producing countries like Vietnam and Srilanka. The study also revealed that 63.4 per cent of the farmers and 30 per cent of the traders were not aware about WTO. Majority of farmers opined that even though pepper is profitable (83.3%) in the current scenario, productivity of pepper is decreasing (90%) and according to the opinion of 76.6 per cent of the farmers pepper cultivation is affected by the fluctuations in price. The instability in area, production, productivity and export of pepper, in terms of quantity and value, showed an increasing trend during post WTO period. Forecasted value of pepper exports showed a positive trend and pepper exports were found to be competitive during post WTO period implying that export competitiveness of black pepper was not negatively affected by WTO agreements. The results of the study also revealed that the area, production, productivity, export quantity and domestic price of pepper had significant influence in the value of pepper export from India. Hence, urgent action is needed for enhancing the area, production and productivity of pepper in Kerala to reap more benefits from the WTO agreements.