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ThesisItem Open Access Economics of banana cultivation in Trichur district(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1983) Indira Devi, P; KAU; Mukandan, KThis investigation on economics of banana cultivation in Trichur district was conducted during 1983.The study confined to irrigated nendran banana in Chalakudy block with the following objectives viz. to estimate cost and returns; to evaluate resource use efficiency in production; and to study the problems of banana growers. Ninetyeight holdings were selected by following the stratified two stage random sampling technique and the information was collected using a pretested schedule, through personal interview. The total cost of cultivation (cost C) of banana worked out to Rs.41814.13 per hectare. Of this, the most important item of expenditure was human labour. Average labour requirement for banana cultivation was 702.96 mandays per hectare. This was followed by expenditure on manures, fertilizers, propping materials, suckers and irrigation. All of the farmers in the locality applied chemical fertilizers though not upto the recommened level. Plant protection expenses were only 0.30 per cent of total cost. In the operationwise expenditure, manures and manuring operations demanded highest investment and formed 42.50 per cent of total cost. Propping, planting, after cultivation and irrigation, harvesting and handling and preparatory cultivation in that order were the other operations which needed investment. Plant protection operations accounted for 0.92 per cent of total cost. The average returns from banana cultivation were Rs.65011.90 per hectare. The net income from banana cultivation was Rs.23,197.77 per hectare with a benefit cost ratio of 1.55. On a per plant basis, the average cost of producing a bunch was Rs.14.31 and it gave a return of Rs.26. In the linear production function model fitted, plant population and expenditure on labour were the factors which had significant influence on the dependent variable viz. total returns. The former had a positive influence and for the latter the influence was negative. The same model was fitted for the data converted to a per plant basis. The analysis revealed that the farmers were using labour over and above the optimum level. So its use has to be restricted.ThesisItem Open Access Socio-economic study of farmers in Irinjalakuda block in the command area of Peechi irrigation project(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1982) Latha Bastine, C; KAU; Rajendran, D VThe study was undertaken with the following objectives, viz., to study the methods and practices followed for cultivation, the general, social and economic characteristics of the farmers in the study area, cost and income structure of the farm business, the resource use; and the savings, investment, assets and debts pattern. One hundred farm families were selected by two stage random sampling, from whom the relevant data were collected using a well structured schedule. The methods and practices followed for cultivation of different crops were found to be more or less the same in different parts of the block. Generally, two crops of paddy (Mundakan and Puncha), coconut, arecanut and banana were the major crops grown. Dependence on hired labour was high in the area. Tractor power was substituted for bullock power to a limited extent. Dependence of family labour was more in smaller size groups. The utilization of fertilizers was below the recommended levels. The per hectare use was found to decrease with increase in the size of the holdings and increase with increase in income. The cost of cultivation for Mundakan season was found to be lower than that of Puncha, mainly due to differences in cultivation operations. Eventhough yield was slightly higher, the cost per quintal was also higher during Puncha than Mundakan. Thus the study showed that Mundakan paddy was more profitable than Puncha due to lower cost of cultivation. Eventhough cost of cultivation was found to decrease with increase in size of holding no clearcut association was found between family income and cost of cultivation. Though the cultivation of coconut and banana resulted in high net returns they involved heavy investment also. Arecanut cultivation in the area was found to be in a declining stage. Expenditure on food did not show much difference among different holding size groups and income groups except in the highest income group and largest holding size group. Expenditure on costly food items like, fish, meat and milk showed a positive relationship with the size of holding and gross income of the families. Only the farmers in the higher income groups were able to meet the household expenditure from the net income obtained from crop production and livestock. The infrastructural facilities in the area were found to be satisfactory. There were sufficient credit, communication and marketing facilities in the area. But in some parts of the block, transport facilities are yet to be developed.ThesisItem 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 Production and marketing of pineapple in Trichur District(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1982) Jesy Thomas, K; KAU; Mukundan, KA study on the production and marketing of pineapple in Trichur district was conducted during March-April, 1982 to evaluate the costs and returns of pineapple production, the marketing costs and price spread as well as the problems faced by the cultivators. Simple random sampling was adopted for selecting the sample and fifty cultivators were surveyed by personal interview method. The total cost of cultivation per hectare of pineapple for four years for the district was found to be Rs.30334.92 and cost was highest for the first year being Rs.13289.92 (42.55 per