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ThesisItem Open Access Structure of farm credit in Himachal Pradesh and role in agricultural development(CSK HPKV, Palampur, 2023-03-21) Mehta, Kanika; Thakur, Rajesh KumarCredit plays a vital role in capitalizing the farmers to enhance farm productivity by increasing investment in quality inputs and efficient technologies. With the commercialization and modernization of agricultural practices, the credit needs in Himachal Pradesh are increasing. Therefore, the present study was conducted to comprehend the trends in the allocation of agricultural credit, extent of financial inclusion and its impact on farm investment, productivity and income levels of the farmers in Himachal Pradesh. Two-stage random sampling design was used to select two blocks from each district in the first stage and a total sample of 200 loanee farmers in the second stage of sampling by proportional allocation method. The farmers were then classified into small (n=109) and large (n=91) categories based on the total land holding size. Both primary and secondary data were collected in accordance with the objectives of the study. The state's dependency on Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and co operative banks for agricultural credit disbursement (through bank branch network position and ATMs) was high, particularly in rural areas. However, over the years, growth in these rural financial institutions was substantially lower than in the private sector banks. The amount sanctioned for the agricultural term loan, agricultural infrastructure and agricultural ancillary activities had declined over the years and was considerably lower (21.53%) than the short-term crop loan (78.47%). The overall PCA score of the Financial Inclusion Index was 0.41, reflecting a medium-level of financial inclusion in the study area. The geographical penetration, affordability, usage, financial literacy and quality of financial products and services provided by formal institutions were in the medium range of PCA scores. However, the accessibility and ease components of the Financial Inclusion Index were observed at a lower range of PCA scores in the study area. The cultivated land on overall farms was significantly increased by 1.12 per cent due to the diversion of credit towards the increase in leased-in land holdings (4.49%) in the study area. The financial aid led to a significant shift from cereal and fodder crops to vegetable cultivation. The use of hybrid seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and hired labour increased after the financial aid. Due to this, the total cost of cultivation (Cost C3 ) for all the Kharif and Rabi season crops was substantially increased. The increase in the use of quality inputs led to an increase in the productivity levels of all the major crops in the study area. The gross farm income on overall farms was significantly increased by about 40 per cent after availing the farm credit. The income from vegetable cultivation increased by the highest proportion on both the small and large farms, constituting an overall increase of 73.74 per cent. The scale of the amount sanctioned to the sample farms varied positively with the land holding size, while the repayment of credit was lower on small farms than the large farms. Most sample farmers attained credit from the scheduled banks through KCC, followed by the private moneylenders and Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS). With the increase in the size of cultivated land holdings and dependency on agriculture as the primary source of income, the probability of credit acquisition from private moneylenders increased on sample farms. The asset status and the gross farm income of the farmers had a significantly negative impact on the odds of being a delinquent or a defaulter. The interest rates charged by the financial institutions reflected a positively significant relationship with the probability of being a defaulter or a delinquent in the study area. The lack of collateral security, insufficient credit limit offered by banks and fear of losing agricultural land were major problems for credit acquisition through institutional sources. Whereas, the increasing input costs and rising household expenditures negatively impacted the repayment and use of credit. Based on the findings, the panchayat-level identification of needy farmers was suggested as a measure to restrict the diversion of credit towards non-agricultural purposes.ThesisItem Open Access A study of economics and price behaviour of vegetables in Himachal Pradesh(CSK HPKV, Palampur, 2023-02-16) Sethi, Diksha; Kumar, VirenderVegetables are integral part of Indian agriculture and nutritional security owing to their higher yield potential, nutritional richness, better economic returns and provisioning more employment opportunities. Agriculture bears great significance for hilly states like Himachal Pradesh where around 90 per cent of the population lives in rural area. Perceptible proportion of the cultivated area in the state is being shifted from cereals to vegetable crops as the state has different agro-climatic conditions which provide a great scope to farmers for profitable vegetables production. Therefore, the present research was carried out to study the economis and price behaviour of vegetables in two agro-climatic zones (Zone II and III) of the state. The study was based on both secondary and primary data. The secondary data on vegetablese for the period 1995-96 to 2021-22 were collected from different publications of Government of HP and Government of India. Further, the data were grouped in three periods viz. period I (TE 1997-98 to 