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ThesisItem Open Access Institutional preference for agricultural credit In Kasaragod district of Kerala(Rural Banking and Finance Management, College of Cooperation, Banking and Management, Vellanikkara, 2017) Vasavi, B; KAU; Molly JosephCredit is one of the important interventions for improving agricultural production and productivity and helps to mitigate farmers’ distress. Often, institutional sources contribute only meagre percentage of agricultural credit to the cost of cultivation. Non institutional sources are often tapped by the farmers to meet the gaps in demand for agricultural finance, inspite of inherent weaknesses of higher interest rate and rigid loan collection strategies. The study entitled ‘Institutional preference for agricultural credit in Kasaragod district of Kerala’ was conducted with the following objectives of (a) identifying the sources and extent of credit availed by the farmers, (b) identifying the institutional preference for agricultural credit with a view to analyse the factors affecting the institutional credit and (c) identifying the constraints in availing agricultural credit. The sample size of the study was 90 respondents, consisting of 30 each from two grama panchayats of Kasaragode district viz., Parappa and Manjeshwaram from two blocks Kasaragode and Hosadurg respectively selected by multi stage sampling method. Data were collected through pre tested structured interview schedule. The major statistical tools used for the study were Percentages, One way ANOVA, Log Regression model, Independent samples Kruskal- Wallis test, Factor analysis, Mann- Whitney U test were employed to analyse the data. Household location, sources of agricultural credit and market location of the selected respondents in the sample panchayats were plotted. The results obtained after the analysis of sources and extent of credit availed by the farmers revealed that 50 per cent of marginal farmers and 23 per cent each of small & medium and large farmers were found to be devoid of institutional credit. Some farmers have opted for leaving their farms uncultivated as there was no one to look after the farm and tendency to avail the credit is less. About 40 per cent of the large farmers have availed more than Rs. 1.5 lakh for cash crop cultivation and the farmers who availed credit above 1 lakh remains slightly high. Marginal farmers availed an average loan amount of Rs. 91,833, while that of a small farmer is as high high as Rs. 2,18,500. The multiple comparison test proved that there is significant difference in the total agricultural credit availed by large and marginal farmers. Cooperatives are having an upper hand in disbursal of agricultural credit for all the farmer categories followed by RRBs and public sector banks by concentrating on smaller ticket loans. The farmers were found to have availed lesser borrowing from microfinance institutions and private sources like moneylenders. The Log linear regression analysis results showed that, area is the main predictor that influenced the credit availed by farmers while other factors such as distance, number of visits to bank, expenses, interest rate, age failed to have any influence. Overall crop loan scheme utilization of 50 per cent is observed (i.e. 45 out of 90 respondent farmers are availing crop loan from either of the institutional sources). For KCC, Overall almost 50 per cent utilization is observed (i.e. 42 out of 90 respondent farmers are availing KCC from all the institutional sources). Almost 40 per cent of the farmers are unaware about the AGL scheme. Results showed that an average of 45 per cent of the farmers is not aware of the GCC scheme and gap in awareness as well as utilization of this scheme is very less. . Overall 64.4 per cent of the farmers unaware about the live stock schemes. The second objective of the study was to identify the institutional preference and factors affecting the institutional preference of farmers. The overall institutional preference was estimated by combining the scores obtained for factors like proximity, procedural hassles, banker’s behavior, approachability, flexibility, cost, adequacy and timeliness. Reviewing the overall scores, marginal, small and large farmers indicated co-operative banks to be their most preferred choice, followed by RRBs as the next best alternative. The results of factor analysis showed that institutional factors explain 36 per cent of the choice of institutional source and credit related factors are responsible for 29 per cent choice of source of finance. Further Independent samples Kruskal-Wallis test revealed that factors including proximity, cost of credit, adequacy and timeliness do not have any influence on the institutional preference by farmers. However, factors like procedural hassles, approachability, banker’s behavior and flexibility are found to affect the choice of source of finance. Regarding problems experienced by the farmers, marginal and small farmers are experiencing the problem in filling applications and understanding the schemes. Eighty per cent of small and marginal farmers are not satisfied with interaction pattern of commercial bank managers. Almost 93 per cent of marginal and small farmers are facing problems in pooling the documents for submitting the loan application. When the analysis was carried out separately for each type of farmer, institutional preference was found to be affected by commonly experienced problems while availing credit by marginal farmers. Thus it may be concluded that demand for agricultural credit by farmers are still not being satisfied in the expected pattern where marginal and small farmers remain underprivileged due to various institutional and credit related factors affecting credit delivery. Co-operatives are most preferred source of finance which needs revival keeping in view of the present issue of demonetization. Further it was suggested that, as micro credit could not make any significant contribution for financing agrarian activity in the study area, micro credit channels have to be improved for providing farmers with necessary finance. Financing institutions, especially commercial banks should simplify their applications for loans by removing the irrelevant details in the application forms. The scale of finance for short term crops or crop loans and medium and long term agricultural loans