Loading...
Thesis
Browse
54 results
Search Results
ThesisItem Open Access Diversification of rural economy: A village study(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Gagandeep Kaur; Raj KumarThe present study has been carried out in village Lohara of District Sri Muktsar Sahib (Punjab) to study the changing faces of rural economy through crop and occupational diversification of. A sample of 225 households was selected by using multistage random sampling technique.The sample consists of 104 households from farm sector and 121 households from non-farm sector. The farm households were further categorized as small (16), semi-medium (28), medium (48) and large (12) farmers according to the standard classification. The information regarding overtime changes in cropping pattern, employment and income pattern, investment pattern on farm and livestock, standard of living and factors influencing diversification was collected for the two periods of time viz. 2000-01 and 2016-17. Herfindahl-Hirschman Diversification Index (DI) was computed for both the periods under study to capture and compare the level of crop diversification. Mann-Whitney U test was applied to compare any significant difference between DI for two time periods. The crop diversification index for Kharif season was found to be increased significantly in 2016-17 over 2000-01. It was due to the shift of area towards non-basmati and basmati paddy, the strongest alternatives of cotton crop. It happened because of the failure of cotton crop due to adverse biotic and abiotic conditions such as insect pest attacks, untimely rains, etc. which resulted in poor returns from the crop. Besides, the government policies and marketing facilities in favour of paddy also attracted farmers for its cultivation. The farm investment in machinery, implements and farm buildings is found to be increased over the period of time. The analysis of occupational diversification showed that the proportion of persons in employed in agriculture and its allied activities has reduced overtime. On the other hand the employment in non-farm sector has increased. In the non-farm sector, highest proportion of persons was observed as wage earners followed by the self employees in 2016-17. The major constraints to agricultural diversification especially for not shifting from paddy-wheat cropping pattern to other crops are lack of market infrastructure, price volatility, productivity risk, marketing risk, weak resource base and high input costs. Barriers to growth leading occupational diversification reported were educational level, caste hierarchy, lack of skills, lack of opportunities and requirement of high investment in self-employment. To promote crop diversification in the state there is need to implement price difference payment scheme, development of value addition and food processing sector. Farmer Producer Organizations need to be encouraged through favourable government policies. Upliftment of educational status and skill base is suggested for growth leading occupational diversification.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 Employment and income pattern of agricultural migrant labour in south western Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Maan, Arshdeep Singh; Sharma, V.K.The present study was undertaken to examine the employment and income pattern among migrant agricultural labour in south western, Punjab for the year 2017-18. Multistage random sampling technique was used to select the 120 respondents from four cluster of villages of Sri Muktsar Sahib district of Punjab. The results of the study revealed that majority of permanent and casual migrant agricultural labour belonged to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand. The study showed that migrant agricultural labour had migrated into Punjab due to poor living conditions, poverty, unemployment and indebtedness at their native places. The majority of respondents belonged to Hindu and Muslim religion. The study further revealed that both permanent and casual migrant agricultural labour rendered their services in agriculture for 234 days and 206 days respectively. Permanent migrants earned Rs 95087 and casual migrant earned Rs 63662 in a year from hiring out of labour in agriculture. The per capita expenditure on food and non-food items were Rs 26562 for permanent migrant agricultural labour and Rs 20142 for casual migrant agricultural labour. Permanent and casual migrant agricultural labour recorded Rs 68525 and Rs 43520 as their surplus income respectively.ThesisItem Restricted Production and export performance of major fruits and fruit products for India(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Rajesh C R; Jatinder Mohan SinghThe production and export performance of major fruits and fruit products viz. banana, guava, citrus, mango and papaya were analysed for the period 1995-96 to 2014-15 using the time series data, to bring out the policy measures required for the upliftment of fruits economy in the country. The study was conducted using secondary data collected from various sources. To analyse the data various statistical tools such as; compound growth rate analysis, cuddy-della valle index, decomposition analysis and markov chain analysis were employed. The results revealed that the growth in banana production was positive and significant which was due to increase in area even though the growth in yield was moderate. The growth in area under papaya was meagre while production showed productivity led growth. The growth in productivity of mango was negative while production was mostly area led. The increased area under guava and citrus have resulted in positive and significant growth in production. The export of banana, orange, mango and papaya in terms of quantity and value were found to be increasing for the last two decades, while in case of guava negative growth was observed in value terms. The growth of export earnings of mango pulp and other processed fruits and vegetables was found to be increasing while the volume of export was minimal. The study emphasised on increasing area under those fruit varieties which have higher export potential, the use of better cultivars and technology to meet demand of the consumers and improved infrastructure along with better research to