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Subject: Agricultural Economics × End date: 2021 × Start date: 2021 × Type: Thesis ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Role of vegetable cultivation in doubling farmers’ income in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh
    (Palampur, 2021-10-18) Dhillor, Ram Parshad; Bala, Brij
    Vegetables contribute towards the food and nutritional security of the people. Besides their importance in a balanced human diet, vegetables also occupy a supreme position in farmers’ economy. How the vegetable cultivation could play a role in doubling farmers’ income, was taken as the objective of the present study, for which the profitability of different vegetables and their contribution in total household income was examined, various technological gaps and constraints were identified and the responses of farmers for suitable interventions to enhance income from vegetable cultivation were recorded. The study was conducted in a major vegetable growing block Kullu of district Kullu. A sample of 60 farmers was proportionally allocated among the six randomly selected villages. The average land holding size was about 0.48 ha, of which 66.67 per cent area was put under cultivation of crops. Tomato accounted for the maximum proportion (18.9 per cent) of the gross cropped area followed by cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber and garlic. The overall cropping intensity was 193.39 per cent. Gross returns per ha obtained for different vegetables varied from Rs. 5,06,590 to 12,57,554 with the output-input ratios ranging between 2.25 and 4.62. Vegetables contributed about 47 per cent of the total household income estimated at Rs. 7,42,598/annum. Among input-use gaps, imbalanced use of fertilizers and excessive use of pesticides were prominent. Management practices viz., soil treatment, number of irrigations and intercultural operations were reported with highest technological gaps in all the crops. Major problems faced by farmers in vegetable cultivation were non-availability of recommended agro-inputs at nearby centres, high cost of hired machinery, lack of knowledge about pest/weed control, poor irrigation facilities and stray animals. Problems associated with marketing were identified as shortage of skilled labour for grading and packing, shortage of packing/binding material, high transportation charges, non-availability of price information in time, multiplicity of charges and lower prices offered for the produce. Suggested interventions that played and can play a major role in enhancing/doubling farmers’ income through vegetable cultivation were like ensuring quality and timely availability of agro-inputs; exhorting judicious use of agro-inputs among farmers; enhancing labour efficiency through mechanization; improving irrigation availability and efficiency; diversifying and increasing area under vegetable cultivation and most importantly putting in place an efficient marketing system ensuring remunerative prices to the producers.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Economic assessment of crop insurance scheme in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh
    (Palampur, 2021-11-26) Dhiman, Sonal; Thakur, Rajesh Kumar
    Agriculture has been and still is the major source of livelihood for more than 50 per cent of the total population of India but being highly dependent on the erratic and uneven monsoons, the sector is continuously facing unpredictability and higher exposure to various risks and uncertainties. Thus, to safeguard the interests of the farmers, agricultural insurance in India was first initiated in 1972 in H-4 cotton, which later extended to groundnut wheat and potato. Later on, several national and state level insurance schemes were implemented by increasing the sphere of coverage. At present, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme and few state level schemes are in operation in the country. Himachal Pradesh is a model hilly state of the country as far as development of agriculture is concerned and the crop insurance in the state is in operation since 1999-2000. But very limited studies on crop insurance had been carried in the state, hence, the present endeavour was planned to study the status of crops insurance schemes, assess their coverage, cost, compensation, perceptions and problems faced by farmers and stakeholders in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. The study was based on primary and secondary data. The primary data were collected from 80 crop insurers through personal survey method by adopting two stage random sampling technique. The data have been analysed by working out averages, percentage, indices and functional analysis. The socio- economic parameters like age wise distribution, occupational pattern, farm inventories, cropping pattern, etc. were studied. The average size of land holding was quite low i.e. 0.5330 ha out of which 70 per cent was being cultivated with cropping intensity of 203.29 per cent. Out of the total respondents 96.25 per cent were loanee and about 75 per cent of the total cropped area of total respondents was insured. The perceptions of the respondents revealed that among the various components of risks, the production risk (83.75 per cent) was reported to be major concern followed by price risk (11.25 per cent). On account of these risks, production losses to extent of 2.43, 0.49q and 0.01q/farm were estimated in wheat, paddy and maize, respectively on sample farms. The coverage of crops under insurance with respect to area and farmers increased at the rate of 6.67 and 10.38 per cent/annum of compound growth rate, respectively, during 2000-01 to 2019-20 in the country, whereas these figures for state were at 35.36 and 24.25 per cent. During the period of 1999-2000 to 2019-20, the sum insured, premium paid by farmers and compensation received under different schemes in Himachal Pradesh increased at 43.77, 17.59 and 3.69 per cent/annum, respectively. Lack of awareness, difference between actual and threshold yields, procedural complexities, etc. were the major problems reported by the respondents. The measures like increasing the awareness regarding crop insurance, solutions for practical problems, availability of inputs on time, promotion of RWBCIS for covering fruits and vegetables, etc. are suggested to increase the adoption of crop insurance schemes in the study area
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    A study of the socio-economic profile of PM-KISAN beneficiaries in District Kangra (HP)