cent).The major item of expenditure was human labour constituting about 59.32 per cent (Rs.17995) of the total costs. Expenditure on fertilizer accounted for 24.25 per cent (Rs.7356) and that for suckers 6.78 per cent (Rs.2056) for the district. With regard to the operation-wise cost of cultivation, manuring and earthing occupied a major share of 39.48 per cent (Rs.11976) and for weeding the expenditure was Rs.6656 (24.04 per cent). Pineapple starts yielding in the second year and maximum returns was found to obtain in the third year with Rs.18934 per hectare for the district. The returns in the second and fourth year were Rs.11626 and Rs.12476 respectively. Cost of production per quintal of pineapple fruits was highest in the second year (Rs.79.26) and lowest in the third year with Rs.54.82 for the district. The pay-back period was 2.77 years, with a benefit cost ratio of 1.31, net present worth of Rs.8258.09 and internal rate of return of 43.37 per cent. The number of suckers per hectare was the factor which was found to be significant in the regression analysis. The main marketing channel in the case of pineapple was producer Commission/agent wholesaler ----Retailer ---- consumer channel. The marketing efficiency assessed on the basis of price-spread and marketing costs revealed that there was a high price spread of Rs.94 per quintal and the producers got only 51.79 per cent of the consumer’s price, while wholesalers and retailers got 17.69 per cent and 20.77 per cent margins respectively. Pineapple was marketed as fresh fruit commonly, but the canning industries in Trichur make a number of canned products such as squash, slices, titbits etc. High cost of inputs, fluctuation in prices and improper marketing facilities etc. are the problems faced by the cultivators in this district. Non-availability of sufficient fruits to factories become a serious problem in the case of canning units.ThesisItem Open Access Socio-economic study of farmers in Puzhakkal Block in command area of Peechi Irrigation Project(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1982) Santha, A M; KAU; Rajendran, D VAn investigation on the socio- economic status of farmers in Puzhakkal block, forming a part of command area of Peechi Irrigation Project, was conducted in 1982. The main objectives were to study the methods and practices followed for cultivation, understand social and economic conditions of the farms, farm business structure and infrastructural facilities. Two stage random sampling was adopted for the study and data were collected from a sample of 100 farmers by personal interview. The data were tabulated and classified according to the size of holding and also gross income of the study. The size of holding worked out to 1.04 hectares on an average. The family size was found to be 6.35. The family members consisted of 51.18 per cent males and 48.82 per cent females. The literacy was found to be 96.53 per cent. The cropping intensity worked out to 135.68. The area irrigated was 68.94 per cent of the net area owned. The average investment on land, livestock, buildings etc. worked out to Rs.146, 534.20 per farm. On an average an amount of Rs. 1338.17 was invested per farm on implements and machinery. It was observed that local varieties were grown during Virippu and Mundakan. Punja is the major crop of paddy grown in ‘kole’ lands with larger area under high yielding varieties. The high yielding varieties in Punja recorded the highest cost of cultivation of Rs. 4869.33 per hectare and yield of 31.14 quintals on an average. Whereas for local varieties the highest yield recorded was 24.91 quintals in Punja with a cost of cultivation of Rs.4625.50. The cost of production was lowest for Virippu, Rs.87.70 per quintal and highest for local varieties in Punja, Rs. 119.80 per quintal. In terms of net returns from paddy cultivation, Mundakan recorded the highest Rs. 1542.81 per hectare. The utilisation of labour and fertilizers were more for high yielding varieties. The annual cost of maintenance of coconut was Rs. 9027.81 per hectare with a net income of Rs. 5261.49 per hectare. For arecanut the maintenance cost was Rs. 4575.74 per hectare per annum with a net income of Rs.3028.8 per hectare. The cost of cultivation of banana worked out to Rs. 26069.45 with a net profit of Rs. 12442.24 per hectare. The cost of maintenance of cross bred animals was worked out to Rs. 1874.50 per animal per year with an annual milk yield of 976 litres. Whereas for desi cows the annual maintenance cost was Rs. 1088.80 with a milk yield of 527.80 litres. The minimum area required by a typical farmer to live on agriculture as main occupation had been estimated as 1.83 hectares. The total annual household expenditure worked out to Rs.15661.10 per family having an average family size of 6.35. The gross income of the family was Rs.22132.51 on an average. The total savings per annum was worked out to Rs. 6471.41 per family on an average.ThesisItem Open Access Socio-economic study of farmers in Ollukkara block in the command area of Peechi Irrigation Project(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1982) Venkateswara Rao, K; KAU; Radhakrishnan, VThis investigation was conducted in Ollukkara Block ituated in the commad area of Peechi Irrigation Project, with the following objectives, viz., to study methods and practices followed for cultivation, to assess the availability and use of resources, cost and income structure of the farm business savings investment, assets and debts, to study general social-economic conditions-education, consumption pattern, standard of living, etc. and to study the infrastructure facilities available. One hundred households were selected by adopting two stage random sampling technique and the required information was collected from them by using a pre-tested schedule, through