in case of organic farming may also be calculated and circulated to financing institutions by the District Level Technical Committee (DLTC) and NABARD respectively. The study has concentrated on preferences of institutions for different categories of farmers while availing credit in Kasaragod district. Their extent of utilization or misutilisation in the disbursed credit in the District was not an area of enquiry in this study, which can be taken up for further inquiry by researchers, which will be beneficial to the financing institutions also to expand their extent of credit and also to contain their Non Performing Assets (NPA) in agriculture.ThesisItem Open Access Indebtedness of farmers: a study of farmer borrowers of primary agriculctural credit societies in Palakkad district of Kerala state(Department of Rural Banking and Finance Management,College of Co-operation,Banking &Management, Vellanikkara, 2010) Sowmya, K C; KAU; Lizy, M AThe study entitled “Indebtedness of farmers: A study of farmers borrowers of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies in Palakkad District was conducted to examine the factors that contribute to the problems of indebtedness among the farmers in Palakkad District and to suggest the measures to be taken to solve the problems. The study was conducted among two PACS of Palakkad District viz., Peruvemba Service Co-operative Bank (PACS 1) and Polpully Service Co-operative Bank (PACS 2). The sample size included 90 respondents i.e., 45 borrowers from each PACS at random, of which 76.67 per cent were defaulters and rest were nondefaulters. Ten officials (including President and Secretary) from each PACS were also interviewed to collect information on the effectiveness of the loan operation system of the PACS. Secondary data on selected performance indicators of the PACS were also used for the study. Statistical tools like Average Annual Growth Rate (AAGR), simple averages, percentages, simple growth rate, simple correlation, efficiency index, priority index and bi-variate tables were used for the analysis. The analysis revealed that inadequacy of income, natural calamities and crop failures, non availability of labourers and high wages were the main reasons for indebtedness. Faith in loan waiver or write off policy, non institutional loan and high interest rate, defective loan policies, illness of borrower or family members, ceremonies, fixation of unrealistic due and lack of access to consumption loans and diversification of income have also been pointed out as reasons behind increasing indebtedness of farmers. The study revealed that procedural delays, lack of adequate securities to hypothecate, misutilisation of loans and inadequate income restricted the borrowers from getting timely loans. It was further observed that defective loaning policy, conspicuous consumption and illness of family members as well as hope for loan write-off policy were the other reasons behind non-repayment by borrowers. Majority of the defaulters opined that the loan amount provided by PACS were insufficient to meet the project cost there by forcing the borrowers to approach other sources for finance. This inturn puts an additional burden on farmers. From the interbank comparison on the effectiveness of the present loan operation system, it was found that the loan operation system of PACS (1) is least efficient and in the case of PACS (2) it is moderately efficient. The overall performance of PACS, commitment of BODs, management, member relations, intrabank relations were appreciable. But in the opinion of the bank officials, Presidents and Secretaries there was something more to be perfected in the existing loan operation system. According to the officials and employees of PACS, the reasons for indebtedness include natural calamities, high cost of cultivation, insufficient income from agriculture, non availability of labourers etc. The mounting overdues affecting the net profit position of PACS. Misutilisation of loan due to inadequate staff for field supervision and loan appraisal was yet another problem as far as the PACS were concerned. The effectiveness of any scheme to a greater extent is correlated to the number of visits made by the bank officials to the beneficiaries. There exist a drastic need for skilled personnel for field supervision and loan appraisal. It is obvious that co-operatives are still following traditional methods and techniques of management, which has to be replaced by modern measures of management and accounting.ThesisItem Open Access Prediction of futures prices of rubber(Department of Rural Banking and Finance Management, College of Co-operation, Banking and Management, Vellanikkara, 2009) Anjaly, K N; KAU; Molly JosephThe present study entitled “PREDICTION OF FUTURES PRICES OF RUBBER” was conducted with the following objectives i) to examine the price movements of rubber futures through NMCE; ii) to predict the rubber futures prices and iii) to compare the forecasting performance of univariate and multivariate models. Futures trading perform two important functions - price discovery and hedging of price risk, hence an effort to predict the futures prices of rubber, a predominant crop of Kerala, is of contemporary significance to the rubber growers and traders. The study was based on secondary data. Futures prices of daily open, low, high, close and spot and volume traded of rubber were collected for a period from April 2003 to August 2008 from National Multi Commodity Exchange. The daily data were converted into monthly averages for the analysis. The price movements of rubber futures have been examined using ordinary line graph, correlation, candlestick chart, Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) and ANOVA. Correlation has been found inorder to measure the relation between the domestic rubber prices and the crude oil prices. ANOVA was used to find the significance in the growth rate of rubber prices over different time periods. Prediction of futures prices of rubber has been done using the Multiple Linear Regression, Principal Component Analysis and ARIMA and the results of these models were compared to measure the forecasting performance of these models. The price movements of rubber futures using the line graph showed that both the spot and futures prices were highly related and hence prediction of one with the other is possible. Rubber is an internationally