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ThesisItem Restricted Status of agricultural marketing infrastructure in Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Gohain, Namami; Sukhpal SinghThe present study was conducted with the objectives of estimating the magnitude of existing agricultural marketing infrastructure in Punjab, studying the trends in market arrivals of different crops in Punjab, analyzing the extent of adequacy of market infrastructure, studying the problems and constraints faced by the farmers in the marketing of farm produce and spelling out the policy implications of the study. The primary data was collected during 2016- 17 from a sample of 180 farmers from 6 districts of the state. An increase in the number of principal markets, storage capacity and road length per 100 sq km of area was witnessed over the years whereas there was a decline in the average number of villages served per regulated market. Majority of the principal yards and sub yard had the facilities of covered sheds, auction platforms, roads and parking and boundary walls. Trend analysis indicated an increasing trend in the market arrivals of paddy, wheat, fruits and vegetables whereas cotton and maize displayed a decreasing trend over time. Analysis of adequacy of regulated markets in Punjab revealed that the magnitude of regulated markets is somewhat closer to the required number of markets for almost all the districts of the state. Factor analysis on various infrastructural facilities revealed that weighing facilities, lighting arrangements and electricity were adequate in the markets of Punjab. Garrett’s ranking technique ranked delay in procurement as the major problem of paddy marketing. However, exploitative practices by the intermediaries, lack of public procurement and lack of remunerative prices were identified as major problems faced during marketing of basmati, maize and cotton respectively. For the marketing of fruits, the major problem faced by the farmers was the exploitative practices by market intermediaries whereas in case of vegetable, lack of remunerative price for their produce was identified as the major problem. Therefore emphasis should be laid on enhancing the existing facilities in the regulated markets, providing appropriate information on prices of agricultural commodities and imparting training to farmers for efficient marketing.ThesisItem Open Access Economic evaluation of timber cultivation in Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Bhangu, Preet Kamal Singh; Manjeet KaurThe present study analysed viability of poplar and eucalyptus (desi and clonal) cultivation in block and boundary plantation in Punjab. It further investigated the comparative economics of timber cultivation vis-à-vis wheat-paddy, risk involved, supply chain analysis and adoption behaviour of timber cultivation in Punjab. For the purpose, primary data were collected from 300 farmers; 100 poplar growers, 100 eucalyptus growers and 100 non-adopter farmers from Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur and Muktsar districts. To analyse the supply chain of timber, 84 intermediaries were selected. The data were collected for the year 2015-16. BC ratio, NPV and annuity value were estimated. Two types of agro-forestry systems AFS-1 (wheat + khariff fodder during first four years) and AFS-2 (sugarcane for first two years and wheat during 3-4 years) were identified. AFS-2 (NPV Rs 164998) gave marginally higher returns than AFS-1 (Rs 155489) at 12 % discount rate at fourth year of harvesting. The study revealed that net returns from poplar cultivation were at par with pure cropping system. In case of eucalyptus, the clonal variety gave higher returns in terms of BC ratio, NPV and annuity value. NPV was Rs 52991 for desi eucalyptus and Rs. 76299 for clonal variety at 12% discount rate at the fifth year of harvesting. In boundary plantation, the one side plantation gave the higher returns than two and four side plantation. Farmers got the net margin of Rs 260 per quintal in case of poplar by selling it to pre-harvest contractor whereas in case eucalyptus farmers received net margin of Rs 280 per quintal. Socio-economic parameters like age and members working in agriculture were negatively correlated with adoption behaviour while farm size, education, off farm income and extension contacts were positively correlated with adoption behaviour of timber cultivation.ThesisItem Restricted A Sociological Study on Cancer in Rural Areas of South Western Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Lavjit Kaur; Sharma, ShaliniCancers are often characterized by the body part and type of cell they originate from. The present study was an attempt to understand the conditions that contributed to cancer in the South Western region of Punjab state with specific objectives i) To investigate the relationship between prevalence of cancer and socio-demographic parameters of the cancer patients, to analyse the socio-economic consequences of cancer from perspective of patient and his/her family, To assess the quality of health services available and state intervention for cancer and To understand the beliefs, perceptions and health seeking behavior of the cancer patients. The study was conducted in Bathinda and Sri Muktsar sahib districts randomly selected from south western region of Punjab. Sample size was 160 cancer victims. Master tables for the data collected were prepared and the data were quantified for precise and systematic analysis and interpretation. Study revealed that nearly half of the sampled respondents (46.8%) from south western region of Punjab were at first stage of cancer. Due to quacks and other traditional healers 11.25 per cent of the respondents got delayed