personal interviews.ThesisItem Open Access Resource use efficiency of paddy cultivation in Kuttanad(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1982) Joseph, K J; KAU; Rajendran, D VAn investigation on the resource use efficiency and economics of paddy cultivation in Kuttanad region of Kerala State was conducted to measure the extent of resource use, resource use efficiency and to estimate the cost and returns of paddy, during 1980-81. Data were collected from a sample of 100 farmers selected at random. All the respondents were cultivating high yielding paddy varieties. The average per hectare use of human labour was 128.80 man days, out of which, family labour contributed only about ten percent.ThesisItem Open Access Production and marketing of vegetables in Malappuram district(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1982) Selvin, Jebaraj Norman; KAU; Mukundan, KThe present investigation on the production and marketing of vegetables (pumpkin and ashgourd) in Malappuram district was undertaken during the year 1981-82 to estimate the cost of cultivation, cost of production, benefit-cost ratio, price spread and to identify the marketing channels. The study was also aimed at identifying the problems of the farmers. Stratified multistage random sampling was adopted for the study. Costs A1, CostsA2, Cost B and Cost C per hectare were Rs.3457.39, Rs.4439.65, Rs.4984.49 and Rs.7898.16 respectively for pumpkin and Rs.3075.75, Rs.4072.80, Rs. 4603.25 and Rs.7324.97 respectively for ashgourd. The largest single item of input was human labour for pumpkin and ashgourd. In both the cases in terms of costs of operation irrigation was the most important item. The output of pumpkin was 14227.61 kg per hectare and it was 17201.03 kg per hectare for ashgourd. At the prices at which farmers sold these products, gross value of output was Rs.9796.66 for pumpkin and Rs.11362.13 for ashgourd, respectively. Cost of production per kilogram of pumpkin based on Cost A1, Cost A2, Cost B and Cost C were Re.0.21. Re.0.31, Re.0.35 and Re.0.56 respectively. For ashgourd they were Re.0.17, Re.0.24, Re.0.27 and Re.0.43 in the same order. Benefit-cost ratios based on Cost A1, Cost A2, Cost B and Cost C were 2.83, 2.21, 1.97 and 1.24 for pumpkin and 3.69, 2.79, 2.47 and 1.55 for ashgourd respectively. Farm business income for pumpkin was Rs.6339.27 per hectare and for ashgourd it was Rs.8286.38. Owned farm business incomes were Rs.5367.01 and Rs.7289.33 for pumpkin and ashgourd respectively. Family labour income for the production of pumpkin and ashgourd were Rs.4812.17 and Rs.6758.88 respectively. Net income for pumpkin was Rs.1898.50 and for ashgourd Rs.4037.16. Farm investment income for pumpkin and ashgourd were Rs.2443.74 and Rs.4567.61 respectively. Return over variable cost of ashgourd were Rs.3566.01 and Rs.5696.73 respectively. The predominant marketing channel was producer- wholesaler- retailer- consumer. About 50 per cent of the consumers’ rupee went to the middlemen in the marketing of both of pumpkin and ashgourd and hence the price spread was high. It was also found that the profit margin of intermediaries were very high, indicative of marketing inefficiency.ThesisItem Open Access Impact of bank finance for minor irrigation in Trichur district(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1982) Regeena, S; KAU; Radhakrishnan, VA study was conducted in Trichur district to assess the impact of bank finance for minor irrigation in the district. The objectives were to find out the characteristics of the borrowing farmers, the improvements in farming practices, changes in yield rates and output and the income and employment generated by irrigation development with banks’ assistance. Relevant data were collected from a sample of ninety eight beneficiaries of finance for minor irrigation of the Lead Bank, viz., the Canara Bank, by personal interview using a pre-structured schedule. Majority of the beneficiaries belonged to forward casts and had a literacy of 89.23%. The average family size of the sample was 7. Seventy of them had holdings of size less than a hectare. All of them had fairly good family income, eventhough the income from farming was lower than Rs.5000/- per annum in as many as 32 cases. Consumption pattern of the beneficiaries showed them to be enjoying a reasonably good standard of living. The cropping intensity of the sample increased from 122.74% to 134.91% following irrigation development. The area under coconut, arecanut and banana increased, while that under paddy decreased in all size classes following irrigation development. The dose of organic manure added to all the crops decreased in the post-investment period, whereas that of chemical fertilizers increased, eventhough it continued to be lower than the recommendations. The production and productivity changes in coconut due to irrigation development were 24.07 per cent and 30.2 per cent respectively. There was an accompanying increase in income also. The farm business income, family labour income and net income from all the crops increased in the post-investment period. The employment generation of the scheme was, however, negative. The employment of hired human and bullock labour declined significantly in all the size groups of beneficiaries, while that of family labour and the use of machinery increased. Majority of the pumpsets acquired were 3 H.P. pumpsets. This indicated considerable mismatch between area operated and H.P of the facility acquired. Delay in energization and drying up of the wells in summer made timely repayment difficult. However, there was no case of overdues among the sample. The loan was found to have generated sufficient repayment capacity in all the size groups of beneficiaries, eventhough it was not economically feasible in size groups I and II.