traded commodity and the hike in the rubber prices globally influence the domestic the rubber pries. Moreover the rise in the crude oil prices influenced the natural rubber prices, since the movements of domestic rubber prices and the crude oil prices showed a positive correlation. The volumes traded were also fluctuating over the years. The ban on futures trading in rubber drastically reduced the volume traded due to loss of investors’ confidence. Candlestick chart showed that the prices were fluctuating with bullish, bearish and neutral trend. Even though the rubber prices increased, the growth rate of rubber prices and volume traded over the years revealed a lower annualized gain making it clear that there was no abnormal hike in the rubber prices. Hence the rise in rubber prices cannot be attributed to futures trading. The prediction of futures prices of rubber were done by different forecasting models, viz., ARIMA, MLR and PCA. MLR got R square and adjusted R square of 92.1 per cent and 91.5 per cent both values showing the significance of the model for predicting the futures prices. Even though the value of R square is very high none of the regression coefficients were significant in the multiple linear regression model. This might be due to the multicollinearity of the independent variables viz; open, high, low and volume traded which are highly correlated. Hence the principal component analysis was done. The R square and Adjusted R square for the regression equation fitted using the Principal components as regressor are 91.7 per cent and 91.6 per cent respectively. So with P1 ie., the first component generated using open price, it was able to predict 91.7 per cent of the variation in the close price of rubber futures. The ARIMA results got R square of 99 per cent wth MAPE 1.97 per cent indicating that the forecasting inaccuracy was very low and the Normalized Bayesian Criteria (BIC) of 10.478 indicated goodness of fit of the model and the accuracy of the prediction. While comparing the results of MLR, PCA and ARIMA, it was found ARIMA performed better in prediction. Also the forecasting errors of ARIMA were negligible indicating the forecasting efficiency of the model. Hence the study concluded that the univariate model outperforms the multivariate model with better accuracy in prediction.ThesisItem Open Access Impact of institutional interventions for promotion of rice farming in Thrissur district(Department of rural banking and finance management, College of cooperation, banking and management, Vellanikkara, 2014) Sreelakshmi, C C; KAU; Molly JosephInstitution is an effective instrument for economic development. Rice being the staple food of Kerala and rice farming as the livelihood of sizeable number of people, deteriorating rice cultivation demands immediate state intervention. Institutional support system for input supply, production process and marketing can positively promote and protect rice farming. The study entitled ‗Impact of institutional interventions for promotion of rice farming in Thrissur District‘ was conducted with the objectives of (a) examining the developmental programmes/ schemes of various governmental and other institutions for the promotion of rice farming in Kerala, (b) analysing the impact of developmental schemes of various institutions on the net income of the farmers and (c) analysing the constraints of rice farmers so as to suggest policy measures for the promotion of rice farming. Ninety respondents consisting of 30 each from three panchayats of Thrissur district viz., Pazhayannur, Adat and Mundathikode were selected as the sample size through multi stage random sampling method. Data were collected through pre-tested structured interview schedule. The critical variables of the study were the institutions and their schemes, various assistance to rice farmers, demographic details of respondents, volume and cost of cultivation, net income, sources and uses of credit, marketing agencies for rice procurement and constraints of rice farming. The major statistical tools used for the study were Chi-square test, Paired t-test, ANOVA test, Post-hoc test for multiple comparison, Cobb-Douglas production function and Mann-Whitney U test. Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), New York coordinate and cooperate with various countries to promote rice farming at the international level. International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the most important rice development institution under CGIAR. Department of Agriculture under Government of India is the pivotal, around which the whole national programmes for rice farming revolves especially Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) with components of High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds, fertilisers and other assistance to paddy development. Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, has contributed remarkably to HYV seeds in rice in the country. Commercial banks have immensely supported the voluminous credit needs of rice farming in the country, especially through Kisan Credit Cards and Interest Subvention Schemes. At the state level, institutions working for rice farming are State Department of Agriculture, Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (SUPPLYCO), Co-operative banks and Kerala Agricultural University (KAU). The Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy is operated through SUPPLYCO. Cooperatives, in addition to the programmes of State/ local governments, have their own schemes for rice farmers. KAU is a premier institution for rice farmers in the State. Krishi Vigyan Kendras, and Krishi Bhavans are also important institutions engaged in rice development. Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) is a major non - governmental agency involved in promoting rice farming. Second objective of the study is to measure the impact of institutional interventions on net income of farmers by supporting production, credit and marketing activities. All the respondents availed assistance under RKVY and Sustainable Development of Rice (SDR) schemes for seeds, fertiliser, training and information. It is found that seed component of SDR and RKVY made positive shift among rice farmers to HYVs in cultivation. Paired t-test was employed to analyse the impact of seed subsidy, which is statistically significant at five per cent level. Cobb-Douglas production function used for analysis with gross income as dependent variable and seed, labour, fertiliser and herbicide as independent variables, observed that labour and seeds are important determinants of income. It implies that seed subsidy has promoted rice production. Private agencies like money lenders are also prominent among rice farmers. Commercial banks are found to be providing higher per capita credit to farmers in all the three study areas. Cobb-Douglas production model was fitted by taking total production as a function of Gross Cropped Area and credit. It was noted that credit is a highly significant determinant in production. With respect to marketing, MSP gave confidence to farmers to produce by ensured procurement price and also by stabilising the open market prices. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare farmers marketing to SUPPLYCO for MSP and to private agencies. Significant difference was found between income of farmers who are supplying their produce to SUPPLYCO and that of supplying to private agencies. Open ended questions were administered to respondents to analyse the third objective of constraints in rice farming. The responses were classified into four categories, viz., (a) production, (b) finance, (c) marketing and (d) institutional constraints. . Lack of availability of skilled labourers, high wage levels and attack of pests and diseases are the most important production problems. Inclusion of rice farming operations under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) can reduce the problem of availability of labour and high wage levels. Adoption and practice of IPM techniques can reduce the major production problems of pests, diseases and weed. Lack of availability of timely and adequate credit is the major financial constraint faced by the farmers. Provision of timely interest free loans and interest subsidies, in adequate amounts will attract more farmers to rice farming. In marketing, delay in realisation of cash from sale proceeds to SUPPLYCO is the important problem, which leads to delayed repayment of credit from private agencies at exhorbitant rate of interest. If the system of ‗linking of credit with marketing‘ followed by Adat Service Co-operative Bank is replicated to the other areas, this problem can be solved to a large extent. The convergence of all subsidies for rice cultivation and strengthening of existing paddy development agencies can reduce the institutional constraints. The study reveals that higher positive institutional interventions has led to increase in productivity, reduction in cost of cultivation, increase in net income and easy accessibility to subsidies, interest free loans and marketing facilities, as evident in the case of Adat Service Co-operative Bank. Institutions are instruments of growth. Institutional interventions to support farmers by ways of seed subsidy, MSP and interest subvention have been found to be influencing the net income of farmers positively. The support system has also protected and promoted not only the production and product price but instilled confidence in the minds of farmers and insulated the market against uncertainty. Hence institutions are inalienable input to inspire and insulate the economy. But existing constraints in rice farming showed there are miles to go to provide economic independence to rice farmers.ThesisItem Open Access Commodity futures - A study of online trading in rubber(Department of Rural Banking and Finance Management, College of Co operation and Management, Vellanikkara, 2007) Anu, S Nair; KAU; Padmini, E V KThe present study entitled “COMMODITY FUTURES A STUDY OF ONLINE TRADING IN RUBBER” was conducted with the following objectives. 1) To examine the price movements of rubber futures through National Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (NMCE). 2) To assess the impact of futures trading on farming decisions of rubber farmers; and 3) To identify the determinants of online trading by rubber farmers. Primary and secondary data have been used for the study. Daily data of rubber futures in NMCE and the corresponding spot prices were collected from the website of NMCE. The data regarding the area production, yield, export, import, major producing countries and major consuming countries were collected from the souvenir of publications of Rubber Board, Economic Survey and website of tire review. Primary data to analyse the impact of futures trading and to identify the determinants were collected using a structured interview schedule. The sample respondents constituted 33 trading farmers from the districts of Kottayam, Palakkad and Thrissur and another group of 33 non-trading farmers from the district of Kottayam. The trend in area production, and yield were analysed using compound growth rate and percentage change over the previous year. The compound growth rate of area under rubber is found to be 8.2 per cent during the period 1950-51 to 2004-05. Although in absolute terms production has been increasing, there has been a decreasing trend since 1999-2000 till 2001-02. The compound growth rate of production comes to 16.36 per cent. The productivity of natural rubber recorded a continuous growth over the period except in 1999-2000 to 2001-02. The compound growth rate for yield works out to 7.47 per cent. A look into the global natural rubber scenario revealed that Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia are the leading producers and they together constitute about 77 per cent of the global production. India is the fourth largest producer and consumer of natural rubber. China tops the list of consuming countries. The major exporters are Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia and the major importers are China, USA and Japan. The analysis of the commodity derivatives market in India revealed that out of the three National Commodity Exchanges, National Multi Commodity exchange is the first exchange. All these three exchanges are multi commodity exchanges. The commodity exchanges are regulated by forward markets commission which is coming under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, food and nutrition. To analyse the objective of examining the price movements of rubber futures through NMCE the co-integration technique is used. The results revealed that the futures prices of two months prior to delivery (F2) one month prior to delivery (F1) and delivery