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ThesisItem Open Access DYNAMICS OF AGRICULTURAL LABOUR - ITS DEMAND AND SUPPLY ANALYSIS IN ASSAM(2023) Dutta, Pompi; Gogoi, P.B.India's economy underwent transformation as agriculture's role shifted. In the 1950s, 70% of the workforce relied on agriculture, but technological progress and labor migration led to a decline. India diversified, fostering a balanced economy. Assam saw similar changes. Female participation in agriculture rose, but women preferred labor-intensive roles to cultivation. Migration from agriculture to non-agricultural sectors posed challenges. Climate change disrupted labor and rainfall patterns, affecting farming. Mechanization aimed to reduce labor, but its adoption varied due to factors like farm size. Ensuring equitable benefits of technology and addressing climate and migration challenges are essential. Despite advancements, full automation remains distant, with human involvement crucial. Addressing small farmers' needs and nuanced tasks is vital for balanced progress. Women's role in agriculture grew, but challenges persist. Policy efforts must sustain agriculture, empower workers, and achieve sustainable development. the aim of this research is to measure the disparities in demand and supply, identify what triggers these discrepancies, and evaluate how these causative factors influence the gap. The specific objectives of this study include : a. Examine the magnitude of agricultural labour at disaggregated levels in Assam; b. Estimate the demand for and supply of agricultural labour across agricultural operations with gender participation c. Analyze the effect of farm mechanization, migration and climate change on labour employment decisions d. Study the problems of agricultural labour and suggest suitable measures, if required. The findings of the study indicate a noteworthy shift in the distribution of labor within the agricultural sector. Both main workers and marginal workers have exhibited a decline in the proportion of cultivators, coinciding with a rise in the number of agricultural laborers. Notably, the labor dynamics exhibit a significant contrast between the UBVZ and CBVZ regions. The UBVZ region faces a situation where the demand for labor surpasses the available supply, while the CBVZ region experiences an inverse scenario. Furthermore, the implementation of mechanization practices has led to a reduction in the labor force engaged in mechanized farms utilizing tractors and threshers. In regions prone to floods and droughts, there is an observable surge in labor demand, particularly during transplanting activities. It is noteworthy that the UBVZ region addresses labor shortages during peak seasons through the employment of migrant laborers. The challenges faced by farmers are multifaceted, encompassing issues such as labor scarcity and unavailability of machinery. These observations carry implications for policy and agricultural practices, suggesting the need for targeted interventions in regions with varying labor dynamics and specific challenges related to workforce availability and mechanization.ThesisItem Open Access ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF HOMEGARDEN BIODIVERSITY IN ASSAM(2021) Hussain, Zafrina; Deka, NiveditaHome garden as the name says is usually a small area of land surrounding a household, where members of the family grows varieties of vegetables, medicinal crops, fruits trees and trees which can be ornamental and so on and is commonly known by the name baari in Assam, in rural household apart from growing vegetables and fruits in their home garden they rear live stocks, cattle’s and fishes as well hence there exist a noticeable biodiversity in a baari, however in urban residents misses this opportunity and is limited to fruits and vegetables for meet the family food requirements . Home gardening is also known by the name homestead gardening as it surrounds the home of the household. Almost every household may it be a rural household or an urban dwelling household both has a garden either their vegetable garden or kitchen garden which is a miniature form of farm plots growing vegetables and herbs in small area and so in small scale. Household grows vegetables, herbs and also fruits in pots and containers to meet their day to day culinary needs. It is often a structured space having a visual appeal all the year round. In today’s human civilization when there are constant threat to the climate and environment home garden is a boon as it serves the environment with greeneries which provides fresh air, bears with the pollution by reducing carbon emission, provides fresh vegetables grown all organically, usually using compost manures, because it is practiced in small scale so the use of chemical fertilizers are negligible. It is also a source of rare and extinct varieties of fruits and herbs which have established medicinal properties. Therefore, to cope up with environmental issues urban civilization practices roof top gardening unlike their rural counterparts as small step to a big environmental issue and also to meet with their nutrition requirement. The present study is an attempt to assess the existing status of biodiversity in the home gardens of few randomly selected villages in five Agro climatic zones of Assam. All the five Agro climatic zones have different characteristics in terms of rainfall pattern, terrain and soil, so does the biodiversity, however the most commonly found biodiversity component have been studied and assessed in terms of economical analysis where in the species richness, its abundance, and