in seeking treatment. Expenditure on food items followed by education of children had to be cut due to cancer. Majority (89.3%) had taken loan to meet the rising expenses. Respondents sold livestock and ornaments to meet expenses for treatment. Anxiety level, marital conflicts, debt burden and economic loss had significantly contributed towards the severity of consequences. Forty five per cent of the respondents had availed the benefit of MMPCRK scheme of government in the region. Nearly half (43.8%) of the public hospitals and one fourth of private hospitals had good health facilities. Majority (87.5%) of the respondents accorded any role to their karmas for their disease. Two third (62.5%) of the respondents did not hesitate to share about their disease .One third of the male respondents perceived imbalanced diet and sedentary lifestyle behind causing cancer. NGOs, religious bodies and philanthropists can contribute significantly towards treatment, management and rehabilitation of cancer victims. People need to be sensitized regarding the judicious use of natural resources to minimize the risk caused by unmindful human endeavor.ThesisItem Restricted Relationship of Family Solidarity and Substance Use among Youth in Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Beri, Sadhika; Sidhu, Simran KangSubstance use is the use of a drug or the other substance for non-medical use, with the aim of producing a kind of mind-altering effect in the user. Recent studies divulged that family solidarity can be related as a factor of deviance among substance users. Family solidarity refers to the extent to which the members of a family give their contribution to each other’s wellbeing (Bengtson 1991). The idea of family solidarity is related to mutual respect, personal support and commitment to a common cause. Present study was undertaken to find out relationship between family solidarity and substance abuse with the specific objectives i) to identify socio-economic profile of the of substance users. ii) to analyze solidarity in the families of substance users.iii) and to measure relationship between family solidarity and socio-economic status of the respondents. The study was conducted in de-addiction centers of four relatively developed districts named Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Bathinda, representing three cultural regions of Punjab; Majha, Doaba and Malwa. From each district two de-addiction centers were taken on the basis of availability. 20 substance abusers from each de-addiction center were interviewed. Sample size was 160 respondents. The major findings of the study were that among the drug abusing youth maximum respondents (44 per cent) were of 21-25 years of age. Heroin and cannabis were found to be abused by majority (87%) of the users. Nearly one fourth of the respondents ordered drugs by phone calls to the drug paddler and got the home delivery immediately. Monthly expenditure on drugs by 40 percent of the respondents was more than Rs.50.000. Various reasons for starting up of drug abuse as cited by the respondents were peer pressure (51%), failure of romantic relationship (48%), unemployment (45%) and easy availability (82%). It was discovered that education, parental occupation, family income and mothers working status were positively related to family solidarity of the drug abusers. Overall only 15 percent of the families of substance abusers were tight-knit as against more than half were obligatory families. Substance abuse and other types of deviance among youth can be checked by addressing the family solidarity issue sincerely. Increase in parental support and monitoring reduces peer deviance which had been proved one of the significant causes of substance abuse. The availability of family centered support groups should be fostered along with other services that address the needs of entire family. Last but not the least Law and order against on the counter drug supply should be strictly maintained.ThesisItem Open Access Study on potentials of farm income in Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2011) Sachdeva, Jatinder; Sharma, J. L.The study was undertaken with a view to identify the potentials of increasing farm income in Punjab. The study was conducted in all the three agro-climatic zones of Punjab to make it representative for the state. The primary data were collected from a sample of 300 farmers pertaining to the agricultural year 2008-09. The techniques of multiple regression analysis and linear programming were used to analyze the data. The production function analysis revealed that human labour employed, availability of irrigation machinery and farm size were the most important determinants of the gross value of produce from crop production. Whereas, in the case of dairy farming quantity of concentrates fed and expenditure on veterinary care emerged as important determinants of the gross value of milk produced. The technical efficiency of the farms of Central Plain Zone (Zone-II) was the highest followed by South-western Zone (Zone-III) and Sub-mountainous Zone (Zone-I). This can be attributed to favourable soil, water and climatic conditions and better access to research and extension agencies in Zone-II. The improved plans developed at two levels of technology increased the returns to fixed farm resources ranging from 2.19 to 3.86 per cent in Improved Plan-I and 13.95 to 17.06 per cent in Improved Plan-II on farms of different size categories in the state. The findings of the study revealed that by developing irrigation facilities, providing training for vegetable cultivation and short term credit facilities will help in increasing farm income especially in Sub-mountainous Zone. The development of short duration