    (Palampur, 2021-10-26) Bhadwal, Shiwani; Kumar, Virender
    The development in agriculture sector has always been viewed in terms of boosting output and enhancing food security, rather than the welfare of farmers. The hardships in terms of low income and limited access to cheaper credit have resulted in interminable agony in this sector, resulting in an upsurge in the number of farmer suicides. The governments over time, have granted various subsidies to farmers to supplement their incomes. This approach, however, has introduced new challenges in agricultural policy making due to inefficiencies and high transaction costs in social welfare programmes. These challenges have shifted the focus of agricultural policy to a new horizon, notably Direct Income Support (DIS). The Central Sector Scheme, "Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)” is a momentous step in this direction. The present study was carried out in district Kangra (H.P.) to gain an understanding of the socio-economic profile and fund utilization pattern of PM-KISAN beneficiaries. Three stage random sampling technique was used for the selection of blocks, panchayats and farmers. And a sample of 80 farmers was drawn randomly from the selected villages which were further categorized in small (28) and marginal (52) categories on the basis of total size of land holding using cumulative cube root frequency method. The findings of study revealed that the average holding size on marginal and small farms was 0.1819 ha and 0.9914 ha, respectively. The sample households reared on an average 1.44 farm animals, which was slightly higher on small farms (2.14/farm) than on marginal farms (1.06/farm). The farm income accounted for 32.25 per cent of total household income, with crops accounting for 22.93 per cent and livestock accounting for 9.32 per cent when compared to non-farm income (67.75%). All sample respondents possessed basic necessities, with small farmers having a slightly higher availability of durable goods than marginal farmers. The scheme was reported to have 100.00 per cent coverage of the sample respondents. The amount of fund spent on farm activities (crop and livestock) in the year 2018-2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 was found to be 81.28 per cent, 69.61 per cent and 55.01 per cent of the total amount, respectively. Furthermore, farmers who received PM-KISAN benefits during the agricultural peak season reported spending it on agriculture, while those who received it during the off-season spent it on consumption. The fund utilization pattern of marginal farmers differed significantly from small farmers. Of the total fund received, 47.64 per cent of the fund was used for tractor hiring charges followed by purchase of fertilizers (24.31%), seeds (21.13%) and pesticides (6.98%) on sample farms. The most common crop production, institutional and marketing challenges in the study area were stray animals, lack of training facilities and lack of marketing extension services, respectively. Based on the findings it is suggested that the government should preferably release and restructure installment amounts keeping in view the seasonal needs of the farmers. Along with this, the enhancement of entitlement and provision of skillbuilding trainings to farmers are the potential areas that need to be worked upon
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Role of vegetable cultivation in doubling farmers’ income in Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh
    (Palampur, 2021-07-25) Dhillor, Ram Parshad; Bala, Brij
    Vegetables contribute towards the food and nutritional security of the people. Besides their importance in a balanced human diet, vegetables also occupy a supreme position in farmers’ economy. How the vegetable cultivation could play a role in doubling farmers’ income, was taken as the objective of the present study, for which the profitability of different vegetables and their contribution in total household income was examined, various technological gaps and constraints were identified and the responses of farmers for suitable interventions to enhance income from vegetable cultivation were recorded. The study was conducted in a major vegetable growing block Kullu of district Kullu. A sample of 60 farmers was proportionally allocated among the six randomly selected villages. The average land holding size was about 0.48 ha, of which 66.67 per cent area was put under cultivation of crops. Tomato accounted for the maximum proportion (18.9 per cent) of the gross cropped area followed by cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber and garlic. The overall cropping intensity was 193.39 per cent. Gross returns per ha obtained for different vegetables varied from Rs. 5,06,590 to 12,57,554 with the output-input ratios ranging between 2.25 and 4.62. Vegetables contributed about 47 per cent of the total household income estimated at Rs. 7,42,598/annum. Among input-use gaps, imbalanced use of fertilizers and excessive use of pesticides were prominent. Management practices viz., soil treatment, number of irrigations and intercultural operations were reported with highest technological gaps in all the crops. Major problems faced by farmers in vegetable cultivation were non-availability of recommended agro-inputs at nearby centres, high cost of hired machinery, lack of knowledge about pest/weed control, poor irrigation facilities and stray animals. Problems associated with marketing were identified as shortage of skilled labour for grading and packing, shortage of packing/binding material, high transportation charges, non-availability of price information in time, multiplicity of charges and lower prices offered for the produce. Suggested interventions that played and can play a major role in enhancing/doubling farmers’ income through vegetable cultivation were like ensuring quality and timely availability of agro-inputs; exhorting judicious use of agro-inputs among farmers; enhancing labour efficiency through mechanization; improving irrigation availability and efficiency; diversifying and increasing area under vegetable cultivation and most importantly putting in place an efficient marketing system ensuring remunerative prices to the producers.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Economics of Elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius) under natural and conventional cultivation in District Bilaspur (H.P.)