its density is studied, the economics of resources used in the home gardens, the role of gender in management of the home gardens, and assessing the contribution of homegarden biodiversity in livelihood. This study was conducted in randomly selected homegardens of Jorhat (Upper Brahmaputra Valley Zone), Morigaon (Central Assam Zone), Karbi Anlong (Hill Zone), Sonitpur (North Bank Plain Zone), and kamrup district (Lowe Brahmaputra Valley Zone) of Assam. An inventory of crop species and livestock diversity component in home gardens was prepared and a comparative study using Shannon- wiener index the diversity of species was evaluated and the relative importance value, density and abundance was calculated for the selected home gardens from five different Agro climatic zones. The study categorised the composition of species as components into trees, vegetables, fruits, spices, medicinal plants, and livestock for biodiversity inventory. Thus excluding for example ornamental species, which do not relate immediately to livelihood. A total of 144 plants species belonging to 64 families were recorded from the survey of 290 gardens across the five selected Agro climatic zones of Assam. An average of 34 plant species were found in each homegardens surveyed for the study which included vegetable species, tree species, medicinal plant species, and spices and condiments. The smallest homegardens in the present study had a Shannon index with 1.30, but they were not significantly different from the indices reported for the medium and large (1.21, 1.24, respectively), while the total of 144 species recorded in the study. When the production and consumption ratio was studied across the Agro climatic zones, it is seen that the production and consumption ratio was found to be the highest in the homegardens of the North Bank Plain Zone which was 0.76, followed by the homegardens of the Lower Brahmaputra Valley Zone which was 0.72, respectively. Usually incomes from smaller homegardens is less as compared to the larger homegarden because larger garden have profit motive with higher composition of commercial plant species while in smaller gardens composition of commercial crops is less. The percentage contribution of homegardens towards household’s average annual gross income was 43.33 per cent. Female headed homegardens were significantly higher in size than male headed homegargens in the small sized homegardens and medium sized homegardens in this study. Among the three homegarden size categories 53.00 per cent were female headed in small sized homegardens 59.00 per cent female headed in medium sized homegardens and 57.00 per cent in large sized homegardens.ThesisItem Open Access Inter zonal variation of farm Mechanization in Assam(2021) Gogoi, Horindra; Halim, R. A.Farm mechanisation plays vital roles in reduction of drudgery of the human labour and drought animals, enhancement of the cropping intensity, precision and timeliness of efficiency of utilisation of various crop inputs and reduction of the losses at different stages of crop production through the use of the use of various power sources and improved farm tools and equipments. With growing of pace of farm mechanisation, questions arise on the issues such as degree of adoption and regional variation in the extent adoption of those modern farm machineries and equipments, resource and energy use efficiency, agricultural technology adoption and comparative economic advantage as a result of adoption of different types of farm mechineries. With this point of views, the present study was undertaken in Assam with the specific objectives viz., 1) Examine the extent of adoption of farm mechanisation across different agro climatic zones of Assam, 2) Study the impact of farm mechanisation on technology adoption and energy use, 3) Analyze the resource use efficiency and comparative economics of farm mechanisation and 4) Identify the constraints of farm mechanisation. The study was conducted in five agro climatic zones in Assam (viz., Upper Brahmaputra Valley Zone (UBVZ), North Bank Plain Zone (NBPZ), Central Brahmaputra Valley Zone (CBVZ), Lower Brahmaputra Valley Zone (LBVZ) and Barak Valley (BVZ). The sampling design adopted in the study was multistage stratified random sampling design .A sample of 100 farmers was collected for each of the five agroclimatic zones in the ratio of 4 marginal: 3 small:2 medium :1 large so as to make the total sample size 600. The results of the study revealed that the overall mechanization farm was 86 per cent in selected agroclimatic zones of Assam, while 14.00 per cent farms were operating with traditional practices of farm operations by using bullock and manual labour. The highest percentage of mechanization was observed in NBPZ (89.17 per cent) followed by CBVZ, UBVZ, BVZ and LBVZ accounting for 86.67 per cent, 85.83 per cent, 85.00 per cent and 83.33 per cent, respectively. Among the different categories of farm mechanization, on an average, tractor hired farms (THF) occupied the highest percentage (50.97 per cent) followed by power tiller hired farms (PTHF), power tiller owned farms (PTOF) and tractor owned farms (TOF) with the percentage of 37.02, 7.95and 4.07 respectively. operation wise extent of farm mechanization showed that on an average, the primary tillage/ ploughing, threshing and transportation were the major operations mechanised by 86.00 per cent,79.83 per cent and 53.39 per cent farmers respectively, while interculture operation, irrigation, harvesting and winnowing and bagging were mechanised by 10.83 per cent, 27.00 per cent , 7.12 per cent and 31.83 per