varieties of oilseeds and pulses which can easily fit in the paddy-wheat rotation will also help in increasing the income of farmers. The rational use of inputs like fertilizers and insecticides-pesticides helps in decreasing variable cost and ultimately increases the farm income. To make the agricultural system competitive and to increase the income of farmers, efforts should be made by all the interest groups involved in the farm sector.ThesisItem Restricted Impact of climate change on production efficiency of rice and wheat crops in Punjab agriculture(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Sunny Kumar; Sidana, Baljinder KaurThe present study examined the impact of climate change on production efficiency of rice and wheat crop in Punjab Agriculture. In order to accomplish the specific objectives, both primary as well as secondary data was used. The secondary data was collected to study the annual and seasonal (rice growing period-June to September and wheat growing period- November to March) trends in temperature (maximum and minimum) and rainfall during 30 years (1986 to 2015) at five locations of Punjab namely Bathinda, Fairdkot, Ludhiana, Ballowal Saunkhri and Patiala. Primary data was collected from the sample of 200 farmers from eight villages of 4 districts of Punjab namely Faridkot, Ludhiana, SBS Nagar and Gurdaspur districts through multi-stage random sampling technique. The study revealed that during the last three decades most of the locations experienced significant increase in maximum as well as minimum temperature in both rice and wheat growing period. The annual rainfall ranged from 296 mm to 1057 mm at different stations of Punjab; out of which about 75 per cent was received during rice growing period. To know the impact of climate change fixed effects panel model was applied and results revealed that the coefficient of minimum temperature has been found to be negative significant in both rice and wheat crop. The marginal effects revealed that an increase of 1°C of minimum temperature in rice growing period, will decrease the rice yield by 1.20 per cent. Likewise, the rise in maximum temperature in wheat crop would reduce the yield by 1.08 per cent. The projections were made and the results showed that with a significant change in climate, the yield of rice will be lower by around 16.05 per cent and wheat by about 5.43 per cent by the year 2100, indicating decline in rice yield will be almost three times more than that of wheat. Further, the study revealed that laser leveller and improvement in irrigation structure are the most important adaptations in response to climate variability. In adaptation strategies for paddy cultivation, the variable cost ha-1 was less in Direct Seeded Rice (`28417) as compared to non-adopters (`36816), thereby resulting into a cost saving of 30 per cent. Similarly, the adoption of Zero till wheat among different climate resilient technologies of wheat cultivation saved 5 per cent net returns as compared to non-adopter. The lack of knowledge about technology, lack of credit and low capacity building were the most important constraints in adoption of climate resilient technologies. Strengthening of agricultural credit and extension for effective transfer of technologies has been found to be the important components to cope up with climate variability.ThesisItem Restricted Energy input usage and its efficiency in Punjab agriculture(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2017) Hardeep Kumar; Saran, Sukhjeet KaurThe present study based on secondary data from1970-71 to 2012-13 and primary data for the year 2014-15. The study examined the trends in energy use and agricultural output overtime and also the relationship between energy use pattern and land productivity from 1970-71 to 2012-13. It also measured the energy efficiency at various sizes of farms in relation to their energy use pattern with special reference to wheat and paddy crops, identified the factors responsible for levels of efficiency on Punjab Farms and projected the future energy demand scenario in Punjab agriculture. The present study had shown that after green revolution, the technological advancement in the state had shifted the farmers from noncommercial energy inputs to commercial energy inputs. The share of non-commercial energy inputs decreased from 35.34 per cent in 1970-71 to 5.79 in 2012-13, whereas the share of commercial energy input had increased from 64.66 per cent in 1970-71 to 94.21 per cent in 2012-13. The consumption of total energy per hectare had also increased by 558.09 per cent during the period from 1970-71 to 2012-13. Amongst the different energy inputs, the fertilizers and agro-chemicals were ranked first. Their contribution to the total energy pool was 43.03 per cent in 2012-13, whereas, nitrogen alone had contributed 39.20 per cent of the total energy during the same period. The negative significant coefficients expressed that commercial and non-commercial energy had been over utilized during 1970-71 to 2012-13. In year 2014-15, there was a significant decline in per hectare use of commercial and non- commercial energy with the rise in the level of efficiency. Moreover, per hectare use of commercial and non-commercial energy was comparatively low in zone III to zone I and zone II. In case of wheat, per hectare use of non-commercial energy had slightly increased on the movement from efficiency group of II to III. The use of commercial energy in wheat and non-commercial and commercial energy in paddy had decreased while moving from lower level of efficiency to higher level. The negative significant coefficients of the inputs showed that these inputs were over utilized. Moreover, per hectare use of both commercial and