month (F0) are efficient in predicting the spot prices of rubber and prediction using futures price three months prior to delivery (F3) is not effective. The impact of futures trading on the farm management practices of the rubber farmers were analysed using simple percentages and averages. The study revealed that there is no change in any of the activity undertaken by the rubber farmers before and after commencement of futures trading. The non-trading farmers are enjoying the economics of large scale operations. Also the only positive change of the futures trading is their awareness about the storing facilities available at Central Warehousing Corporation eventhough they are not using that facility. The influence of private traders in marketing the product is as high as Rubber co-operative Marketing Society and Rubber Producers Society. No exploitation was faced by any of the farmers as they are educated farming community having better bargaining power. The futures trading could not make a considerable impact on the farming decisions of rubber farmers because they are not at all interested in delivery and so they are least bothered about the underlying asset. They consider futures trading as an avenue for speculation where they can bet on the price movements. For identifying the determinants of online trading by rubber farmers, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was applied. Accessibility to trading terminal, awareness creation and computer literacy were found the most important determinants of futures trading. There are some differences in the ranks assigned by trading and non-trading members. Availability of warehousing facility, procedure formalities and speculative nature were found least important determinants. Starting of terminal outlets in remote areas, extensive campaign for awareness creation about futures trading and computer education to remove the aversion towards screen based trading will attract move number of participants to futures trading. Compulsory delivery of the underlying asset is to be enforced by the regulatory authorities to make the real farmers the beneficiaries of futures trading and thereby ensuring a remunerative price.ThesisItem Open Access Loan recovery management in primary co-operative agricultural and rural development banks in Kerala(Department of Rural Banking and Finance Management, College of Co-operation Banking and Management, Vellanikkara, 2004) Renjitha, N T; KAU; Lizy, M AThe study entitled "Loan Recovery Management in Primary Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Banks in Kerala" was conducted to examine the effectiveness of the existing loan recovery management of Primary Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Banks in Kerala and to identify the factors influencing recovery. The study was conducted among four PCARDBs of Ernakulam and Thrissur district viz., Kanayannur CARDB (B 1), Ernakulam CARDB (B2), Cochin CARDB (B3) and Irinjalakuda CARDB (B4). The sample size included 80 respondents i.e., 20 borrowers from each bank at random, of which 15 were defaulters and five were non-defaulters or prompt repayers. Ten officials (including secretaries and BODs) from each bank were also interviewed to collect information on the effectiveness of the loan recovery system of the banks. Secondary data on selected performance indicators of the banks were also used for the study. Statistical tools like AAGR, simple averages, percentages, simple growth rate, simple correlation, efficiency index, priority index and bi-variate tables were used for the analysis. The analysis on the overdue amount of the selected PCARDBs, revealed that Cochin CARDB (B3) had the highest amount of overdues among all the banks, , during the reference period. Profits of all banks have eroded due to provisronmg for accumulated overdues. B4 has shown the best performance in terms of lower overdues and higher profitswhen compared to the other banks. An increase in the demand for nOI1- agricultural loans, particularly RHLs was found, which indicates a shift in the lending pattern. Overdues above four years were growing tremendously in all the banks. Most of the females were found to be prompt repayers. Inspite of having better education, the borrowers were creating huge overdues. This indicates the existence of wilful defaulters. The study found that the defaulters of all t11:;: banks except B4, having annual income above the subsistence level had higher am aunt of overdues, This highlights the fact that, even after having sufficient income, they were deliberately making dues as a result of the inefficient loan recovery management of the bank. The study revealed that procedural delays, lack of adequate securities to hypothecate, misutilisation of loans and inadequate income restricted the borrowers from getting timely loans. It was further observed that defective loaning policy, conspicuous consumption, and illness of family members as well as hope for 10a11 write-off policy were the other reasons behind non-repayment by borrowers. Misutilisation of loan amount was least in B4, which indicates the presence of effective supervision and monitoring mechanism in the bank. Loan amount was mainly diverted for meeting ceremonial expenses, consumption needs and educational expenses of children. The most serious problem in obtaining loam was revealed to be the procedural delay. From the inter-bank comparison on the effectiveness of the present loan recovery management system, it was found that B4 showed an outstanding performance in this regard, whereas B3 revealed to be the least efficient bank. According to the officials and employees of the banks, the reasons for poor recovery included lack of modern management techniques, lack of adequate staff training programmes, lack of infrastructural facilities and inefficiency of the legal machinery for recovering dues from borrowers. As a remedial measure to minimise overdues, coercive action against wilful defaulters and incentives for proper repayment must come into effect. For checking the rising trend of over dues in future, an effective loan appraisal as well as loan monitoring cell managed by professionals has to be established in each bank. The banks must put into effect the SARF AESI Ad, 2002 in order to bring a solution to the problem of overdues. The banks must therefore perceive that prolonged existence of this disease is not beneficial