cent farmers respectively. Adoption of HYV of Sali paddy (in terms of number of farmers) was found to be highest in CBVZ (96.15 per cent) and lowest in UBVZ (81.55 per cent) among the mechanized farm, while in non mechanized farm 33.33 per cent farmers adopted HYV Sali rice, In mechanized farm, HYV Sali rice was adopted in 77.06 per cent area as against only 39.31 per cent for non mechanized farms. HYV seed of mustard, black gram, potato, boro rice and jute in mechanised farm was adopted by 53.62 per cent,40.74 per cent,37.93 per cent,65.69 per cent and 76.47 per cent farmers respectively, while for non mechanised farm, it was observed 16.95 per cent and 40.00 per cent for mustard and jute respectively. On the other hand , HYV seed of Sali rice, mustard, black gram, potato, boro rice and jute in mechanised farm was adopted in 77.96 per cent,66.61 per cent,46.53 per cent,45.74 per cent 62.24 and 66.82 per cent area respectively, as against 39.31 per cent, 16.51 per cent and 44.83 per cent for Sali rice ,mustard and jute respectively in non mechanised farm. Line transplanting practices in Sali rice, was followed only in 6.19 per cent area in mechanised farm as against 4.37 per cent for non –mechanized farms. Among the various agroclimatic zones, line transplanting in Sali rice in mechanised farm was adopted in 2.51 per cent,6.17 per cent ,10.11 per cent,11.12 per cent and 2.44 per cent area respectively in UBVZ, NBPZ, CBVZ,LBVZ and BVZ. On the other hand, line transplanting in Boro rice was adopted in 30.46 per cent , 57.09 per cent ,69.61 per cent,67.01 per cent and 65.17 per cent area respectively in UBVZ, NBPZ, CBVZ,LBVZ and BVZ with the overall adoption of 57.43 per cent. Adoption of chemical fertilizer in Sali rice, mustard, black gram, potato, boro rice and jute in mechanised farm was found in 44.74 per cent, 64.19 per cent, 21.33 per cent, 39.05 per cent ,68.30 per cent and 63.45 per cent area respectively as against 15.15 per cent,16.43 per cent and 13.71 per cent area for Sali rice ,mustard and jute respectively in non mechanised farm. Chemical methods of plant protection measure was adopted in Sali rice, mustard, black gram, potato, boro rice and jute under mechanised farm in 47.37 per cent, 21.65 per cent, 18.99 per cent, 64.98 per cent, 62.25 per cent and 69.52 per cent area respectively as against 22.91 per cent,6.78 per cent and 4.29 per cent area for Sali rice ,mustard and jute respectively in non mechanised farm. The average energy utilised for cultivation of Sali rice, mustard, blackgram, potato, boro rice and jute was 5217.27 MJ/ha , 4488.17 MJ/ha , 2612.70 MJ/ha , 13293.43 MJ/ha , 11204.74 MJ/ha , and 7082.61 MJ/ha respectively in mechanised farm as against 5050.65 MJ/ha3846.70MJ/ha and 6352.25 MJ/ha for Sali rice, mustard and jute respectively in non-mechanised. Various energy efficiciency ratios revealed that energy was efficiently utilised in cultivation of all the crops both in mechanised and non-mechanised farm. Of course, mechanized farms were observed to be more efficient than non mechanized farms from the point of energy utilization. Average human labour and seed utilisation was less in mechanised farm as compared to non mechanised farm for crops under study, whereas per hectare utilisation of fertilizer, manure, plant protection chemicals and micro nutrients was found less in non-mechanised farm than the mechanised farm. Utilisation of human labour in Sali rice, mustard, black gram, potato, boro rice and jute in mechanised farm was found in 86.26 Man days, 42.55 Man days,53.56 Man days, 99.34 Man days ,96.87 Man days and 172.57 Man days respectively as against 117.75 Man days,80.41 per cent and 190.30 Man days for Sali rice, mustard and jute respectively in non mechanised farm. The results of regression analysis for factors affecting crop production revealed that in mechanised farm in UBVZ, seed, fertilizer and machine labour significantly and positively affected the farm income, whereas in non-mechanised farm, FYM and fertilizer were found to be positive and statistically significant. In NBPZ, fertilizer, irrigation and machine labour in mechanised farm, and seed and human labour in non-mechanised farm were found statistically significant. For CBVZ, seed, FYM, irrigation and machine labour affected farm income significantly in mechanised farm, as against fertilizer and bullock labour in non-mechanised farms. In case of LBVZ, fertilizer, irrigation and machine labour were found significant in mechanised farms, while seed and fertilizer were significant in non-mechanised farms. Area, seed, FYM and machine labour significantly contributed to farm income in mechanised farm in BVZ as against seed and fertilizer in non-mechanised farms. Study on the comparative economics of crop production in mechanised and non mechanised farm revealed that the average cost of cultivation per hectare at Cost C2 in Sali rice, mustard, black gram ,potato ,Boro rice and jute under mechanised farm was Rs.46349.32, Rs.28745.28, Rs.25287.79, Rs.98827.93 , Rs.55439.25 and 88580.06 respectively, as against Rs.48386.80, Rs.30540.22 and 92675.21 respectively for Sali rice, mustard and jute in non mechanised farm. .Gross return per hectare was estimated at Rs. 63913.25, Rs.31771.69, Rs 35613.16, Rs.147107.39, Rs.69403.90 and Rs.118218.18 respectively for Sali rice, mustard, black gram ,potato ,Boro rice and jute under mechanised farm, while it was Rs 54817.88,Rs.29059.80 and Rs.110363.54 respectively for Sali rice ,mustard and jute in non –mechanised farm .Per hectare net return in Sali rice, mustard, black gram ,potato ,Boro rice and jute under