    (Palampur, 2021-12-09) Thakur, Prashant; Gupta, Manoj
    The study is based on primary data obtained using a two-stage random sampling technique from 61farmers, practicing Conventional Farming (CF) and Subhash Palekar Natural Farming (SPNF), in 8 villages of Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh. About one tenth of the total cropped area was under elephant foot yam crop in conventional and SPNF farms. The productivity of elephant foot yam was 307.73 q/ha and 305.28 q/ha in CF and SPNF, respectively. The total cost of cultivation of elephant foot yam was ₹ 3, 11,585 per ha in CF against ₹ 3, 17,384 in SPNF. In elephant foot yam cultivation, weeding was the major labour intensive operation accounting for 61.68 per cent in CF and 49.76 per cent in SPNF of total labour. In CF, The gross return of ₹ 9, 23,177 per ha and ₹ 9, 15,853 per ha were realized from CF and SPNF, respectively. Output input ratio was worked out to be 2.96 and 2.89 in CF and SPNF, respectively. In CF, the marketed surplus was found to be 54.05 quintals, whereas in SPNF, it was 45.16 quintals. In elephant foot yam marketing, the Producer-Wholesaler-Retailer-Consumer channel (Channel-IV) emerged as the most crucial channel, followed by the Producer-TraderConsumer channel (Channel-III) for disposal of both CF and SPNF produce in the study area. It was found that producer share in the channel-IV and channel-III was 74.32 per 87.13 per cent, respectively. The problem regarding absence of the package of practices of elephant foot yam crop, attack by animals, no premium rate for SPNF produce and distantly located markets were found to be major production and marketing constraints confronted by farmers in the study area. Introduction of improved varieties, certification and processing of SPNF produce can lead to popularization of natural farming of elephant foot yam cultivation in the state.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Economic Analysis of Exotic Vegetable Production in Lahaul & Spiti District of Himachal Pradesh
    (Palampur, 2021-11-30) GAURISHANKAR, BORISAGAR DHARMIK; La, Harbans
    Exotic vegetable cultivation has gained considerable pace in the state in recent years due to the possibilities of higher returns and considerably shorter growing period. Therefore, the present study was carried out to work out economics of exotic vegetables cultivation in Lahaul valley of Lahaul & Spiti district in the state. The study was based on primary data collected through survey method from 60 farmers selected using proportional allocation technique from 10 randomly selected villages spread in the valley. Among the exotic vegetables, lettuce and broccoli accounted for 46.92 per cent of total cropped area. The cropping intensity in the study area was estimated to be 125 per cent. Among different cultural operations harvesting and weeding collectively accounted for 58 to 59 per cent of total labour employed in production of both these vegetables. The farmers were applying about 1350 kg/ha and 1169 kg/ha of total fertilizers in broccoli and lettuce, respectively. The total cost of production was estimated to be Rs 215315/ha and 299183/ha in lettuce and broccoli, respectively. As per the CACP costs concepts total cost or cost C3 was found to be Rs 544575/ha and Rs 669885/ha for lettuce and broccoli, respectively. The net returns over total cost were recorded to be Rs 1825811/ha for broccoli and Rs 565935/ha for lettuce. The net returns per farm were maximum from broccoli (Rs 438196) than that from lettuce (Rs 209396). The output-input ratio was found to be 7.10 for broccoli and 3.62 in case of lettuce. The regression analysis showed that area and total labour were the important factors affecting the output of these crops. The total marketed surplus of sample farm households was estimated to be about 6030 q and 2209 q for lettuce and broccoli, respectively. In comparison of lettuce farmers, proportionally more number of farmers were found to be practicing grading in broccoli because of the traders’ quality regulation. It was found that in the study area two marketing channels i.e. channel-I consisting of producertrader-retailer-consumer and channel-II consisting of producer-contractor-cum-trader-retailer-consumer were patronized by the growers for marketing of these vegetables. The results revealed that greater number of farmers followed channel-I, through which about 3145 quintal and 1515 quintal of broccoli and lettuce was marketed. The lack of quality seeds/planting material, availability of hired labour, lack of knowledge about insects and how to control them, not enough support in the form of subsidies, market availability and wild animals threat to the crops were found to be the major production and marketing problems confronted by farmers of study area.