to the organisation and a strong mechanism to check this menace has to be created.ThesisItem Open Access Comparative analysis of the performance of Kerala based banks(Department of Rural Banking and Finance Management, College of Co-operation, Banking and Management, Vellanikkara, 2002) Devika Mangsatabam; KAU; Molly JosephThe study entitled "A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE PERFORMANCE OF KERALA BASED BANKS" was conducted with the following objectives . . i) To analyse the performance of Kerala based public, private and co-operative sector banks. ii) To compare the relative efficiency of these banks and iii) To examine the role of these banks in agricultural lending. The study was conducted in six out of the 10 Kerala based banks comprising of the State Bank of Tranvancore (SBT) and South Malabar Gramin Bank (SMBG) in the public sector, South Indian Bank (SIB), Dhanalakshmi Bank (DB) and Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) in the private sector, and Kerala State Co- operative Bank (KSCB) in the co-operative sector. The study was conducted for a period of six years from 1994-95 to 1999-00 using mainly secondary data made available from the Annual Reports of the banks concerned. The first and second objectives of analysing the performance of Kerala based public private and co-operative sector banks and comparison of the relative efficiency of these banks have been done by using three models viz., Return On Equity (ROE) Decomposition Analysis, Weighted Productivity Index and Market Share Concept. For -- assessing the efficiency of each bank using the Market Share Concept, data were collected from all the 10 banks. Data pertaining to agricultural lending were also collected from the concerned banks' head office for analysing the third objective. Based on the above indicators, individual performance of the banks were assessed and a Composite Index was developed to rank these banks. The study has revealed that CD ratio has been declining for all the Kerala based banks except SMGB. For all these banks, the rate of increase in advances has not been as high as that of deposits which might be due to diversion of deposits by banks like investment in government and other approved securities, shares and debentures. The analysis of the profitability and productivity of Kerala based banks on the basis of ROE Decomposition Analysis has revealed that KSCB'is the only bank which could not achieve the 16-20 per cent internationally accepted ROE and one per cent ROA. SMGB has performed well showing a continuous increase in ROE and ROA except in 1996-97 when these values were negative due to implementation of NPA norms. When compared to the national average, it was found that the performance of all the Kerala based banks except KSCB was better with respect to the three indicators viz., ROE, ROA and Equity Multiplier (EM). The Profit Margin (PM) of the Kerala based banks except for SMGB has been lower than the industry average which might be due to the fact that their income has been adversely affected by the high interest expended on deposits. The study has also revealed that interest expended on deposits for SMGB has been very low when compared to the other Kerala. based banks since the Bank had other sources of funds like refinance from sponsoring bank and other institutions. The percentage share of Provisions and Contingencies (P&C) to the total revenue has been found to be very low in the case of KSCB and S.rvlGB pointing to the lower NPAs in these two banks. Among the Kerala based banks, only SMGB could achieve the internationally accepted criteria of having a Net Interest Margin (NIM) of three per cent and above. However, the burden of this particular bank has been observed to be very high since its non-interest income is negligible. Analysis based on the Weighted Productivity Index (WPi) has revealed that KSCB achieved the highest performance in Employee Productivity (EPi), while SMGB had the lowest I Employee Productivity (EPi). The low staff productivity of SMGB might be due to drastic increase in wage bill as the implementation of the Award of the National Industrial Tribunal (NIT) gave pay parity in RRBs. The high Capital Productivity (CPi) of SMGB may be attributed to an increase in interest income and reduction in NPAs. The~e has been a general decline in CPi of the private sector banks - DB, SIB and CSB due to the higher provisioning for NP As. The market share of the branches, staff, non-deposit working funds and advances of the six Kerala based banks to the total of 10 banks has declined during the period of study. This may be attributed to the increase in the share of other Kerala based banks not included in the study like Federal Bank, Lord Krishna Bank and N edungadi Bank. The market share of SBT in branches, deposits, non- wage operating expenses and interest spread has declined consistently during the study period reflecting its declining prominence as the premier bank in the State. In the estimation of the efficiency level of Kerala based banks on Market Share Concept, it has been found that KSCB obtained the highest score followed by SBT and DB. SMGB, which had performed well in the other two models, performed the lowest as per this model. This may be attributed to the high share of branches and staff among its inputs factors. Besides fluctuation in output factors like non-interest income and the negative net profits in the 1996-97 have adversely affected its performance. Although the introduction of financial sector reforms has led to decline in priority sector lending in general, the liberalisation of the term 'priority sector' since 1997 has enabled banks to achieve the target of 40 per cent. The actual disbursement of credit to priority by Kerala based banks has never crossed the target of 40 per cent except in the case of SMGB. SMGB is the only bank, which has been increasing its percentage share of lending to the priority sector and agriculture in spite of its increased lending to the Non-Target Group over the years. The computation of the Composite Index to assess the overall performance of Kerala based banks has revealed that SMGB obtained the highest score followed by KSCB. The lower performance of SBT and private sector banks may be attributed to lower ROE, EPi, CPi, and ultimately WPi, lower efficiency based on market share and low share of agricultural advances to total