mechanised farm was Rs.12928.40, Rs.151.88, Rs.7796.59, Rs.38396.66 , Rs.6420.41 and 20780.11 respectively, as against Rs.1592.40, Rs.4534.44 and 8420.81 respectively for Sali rice, mustard and jute in non mechanised farm. Lack of sufficient own funds to meet initial high costs of farm machinery , and lack of adequate credit facilities and rigid repayment norms were the common major problems faced by farmers in all the selected agro-climatic zones. Among all problems, lack of sufficient own funds to meet initial high costs of farm machinery occupied the 1st rank as faced by 90.83 per cent farmersThesisItem Open Access CROP INSURANCE IN ODISHA: AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT(AAU, Jorhat, 2021) Majumder, Saddam Hossen; Deka, NiveditaThe present study identified and quantified the various risks, performance of crop insurance schemes in Odisha and assessed the impact of its adoption along with the prioritization of risk mitigation strategies adopted by the rice growers. The study used primary as well as secondary data and primary data was collected from 240 farmers comprising both insured and non-insured farmers selected from two districts, namely Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara from East and South eastern coastal plains zones of Odisha, where rice cultivation and climatic related hazards, both are widespread. Few officials and field functionaries of implementing agencies were also selected and interviewed. The study revealed that farmers in Odisha state and the study area as well are much vulnerable to adverse climatic environments, especially floods, drought, severe cyclones and infestation of pest and diseases. Farmers do have their own risk coping strategies like sale of farm produce/ livestock and non-farm activities (daily wage labour) apart from adoption of crop insurance. Crop diversification as a tool of risk reduction also examined through various indices and it was found that insured farmers were in better position to diversify their crops than the non-insured farmers. Growth analysis of earlier introduced insurance schemes showed that farmers and area coverage, farmers covered and benefitted, premium paid and claims settled, etc. decreased except National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) in which growth of above indicators were positive during kharif seasons for loanee farmers. The present scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) introduced during 2016, replacing earlier schemes were also examined and found loanee and non-loanee farmers‟ coverage got increased during kharif season, but percentage coverage of loanee farmers was much higher than non-loanee farmers. Post revamp of PMFBY scheme witnessed increase in the number of non-loanee farmers during rabi 2020-21. However, compensations against crop damages were much lower than the average value of threshold yield. The results also depicted that the farmers were reluctant to invest more due to frequently occurrence of adverse climatic risks but they spend more in material costs in rice production anticipating high yield and compensation in case of any catastrophes, and the fact was reinforced by significant regression coefficient of insurance adoption on materials costs. To estimate the true impact of crop insurance, the difference in difference (DiD) method was employed and found a negligible difference between increment in costs, returns and investment on agriculture between insured and non-insured farmers. Estimates of logit regression models showed that farm size, farmer‟s contact with extension agencies, access to credit, information access from media and influence of fellow farmers‟ were the key drivers of awareness creation and adoption of crop insurance. Estimates of tobit regression model indicated that gross cropped area, credit availed, affordability of farmers to premium rate and diversification status of farm, etc. were the key factors influencing the premium paid by the insured farmers. Delay in conducting crop cutting experiments (CCE), damage assessment and settlement of claims were the main hindrances for adoption of crop insurance as identified and ranked using Garrett ranking technique. Creation of awareness about benefits of crop insurance and considering the individual farm as a unit of assessment instead of gram panchayat were the key suggestion for better coverage of the scheme. It is concluded that a demand driven approach comprising of location specific crops and coverage, targeting young and educated farmer and easy access to information flow through better extension services will facilitate more adoption and improve the farmer‟s stands in protecting their crops from various adversities.ThesisItem Open Access AN ASSESSMENT OF FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY STATUS OF RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN ASSAM(AAU, Jorhat, 2019-07) Hazarika, Upama; Borthakur, N.India is an agricultural country and agriculture plays an important role in the economic life of India. Food and nutritional security continues to be the strong foundation of India’s food policy despite its tremendous achievement on food production. Household food security is an important measure of wellbeing. Despite the increasing global concern of improving food security, the nature and extent of food security at the household level in rural areas is not well documented. The present study has been undertaken to examine the present level of food and nutritional security status of rural households in Assam State. An attempt has been made to examine the status of temporal agricultural