2008.09), period II (TE 2009-10 to 2021-22) and overall period (TE 1997-98 to 2021- 22). Primary data were collected through survey method from 200 farmers selected using proportional allocation technique. The proportion of area under green pea (27.53%) was found maximum in 2021-22 followed by tomato (14.93%). The proportion of cabbage area to the total area has declined from 6.22 per cent in 1997-98 to 0.54 per cent in 2021-22. The share of production was high for tomato (27.80 %) followed by green pea (16.31%). It was observed that the growth rates in area, production and yield under all vegetables was 5.47, 6.64 and 1.12 per cent per annum during the study period. The findings of the study showed that the increase in production was mainly on account of area (expansion) effect and partly due to yield effect though the interaction effect was negative for tomato crop. The instability in area under different vegetable crops was found low, however, medium to high instability was found in production in the vegetables in the state as well as across districts. Total cost (cost C3 ) of cultivation was observed to be maximum Rs. 486382/ha for tomato followed by cauliflower (Rs. 445244/ha) in both Zones. The net returns over total cost were recorded to be Rs. 206368/ha for tomato and Rs. 60793/ha for cabbage. The results of regression analysis revealed that factors like seed, FYM and fertilizers significantly increased the yield of tomato, green pea and cabbage whereas further increase in human labour significantly decreases the yield. The factors like seed, FYM and fertilizers significantly affected the yield of cauliflower and capsicum. The farm income contributed about 75 per cent and non farm income to about 25 per cent, respectively. The trends in market prices showed significant increase over period of 12 years (2010-11 to 2021-22) in case of tomato, cauliflower and cabbage crop in all the markets. The arrivals and prices for all the vegetables showed inverse relationship for all the vegetables. The high degree of seasonal variations for arrivals and prices were found in the study markets. The market prices for vegetable commodities was found to be significantly influenced directly lagged prices and inversely by current arrivals. For cauliflower, the variability in the market arrivals was more pronounced in Bhuntar than the remaining markets. The price variability was, however, more marked in Takoli. The highest average price was observed in the month of October-November when the arrivals were supposed to be the lowest with moderate to low variability in tomato. The variability in the prices of cabbage and green pea was noted low to moderate, while it was moderate to high for market arrivals. The results of the study have confirmed the negative relationship between market arrivals and prices in terms of correlation coefficients over the years and across months in all the markets, though there were several instances of positive relationship.Forecasting of prices was done using time-series monthly wholesale prices from April 2010 to March 2022 for tomato, green pea, cauliflower and cabbage in selected markets. Different set of Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average models were used to forecast prices. The models were validated for accuracy with Mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) in the range of 16-35 per cent which is acceptable in fresh produce markets. These models can facilitate the farmers and wholesalers in effective decision making. Therefore, the market infrastructure facilities like warehousing, transportation, processing, etc should be promoted more which would help the growers to store their excess produce during production and eliminate the seasonality in market arrivals of vegetables and minimize the price volatility of the vegetables.ThesisItem Open Access Impact of Panchayati Raj Institutions on Socio-Economic Development of Rural Households in Himachal Pradesh(palampur, 2022-07-18) Ghabru, Mahima Gopal; Lal, HarbansPanchayati Raj Institutions inter-alia have initiated the process of socio-economic development of rural areas by ensuring participatory management of masses and implementation of various social upliftment and poverty alleviation schemes. They are expected to bring radical transformation in rural areas through holistic agricultural and institutional development. In a state like Himachal Pradesh where majority of the population lives in rural areas this study becomes more relevant as PRIs embrace every aspect of rural life and are considered as harbingers of democracy and guardians of the village community. Therefore, present study was conducted to examine and analyze the role and impact of Panchayati Raj Institutions on the rural households in the four districts viz., Solan and Una (developed districts), Chamba and Sirmaur (under-developed districts) of Himachal Pradesh using both primary and secondary data. Multistage random sampling technique was employed and a total sample of 8 blocks, 40 panchayats/villages and 200 sample respondents was selected. The findings of the study put forth that in all the selected panchayats meetings of Gram Sabha were scheduled four times annually but the quorum was not met more than two times in most of the selected panchayats. The study employed Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to devise the development index for various selected panchayats. Fifteen per cent (6 no.) of panchayats primarily of Una and Solan districts were very highly developed and 22.50 per cent (9 no.) panchayats were highly developed while all the less developed panchayats were from Chamba and Sirmaur district showing that these panchayats still lag