advances. ~ThesisItem Open Access Savings and investment behaviour of rubber cultivators - a micro level analysis(Department of Rural Banking and Finance Management, College of Co-operation Banking and Management, Vellanikkara, 1998) Abhilash, T Gopal; KAU; Padmini, E V KThe study entitled ‘Savings and Investment Behaviour of Rubber Cultivators- A Micro Level Analysis’ was conducted with the following objectives. To analyse the extent and pattern of savings and investment of rubber cultivators. To examine the factors influencing their savings and investment decisions. The study was confined to the rubber cultivators in Meenachil taluk of Kottayam district. The study period was Sep.1996 to Aug. 1997. The sample frame comprised 150 respondents and the respondents were classified into three groups based on their size of holdings. The groups are S1-below 1 hectare (ha), S2 between 1ha and 2ha and S3 between 2ha and 5 ha. The data collected from 150 respondents were tabulated and analysed. The study revealed that the extent of savings was highest for group S3 followed by group S1 and S2. The results indicate that the cultivation of rubber was the major source of income (almost 75 per cent of total income) in all the three cultivator groups considered for the study. Hence the size of rubber cultivation was the major income side determinant of extent of savings among the sample households. However the rate of savings showed a different pattern. The average propensity to save is lowest in group S2 (23 per cent) and is highest in group S3 (36 per cent) closely followed by group S1 (34 per cent). Though the total amount of expenditure is highest in groupS3, its extent and rate of savings are highest as it has managed a very high amount of net income. Despite having the lowest extent of net income the group S1 has achieved an appreciable rate of savings by controlling their total expenditure. From the responses of the cultivators five items viz. education of the children, ceremonies, putting up houses, saving for emergencies and bequeathing assets to spouses and children were emerged as the principal motivations for saving. The savings was mainly disposed in the form of investments in financial assets. The other major form of disposition of savings was investments in nonincome generating assets like household durables and buildings. Among the financial assets bank deposit was the most preferred option of the respondents and co-operative bank deposits had an edge over others. Rate of return followed by safety and proximity were emerged as major parameters influencing the investment options in financial assets. Investment in non income generating assets was found increasing with the increase in the size of holding. Their personal use apart, status concern and demonstration effect were the prime motivations behind such investment. The study established that though the savings is mainly generated from agriculture sector, (especially from rubber cultivation) such savings are not appropriately ploughed as investment in the same sector. Instead the savings is mainly disposed either as financial assets (a low risk low return option) or as unproductive investments.ThesisItem Open Access Impact of agro machinery service centres on mechanisation of paddy cultivation in Kerala(College of Co-operation Banking Management, 2015) Salini, R Chandran; KAU; Molly, JosephAgricultural operations essentially require labour as an inevitable input. But the availability and cost of agricultural labour is a major problem faced by the farmers of Kerala. The role of Agro Machinery Service Centres (AMSCs) in the mechanisation of farming operations is assuming importance in this scenario. Agro Machinery Service Centres are service providers where all agro machinery operation services with respect to crop production are rendered on contract basis. An Agro Machinery Service Centre should have all facilities to meet the critical need of the farmers and at the same time become a self-reliant and viable proposition. The study entitled “Impact of Agro Machinery Service Centres on mechanisation of paddy cultivation in Kerala” was conducted with the main objectives of assessing the extent of mechanisation among farmers, identifying the determinants of paddy mechanisation through Agro Machinery Service Centres (AMSCs), studying the impact of AMSCs on mechanisation paddy cultivation and examining the role of institutional credit in the mechanisation of paddy farms. One hundred and thirty five respondents from three Panchayats of Thrissur district viz., Avanoor, Kuzhoor and Pazhayannur and three AMSCs viz, Green Army, Sivasakthi and Parijatham were selected as samples through multistage sampling method. The sample farmers were categorised into two viz., users of AMSCs and non-users of AMSCs. Out of the total sample, 90 farmers are using the services of AMSCs and 45 are not using the services of AMSCs. The users are again grouped into 45 individual users and 45 group users /Padasekharams. Data were collected through pre-tested structured interview schedule. The major statistical tools used for the study were independent sample ttest, one way ANOVA, Post-hoc test, Chi-square test, Yates’ correction for continuity and indices such as mechanisation index, benefit index of AMSCs, service quality index of AMSCs and usage index of farm implements by farmers. The extent of mechanisation adopted by farmers is analysed based on the farm size of farmers, different crops cultivated by them, purposes of mechanisation, area of mechanised land holdings of the farmers, farm implements used and owned by the farmers and measurement of adoption of mechanisation by the farmers. Mechanisation of farm lands is confined to paddy cropped areas. It is found that 81.43 per cent of total land holdings of farmers are mechanised. The mechanised land holding is more for users of AMSCs (90.74 percent) than the non-users (62.80 percent). The major farm implements used by farmers consist of tractors, transplanters, harvesters and sprayers. Users of AMSCs mainly adopt mechanisation for the purposes of land preparation, transplanting and harvesting whereas non-users adopt mechanisation for the purpose of land preparation and harvesting. The major farm implement owned by both categories of farmers are sprayers .The usage index of mechanised implements worked out to be 89 per cent by the farmers. Mechanisation index