food production and variability across the state of Assam. An analysis to the various factors that affect existing food security of the sample farmers and their coping strategies during food shortages were done. Finally, an alternative plan for attaining food security of sample households was given. For evaluating the specific objectives of the study, both primary and secondary data were collected.Appropriate analytical and statistical procedure was followed for each objectives such as compound growth analysis and coefficient of variation of area, production, yields of major food crops in Assam, regression analysis, linear programming, percentage and ranking method etc. for the period of 1998-99 to 2014-15.A multi stage random sampling design was used for the present study. Altogether, 240 sample households were taken from Upper Brahmaputra Valley Zone and Lower Brahmaputra Valley Zone of Assam zones. The results of the study revealed that positive and highly significant growth in production (2.37 %) in food grains which was mainly due to highly significant growth rate of yield (2.72 %). But negative growth rate was also observed in case of area of food grains (0.34 %) during the study period of 1998-99 to 2014-15. Semi-log quadratic equation estimated for food grains production, area and yield revealed significant acceleration during the period in the state of Assam.An analysis of instability measured by coefficient of variation of production of total food grains revealed that in the entire period it was 17.35 per cent with major contribution of yield variability which was 16.57 per cent. Again, the analysis of per capita availability of different food grains revealed that the per capita availability of cereals remained more than normative requirement during all the periods. Per capita availability of pulses, though remained more than normative requirement, it was in a declining trend up to 2008-13 and increased during 2013-15 but per capita availability of total food grains was more than normative requirement during all the periods. It was found that the per capita availability of oilseeds produced in the state was far below the normative requirement, although its area, production as well as productivity increased over the years. It was found that in Lower Brahmaputra Valley Zone, 30 per cent of sample households were food secure while 70 per cent households were food in secure.Moreover, the food secure percentages of marginal, small, semi medium and medium farmers of Lower Brahmaputra Valley Zone were 22.22 per cent, 17.07 per cent, 33.33 per cent and 76.92 per cent, respectively. In Upper Brahmaputra Valley Zone, 36.67 per cent of sample households were food secure while 63.33 per cent of households were food insecure. The food secure percentages of marginal, small, semi medium and medium farmers of Upper Brahmaputra Valley Zone were 7.50 per cent, 28.57 per cent, 66.67 per cent and 72.22 per cent, respectively.It indicated that the farm size could be a significant factor to the food security status of farming households. Different socioeconomic, personnel and natural factors were analyzed in order to study the factors affecting food security of sample households. The regression analysis revealed there were important factors such as total land (ha), farm size, rice area (ha), monthly income, age of household head, education of household head, household member, age of wife, education of wife and access to finance that affected food security status of sample households. The findings revealed that the most important way of obtaining food when stocks run out was to purchase food on credit from the market followed by selling productive assets like land or livestock during the food shortages. Other options like reduce quantity, consume seed stock held for next season, take money from money lenders etc. were also adopted by rural households during shortage period. A linear programming was used to assist managers in decision making and resource allocation among the food insecure households of Lower Brahmaputra Valley Zone and Upper Brahmaputra Valley Zone. The optimal farm plan for food insecure households indicated the scope for reorganizing the resources in order to increase the net farm returns to the extent of 24.70 per cent of marginal farms, 40.57 per cent of small farms 62.01 per cent of semi-medium farms and 73.16 per cent of medium farms of Lower Brahmaputra Valley Zone which were shown through optimum plan. In the same way, in Upper Brahmaputra Valley Zone, there was scope for reorganizing the resources which would result in increasing the net farm returns to the extent of 24.02 per cent of marginal farms, 37.20 per cent of small farms 73.41 per cent of semi-medium farms and 85.90 per cent of medium farms under the limited capital situations. The results showed that majority of the food insecure farming households would improve the food security status from the production of crop enterprises based on an efficient allocation of resources as recommended by the optimal farm plan. Therefore, it could be concluded that appropriate policy measures should be taken up to facilitate equitable growth of all major food crops in the state. Again, policy effective community participation in the design of concepts and messages aimed at imparting knowledge about family measures directed towards the provision of better family planning, increased awareness and access to family planning facilities should be given adequate attention and priority by the government.ThesisItem Open Access MECHANIZATION IN ASSAM AGRICULTURE – STATUS AND ITS EFFECTS(AAU, Jorhat, 