non-commercial energy was more in paddy crop as expected in comparison to wheat crop. The direct commercial and non-commercial energy demand projected to increase by 1.34 and 1.24 times from the year 2011- 12 to 2031-32 respectively. Hence, the policy implications of the study include the creating of awareness among the farmers to the harmful effect of excessive use of energy inputs on the farms. Excess use of fertilizers and agrochemicals cause the decline in soil fertility. Moreover, 20 per cent decrease in area under rice cultivation would decrease the energy use to a great extent. So, there is also a need of shifting from present wheat-paddy cropping system to less energy intensive cropping system.ThesisItem Restricted Dynamics of input use efficiency and profitability in Punjab agriculture(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2017) Bhoi, Priya Brata; Jasdev SinghThe present study has been carried out to examine the temporal changes in use of inputs, cost structure and profitability in Punjab agriculture; to examine the efficiency of farmers in crop production and its determinants; and to analyse the bulk line cost in relation to average cost and Minimum Support Price (MSP) of major crops in the state. Data generated under cost of cultivation scheme regarding principal crops of state i.e. wheat, paddy and cotton was analysed for this purpose. Overtime increase (1981-82 to 2012-13) in fixed cost in case of wheat and paddy and operational cost in case of cotton mainly contributed towards the increase in of total cost of cultivation of these crops. Component-wise, cost on account of the rental value of land, human labour, machine labour and insecticides increased in a major way in cultivation of the study crops. Further, the rise in input prices rather than physical use had been the major reason behind increase in the input costs. Overtime while the profitability of wheat and paddy increased consistently with some variations, the profitability of cotton crop fluctuated in a major way and farmers also faced net losses during some years of the study period. Farm size wise analysis at two points of time (2001-02 and 2011-12) revealed an inverse relationship between farm size and cost of production of wheat and paddy. Thus, the scale economies on larger farms which led to relative lower per unit cost resulted in higher profitability in comparison to their smaller counterparts. However no such relationship was observed in case of cotton production. The production function analysis revealed the sub-optional use of some of the crucial inputs in the production of study crops. Thus, optimal use of inputs would have helped in increasing the profitability of crops. The estimated average technical efficiency of farmers in production of wheat, paddy and cotton at 85, 83 and 79 per cent during 2011-12 pointed towards the existence of potential to raise the output of these crops at the same level of input use through increased farm specific efficiency. The size of operational area, education of farmer, investment, tenancy level and level of fragmentation were observed to be the main determinants of farm level technical efficiency. Although MSP of wheat and paddy was observed to cover the average cost of production fairly during 2001-02 and 2011-12, the level of profitability at bulk line cost was only marginal. However, in the cotton crop, the MSP did not even cover the average C2 cost and bulk line cost of cotton was found to be significantly higher than it. To increase farm profitability, the study suggests that there is need to check unusual rise in input prices along with strengthening of the agricultural extension system and to take steps to discourage fragmentation of lands. Further, liberalization of land lease market and shifting to a transparent price fixation mechanism ensuring some reasonable levels of farm incomes may boost capital formation and lead to the increase in the farm specific crop production efficiency.ThesisItem Open Access Resource use, employment and income among marginal and small farm households in Punjab(PAU, 2013) Sharma, Richa; Garg, B.R.The present study was undertaken to study the resource use and income on the marginal and small farms in Punjab, to develop optimum product-mix for these farms and compare it with existing ones, to find out credit requirements and access to institutional finance on these farms, to study the nature and extent of employment of these farm households and to identify factors determining income for the marginal and small farm households. The primary data related to availability and use of various resources on the marginal and the small farms, access to credit of the farmers, nature and extent of employment and sources of income of the marginal and small farm households were collected through personal interview method from the sample of 320 farmers in Punjab pertaining to the year 2009-10. The results brought out that the marginal and the small farmers not only had a small size of operational holding but also suffered from lack of various resources in farm production. There existed a scope to increase income on their farm provided new high yielding crop and other alternative activities were introduced to them along with provision of sufficient capital and technical knowhow for their production. The industry of agriculture was the main source of employment for the household members of the marginal and the small farmers. Only a few persons from these farm households could find employment in the other industries. There was felt an urgent need to strengthen non-farm sector in Punjab in order to siphon off unemployed or disguisedly employed household members of the marginal and small farmers from the industry of agriculture.