is constructed as ratio of cost of use of machines and total cost of use of human labour, draught animals and machines to measure the extent of mechanisation among the farmers. The mechanisation index shows that the extent of mechanisation is more in the case of users than the non-users of AMSCs. The adoption rate of mechanisation is found to be 57.34 per cent for users and 30.72 per cent for non-users of AMSCs. The mechanisation index for usage of services of Agro Machinery Service Centres is done separately in order to understand the effect of using such services in replacing the overall labour costs incurred in farm operations and also to understand the contribution of services of AMSCs in overall mechanisation of paddy farming. The mechanisation index of farmers who use AMSC services is estimated at 30 per cent. . i.e., the cost incurred by non - users over and above this 30 per cent for transplantation can be saved, if they shift to mechanisation of transplantation. It is also found that the share of transplantation costs to total mechanisation costs of land preparation, transplantation and harvesting of users is nearly 51 per cent. This implies that, out of the total mechanisation costs, 51 per cent is contributed by AMSCs by the way of transplanting cost. The determinants of farm mechanisation through Agro Machinery Service Centres is analysed by examining the relationship between mechanisation index of farmers with variables such as education level, farm experience, cost of cultivation, production and income from paddy of farmers. Chi-square test and Yates’ correction factor for continuity was employed to study the relationship between these variables with mechanisation index. Among the above said variables, only cost of cultivation has significant relationship with the adoption of mechanisation by the user farmers and is a determinant of adoption of mechanisation through AMSCs by the user farmers. But in the case of non-users, none of the variables is a determinant of the adoption of mechanisation by the farmers. The evaluation of service quality of AMSCs shows that reduced cost of cultivation, availability of skilled labour force, and saving in time are the factors that encourage the adoption of mechanisation by farmers through AMSCs. The impact of AMSCs in paddy farming is measured by attempting a disaggregated analysis of different aspects of cost and production of rice. Mechanisation in paddy cultivation has resulted in labour displacement; AMSCs have served the purpose of labour saving in farm operations of transplanting. Average labour costs per acre of non-users are estimated as Rs. 37185 whereas that of users is estimated to be Rs. 29270. The highest difference in costs is found in the case of transplanting, where non – users have to spend Rs 2340/- per hectare more than the users of AMSCs. The usage of migrant labourers from the State of West Bengal for manual transplanting by the non-user panchayats reduced the difference between transplantation using machine and manual labour to Rs. 2340. Estimating the net effect of labour saving and machine hiring costs reveals that average cost of cultivation of users of AMSCs (Rs 41590/Ha) is less than that of non-users (Rs.48360/Ha). Increased usage of mechanisation (by way of usage of AMSC services) also show impact on production, wherein the average production of user farmers (6090 kg/Ha) was found to be higher than non-users (5025 kg/Ha). The users of AMSCs are enjoying two types of benefits from their service centres. One is economic benefits and the other one is operational benefits. Operational benefits include timeliness in farm operations, solution to labour scarcity and increased acreage of cultivation. The economic benefits deal with capital investment, farm income and sustainability of farming and motivation to continue farming in future. The economic benefits (92 per cent) have surpassed the operational benefits (88 per cent) since the indicator ‘increased acreage under cultivation’ has scored less. Hence, mechanisation through AMSCs has motivated all the user farmers to remain and continue in rice farming, but still has to go a long way to induce them to bring additional land under rice farming Institutional credit has a pivotal role in the agricultural development of the country, as one of the critical inputs for agriculture. It capitalises farmers to undertake new investments and adopt new technologies. A large number of institutional agencies like Co-operatives, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs), Non– Banking Financial Institutions (NBFIs), and Self Help Groups (SHGs) are involved in meeting the short and long term mechanisation needs of farmers. In the case of farmers and Agro Machinery Service Centres studied, loan for mechanisation is found to be availed by none. All the service centres are provided with agricultural implements by Grama Panchayats and Block Panchayat at free of cost. Only one farmer owned machinery (tractor) for agricultural operations. The farmers seek the help of Agro Machinery Service Centres and private agencies for their mechanisation needs. It is not economical for the farmers to own agricultural implements. Hence the role of institutional credit in mechanisation of paddy farming in the study area was found to be very limited. Even though KAU is not directly involved in the activities of Green Army, it is to the credit of the Agricultural Research Station, Mannuthy, of the University that its earnest efforts to find a solution to the agricultural labour shortage in the State, by way of training to a group of 18 farmers and farm workers of Wadakkanchery Block Panchayat has culminated in the formation of Green Army, which by its sincere efforts and the patronage of the Panchayat and PSCB has achieved State level acceptance and has become a model for other Agro Machinery Service Centres in the State. The introduction of AMSCs is an apt solution for severe labour shortage faced by farmers in paddy farming. They facilitate timely availability of machine labour and timeliness in farm operations. Hence, transplanting service of AMSCs, resulted in reduced cost of cultivation, increased production and farm income of farmers. Mechanisation through AMSCs has motivated all the user farmers to remain and continue in rice farming, but still has to go a long way to induce them to bring additional land under rice farming.