2018-01) Barman, Sinki; Deka, NAgricultural mechanization refers to interjection of improved tools, implements and machine between workers and materials handled by them. Agriculture has changed significantly with advances in science and technology. Traditional agriculture was mostly dependent on human labor and draught animals with less fertilizer application, plant protection measures etc. where modern agricultural practices are mainly based on machines especially high-speed, powerful tractors and its implements with higher rate of input application. In the context of growing demand of selective forms of farm machinery in Assam, the pertinent question to ask is whether the farm mechanization contributes to income and employment of the farm families either by increasing productivity, cropping intensity or by changing the cropping pattern. So, keeping this point of view the present study was conducted with specific objectives viz., 1) Study the status of farm mechanization in the study area, 2) Examine the effect of mechanization on productivity, income, employment, cropping pattern and cropping intensity and 3) Study the factors affecting farm mechanization of the sample farms. Primary data were collected with the help of specially design pretested schedule by interview method. Tabular, percent, log linear regression and Logit regression analysis were done and results obtained from these analysis were summarized to examine the impact of farm mechanization and various factors affecting farm mechanization. During 2014-15 the availability of farm power in Assam was 1.78 HP per hectare which was less as compared to 2.05 HP per hectare at national level .Use of animal drawn implements like indigenous plough and the traditional practices were adopted by the farmers and its percentage was high for tillage, sowing, intercultural operation, harvesting and threshing etc. Some farmers had neither animal and nor tractor or power tiller but they hired these for performing various farm operations. The implements used by the cultivators for performing various agricultural operations were desi plough, rotavator, harrow, puddler, khurpi, hoe, kudali, spade, axe, knapsack sprayer, shallow tube well/deep tube well, plain sickle plain sickle, serrated sickle, combine harvester, reaper, tractor, power tiller. 94.32 per cent of the household ploughing was done by mechanically while 4.58 per cent used draught animal for ploughing purpose. From the study it had been observed that mechanical ploughing was done by 94.32 per cent of the population. Cropping pattern in medium and large sized mechanized farms were shifted in favour of high valued crops and cropping intensity was higher in case of mechanized farms and it was seen that cropping intensity showed a negative significant relationship with farm size i.e. -1.98. Tractor Hired Farm had the highest cropping intensity (162.21 per cent) followed by Power Tiller Hired Farm (161.49 per cent) and Tractor Ownership Farm (152.00) per cent) and Power Tiller Ownership Farm (154.62 per cent), respectively. From the study revealed that mechanized farms received higher yield and return compared to non mechanized farm and the major effect of mechanical power adoption was the significant reduction in the labour requirements of mechanized farm for ploughing and threshing. Human labour employment was lower in case of mechanized farm than Bullock Operated Farm. Average labour employment per cropped hectare were estimated at 53.36, 70.04, 68.87, 87.45 and 147.9 man days for Tractor Ownership Farm, Tractor Hired Farm, Power Tiller Ownership Farm, Power Tiller Hired Farm and Bullock Operated Farm, respectively. Labour employment and farm size had inverse relationship within different categories of mechanized and Bullock Operated Farm and out of total labour employment family labour employment was found to be 3.70, 58.91, 20.30, 63.02 and 91.22 per cent in case of Tractor Ownership Farm, Tractor Hired Farm, Power Tiller Ownership Farm, Power Tiller Hired Farm and Bullock Operated Farm, respectively. Per hectare crop yield along with gross return was higher in case of mechanized and it had been observed that in case of Bullock Operated Farm net return was negative i.e. -12075.51. Using Logit regression analysis revealed that education, farm size, level of con tact with extension functionaries and area under high yielding variety crops had found to bearing significant positive effect on adoption of mechanization in the in the study area on the other hand age old custom was the hindrance of mechanization adoption. The coefficient of EDU i.e. education level of the household (4.32) was positive and highly significant at 10 per cent probability level confirming that the adoption of farm mechanization was more prevalent among the farms having relatively literate in the study area. Considering the above findings suitable form of farm machinery can be recommended in the study area, supplemented through greater use of irrigation and fertilizer which are expected to increase the cropping intensity, sufficient enough to neutralize the labour displacement effect of farm mechanization in the study area. By advancing smooth credit system to procure machineries, establishment of bank for custom hiring, development of adequate infrastructure to supply spare parts, repairing services, cooperative management farm machinery, development of training facilities for farmers to use machineries and strengthening the linkage of extension functionaries with the grassroots level by creating awareness about the use of farm machineries amongst the farmers