behind in developmental indicators. It was observed that around 29.50 per cent respondents from developed districts and 26.50per cent respondents from under-developed districts respectively were ready to pay for conservation of natural resources while 20.50 and 23.50 per cent respondents from developed and under-developed districts were unwilling to pay for resource conservation as they felt it would not be utilized effectively. In under-developed districts as the bid value increased the willingness to pay decreased. The study also put forth the different source of income for panchayats in which maximum share was of external sources i.e. Funds under Centre Sponsored Schemes like MGNREGA, PMAY, NRLM, etc. and funds from Finance Commission, across majority panchayats. Panchayats generated lot of income from various internal sources in which maximum share was contributed by liquor cess followed by house/land tax across all sample panchayats. Panchayats were effectively utilizing funds available with them by community asset creation, land development, sanitation, water supply, electrification, and welfare etc. Respondents in the study area felt that various activities were adequately being done by panchayats but there was scope for improvement by ensuring more transparency in their working, by timely execution of works and ensuring that works to be done in the panchayat area are taken up with the consent of all people. Therefore it is felt that by ensuring capacity building of panchayat representatives, recruitment of technical and support staff and by creating awareness among masses about the importance of gram sabhas and their participation in them could lead to holistic and effective socio-economic development in rural areas.ThesisItem Open Access Dynamics of Land Use Pattern in Himachal Pradesh(Palampur, 2022-01-07) Sood, Shivalika; Kumar, VirenderThe status of land use pattern broadly reflects the process of development of a region. In a state like Himachal Pradesh where nearly 60 per cent of population depends upon agriculture as their main source of livelihood, it is a major land demanding activity. The stagnation of land under cultivation has become a severe problem due to unrelenting demographic pressure and because of increasing diversion of land from agriculture to non-agricultural uses. Therefore, the present research was carried out to study the dynamics of land use pattern in three agro-climatic zones (Zone I, II and III) of the state. The study was based on both secondary and primary data. The secondary data on land use for the period 1972-73 to 2018-19 were collected from different publications of Government of HP and GOI. Further, the data were grouped in four periods viz. period I ( TE 1974-75 to 1988-89), period II ( TE 1989-90 to 2003-04), period III (TE 2004-05-2018-19) and overall period ( TE1974-75 to 2018-19). Primary data were collected through survey method from 180 farmers selected using proportional allocation technique. The findings of the study showed that the proportion of area under forest has increased from 21.75 per cent in 1974-75 to 28.75 per cent in 1990-91, after that it declined to 24.56 per cent in 2018-19. The proportion of net sown area to the total area has declined from 18.85 per cent in 1974-75 to 11.94 per cent in 2004-05, after that it has risen marginally to 11.88 per cent in 2018-19. It was observed that the CAGR in area under culturable waste declined by 0.49 per cent per annum and barren land increased by 5.50 per cent whereas, land put to nonagricultural uses increased by 2.27 per cent and net sown area has significantly decreased at the rate of 0.13 per cent per annum during the overall period. It was noticed that period III has lowest level of instability in all categories of land compared to periods I and period II. Inter-sectoral land budgeting revealed that area shift were occurring from both desirable and undesirable ecology sectors towards agricultural as well as non-agricultural sectors. The results of multinomial logistic regression revealed that factors like total owned land, number of fragments, investment in agriculture sector and farm income significantly affected the agricultural land use for being in the medium category of land use change. The factors like age of head of household, education level of head, per cent irrigated area, number of fragments and farm income significantly affected the agricultural land use change for being in the high category of land use change. Simultaneous equation model was used to study the impact of agricultural land use change on agricultural production and results indicated that family size, cultivated land and agricultural productivity had positive impact on gross household income. But the impact of agricultural productivity was non-significant which indicated the fact that farmers’ income also depended on the non-agricultural earning. The other results showed that the gross household income, agricultural land use change and investment in agriculture had positive effects on agricultural productivity. The high significance of the agricultural land use change suggests that the change in agricultural productivity largely depended on the changing socio-economic conditions in agriculture. All the farmers who were engaged in natural farming experienced decrease in yield, farming expenses, net income and increase in manual labour and no change in price received for produce under natural farming. Therefore, proper planning and management of land resources and appropriate policy framework are required to check the conversion of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes and proper implementation of land use policies are needed