were the appropriate policy measures for increasing the benefit farm mechanization in the study area.ThesisItem Open Access FARM LEVEL PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES, POST HARVEST LOSSES AND MARKETING EFFICIENCY OF MAJOR VEGETABLES: A STUDY IN THE DARRANG DISTRICT OF ASSAM(AAU, Jorhat, 2015-07) Dutta, Sumi; Barman, R. N.Vegetables are important supplements to the human diet. India ranks 2nd after China in the world with total production of 162.19 million tones. In Assam area under vegetable is about 2.73 lakh hectares with annual production of 49.79 lakh MT.Vegetables are highly perishable food products in nature and in the process of supply from the farm level to the market level. The seasonal gluts and lack of infrastructure and marketing facilities in the developing countries have significant effect on the extent of post harvest losses of vegetables. In Assam not much information is available regarding the farm level adoption of production technologies and quantum of post harvest loss of vegetables at various stages of marketing and its impact on marketing efficiency. The present study was conducted in the Darrang district of Assam and was designed to collect information regarding the level of production technologies, assessment of productivity, technology gaps of some major vegetables, physical and value loss at farm level and at various stages of marketing and to examine the impact of post harvest loss on farmer’s net price, marketing costs, margins and efficiency of major vegetables. The study was based on both primary and secondary data. Bechimari and Kharupetia two major vegetable growing areas were identified.Both tabular and functional analysis was done in analyzing data. Cost concepts used in farm management studies were applied to calculate costs in the present study and results indicated that cost of production increased with increase in size of the farm and regardingknowledge on different parameters of vegetable production it was observed that almost all farmers (99.33%) had the knowledge about the ploughing and application of organic manures (99.00%).The extent of adoption gaps for selected vegetables is estimated and 7 technology components were found. More than 30 percent of technology adoption gaps were observed in terms of technology components T4, T5 and T6 i.e. Manuring and fertilization, Number of irrigations applied & Intercultural and weed control.As vegetables are perishable in nature so during the process of distribution and marketing substantial losses are incurred. The post harvest loss was estimated first at farm level and then at market level and in case of market level it can be clearly observed that the physical loss was highest in itinerant level followed by wholesaler and retailer level. 4 major marketing channels of vegetables were identified namely Channel I:Producer–Consumer,Channel II:Producer–Retailer–Consumer,ChannelIII:Producer–Wholesaler–Retailer-Consumer,ChannelIV:Producer–Itineranttraders–Wholesaler-Retailer-Consumer. Marketing efficiency was estimated in different marketing channels and it was found that Channel II was the most efficient channel and Channel IV was the least efficient channel.ButChannel IV was considered as the most effective one because farmers sold majority of their marketed surplus through Channel IV.ThesisItem Open Access AN ASSESSMENT OF PRIORITY SECTOR LENDING IN JORHAT DISTRICT OF ASSAM(AAU, Jorhat, 2018-01) Deka, Pallavi; Deka, NiveditaIn a developing economy some sectors of society need special and priority attention as they are starved for capital. The Reserve Bank of India has clearly specified the sectors that are termed the priority sectors. The lending that is done to them is referred to as Priority Sector Lending (PSL). The philosophy behind the adoption of priority sector lending is mainly intended to bridge the lacuna of credit influx which was hitherto not timely and adequately dispensed. The sectors may be agriculture and allied activities, micro and small enterprises, non conventional, other low income groups and weaker sections. This is essentially meant for an all round development of the economy as opposed to focusing only on the financial sector. As regards credit, in most of the cases, it was not in adequate quantity as also not received in time when it was needed. Under these circumstances there is strong justification to study the status of Priority Sector Lending with the specific objectives viz., 1) Study the financial management practices of farmers and financial institutions under Priority Sector Lending, 2) Derive optimal solution of short term loan use to maximize net farm return in the existing financial environment and 3) Suggest alternative rural credit sources to different category of farmers for promoting financial inclusion under Priority Sector Lending. The study was designed to carry out in the selected areas of Jorhat District. The study was based on both primary and secondary data. Primary source were the farmer borrowers and the bankers. The secondary sources were the District lead bank, Reserve Bank of India and NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) publications and other relevant publications. The primary data were collected with the help of pre-tested schedule and questionnaire through personal interview. The study found that the farmers adopted few strategies to manage their financial positions whereas financial institutions like banks focuses on credit risk management as a financial management practices and adopted numbers of strategies to mitigate those risks of return. The study also developed an optimal plan for short term loan use for the study area. Based on the problems cited by the farmers in accessing in rural credit and sources of credit, an alternative rural credit source was proposed in logical way.ThesisItem Open Access TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY IN ASSAM AGRICULTURE(AAU, Jorhat, 2016-07) Buragohain, Rinumoni; Deka, N.Technical change in agriculture increases production at the same level of input-use and enables it to avoid trapping into Ricardo’s law of diminishing returns to which the sector is more prone. Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is often seen as the real driver of growth within an economy. Many studies showed that, different factors of TFP like Policy support, production strategies, public investment in infrastructure, research and extension for crop, livestock and fisheries etc., have significantly helped in increasing the agricultural productivity, food production and its availability. Assam’s economy is predominantly agrarian. Agriculture and its allied activities play an important role in the socio- economic development of the State of Assam as this sector is the major contributor to the State economy as well as providing livelihood to a significant proportion of the population of the State. Assam accounts for a fairly significant share of the country’s acreage and output of many crops. In spite of having high inherent potentiality, Assam’s agriculture is yet to experience modernization in real sense. Agriculture in Assam exhibits most of the characteristics of underdeveloped/backward agriculture. During last few decades, Assam Government has made lots of investments in agricultural sector for the development of the sector. But, whether these investments have been contributing significantly towards the agricultural growth in the real scenes or not, it is very much important to know. Considering this, the present study was conducted with the three objectives to estimate the TFP growth and its contribution to Assam agriculture, to examine the determinants of TFP in Assam agriculture and to suggest policy measures for improving TFP in Assam agriculture. The study was conducted for three crops rice, jute and rapeseed and mustard both individually and collectively termed as total crops for the time period of two decades from 1991-92 to 2010-11. Further, for more convenience, the entire study period was divided into two sub periods viz., 1st period (191-92 to 2000-01) and 2nd period (2001-02 to 2010-11). The study was based on secondary data collected from different reputed published sources. Tornqvist Theil index was used for computing TFP indices of the three selected crops. The input, output and TFP indices were calculated both in current price and constant price (at price of 1991-92) of the inputs and outputs to find out whether there any nominal price effect was existed or not. Again, the indices were also computed for per hectare area and total area under the selected crops in Assam to know how efficiently inputs were used under both situations. In order to evaluate the determinants of TFP in Assam, the TFP index was regressed against the variables viz., rice area under flood, no. of villages electrified, rainfall, share of irrigated area to total cropped area, expenditure in Agricultural research and education, investment in Agriculture and allied activities, share of HYV area to total rice area, rural literacy and cropping intensity by using Cobb Douglas production function. The results of the study revealed that, all the three crops rice, jute and rapeseed and mustard of the state had experienced negative TFP growth at current price, but at constant price, it was estimated to be positive in both per hectare area and total area for the study period. It revealed the presence of the nominal effect of increased input costs resulted in a lower (negative) TFP at current price pointing out the occurrence of gap between the farm harvest prices of the farm outputs and costs of inputs incurred in production of those three major crops in the state. Again, except rice, for other two crops, jute and rapeseed and mustard, TFP index were estimated to be higher in per hectare area rather than their total area. It implied that, in jute and rapeseed and mustard both, inputs were more efficiently allocated and utilized per hectare area rather than total area in the state. Only rice was found to have highly significant TFP growth (at constant price). Other two crops were reported to have positive TFP with very lower growth rate, but not significantly in Assam. Expenditure in Agricultural research and education, rural literacy, irrigation and cropping intensity were found to have positive impact on TFP of all three crops both individually and collectively. However, none of the selected variables was found to have significant impact on TFP of jute as well as rapeseed and mustard. Investment in agriculture and allied activities also was an important source of TFP for all selected crops except jute. In rice, HYV area also contributed positively in TFP. Villages electrified and rainfall exhibited no any effect towards TFP growth of all selected crops individually as well as collectively also. The findings of the study have important policy implications for construction of proper price structure, improving input-use efficiency in total area under these crops, allocating scarce public resources to agricultural research, education, irrigation etc. and increasing HYV area and cropping intensity for enhancing the TFP in the state for better sustainable growth in agriculture.