match the international export standards in order to earn valuable foreign exchange.ThesisItem Restricted Price behavior and market integration of chickpea in India(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Wahlang, Lawanhabamut; Sekhon, M KThis study was conducted in chickpea’s major producing states of India. Those states were Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. They accounted more than 80 per cent in area and production of chickpea in the country during TE 2015-16. Compound annual growth rate and variability of area, production and yield of chickpea in the selected states and all India were examined for the period from 195051 to 2015-16. The CAGR of area, production and yield during the overall period were 0.05, 0.08 and 0.13 per cent respectively. The variability for the same period was 14.23, 13.31 and 9.96 per cent respectively. The growth rate in area and production were found to be positive in all the selected states except Uttar Pradesh. One major market was taken from the each selected states to study the price behavior and integration of markets. The minimum support price, farm harvest price, wholesale price and retail price of chickpea had been increasing over the years. Seasonality was observed in wholesale price as well as in retail price of chickpea. The farm harvest prices in the selected states were found to be fluctuated over the years. Advance econometric analysis like Granger Causality test, Johansen Co-integration test and Vector Error Correction Model were employed to examine the integration of markets. Out of six selected wholesale markets, 5 markets were having a long run relationship and out of six selected retail markets, 4 markets were having a long run relationship. Hence, the selected chickpea markets were integrated in the long run. Concentration of marketing during lean seasons would help reducing the seasonality of price of chickpea.ThesisItem Restricted Adoption and impact assessment of Direct Seeded Rice technology in Sri Muktsar Sahib district of Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Ajaypal Singh; Grover, D.K.The present study examines the adoption and impact assessment of Direct Seeded Rice technology in terms of input use, cost effectiveness, and addressing the sustainability issues at the farm level in Sri Muktsar Sahib district of Punjab using primary data. Study highlighted that during 2005-06 to 2014-15 average area under resource conservation techniques (RCTs) was the highest in district Sangrur with 76467 hectares followed by Ludhiana with 60033 hectares. Growth analysis of area under RCTs revealed that district Ferozpur, Hoshiarpur and Sri Muktsar Sahib observed 46.96, 29.31 and 23.88 per cent per annum significant growth rate respectively. Input use pattern revealed saving of 56.27 per cent and 51.23 per cent in human labour in basmati DSR and non-basmati DSR. The machine labour saving in basmati and non-basmati was 28.47 per cent and 37.79 per cent respectively with DSR. Results brought out that saving in number of irrigations for basmati DSR and non-basmati DSR were 50 and 43 per cent respectively. The per hectare total variable cost in basmati DSR (`22232) was lower when compared with TM (`27682) and in non-basmati per hectare total variable cost in non-basmati DSR (`22246) was also lower when compared with TM (`29376). The returns per rupee spend on basmati TM was `3.32 against `4.17 in DSR and in non-basmati returns per rupee spend on TM was `3.90 against `5.22 in DSR. In case of DSR, there was no significant difference in yield between DSR and TM of basmati as well as non-basmati. Study suggested that for faster adoption of DSR, subsidy should be made hassle-free, role of extension services need to be strengthen. Custom hiring should be increased through co-operative societies and co-farmers keeping in view the high cost of seed drill.ThesisItem Open Access Economic viability of farming in Amritsar district of Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Arshpreet Singh; Sanjay KumarThe present study is an attempt to assess the economic viability of farm households in Amritsar district of the Punjab state during the year 2015-16. A sample of 120 farm families was selected for the study by using multistage random sampling technique. The findings of the study brought out that around 80 per cent of the total household expenditure was incurred on non-food items which is exceptionally very high and need be reduced in order to improve economic viability of the farm families. Education was the major cost component which constituted 24.21 per cent of the total non-food expenditure. The expenses incurred on household utility bills (electricity, telephone and LPG gas) and social ceremonies accounted for 19.85 and 17.15 which also observed to be on higher side. Among food expenditure, the sampled farm households were found to be make over expenditure on intoxicant consumption (25.38%) and dairy products (21.61%) which need to be reduced. The cultivation of vegetables along with paddy-wheat-vegetable rotation generated higher returns than that of traditional paddy-wheat rotation in the study area. The income earned from crop cultivation was the major source of income as 72.74 per cent of the total income was generated from this source. The analysis indicated that marginal and small farm holding has been generating negative earnings which are not good sign in terms of economic viability, while the magnitude of economic viability of farm household increased with increase in farm size. The results of regression analysis brought out that the economic viability of the farm household could be significantly enhanced with increase in farm size, non-farm income and dairy income, however, it would be significantly decreased with over expenditure incurred on rent paid for leased-in land, crop grown expenditure, dairy expenditure, expenditure on education and total household expenditure. Similarly, the discriminant analysis showed that non- farm income was the leading factor which contributed about 24 per cent to the total distance. Hence, the model suggested that efforts should be made to explore non-farm avenues for generating income. Since it is very difficult to increase farm size, the government should provide subsidized infrastructure to develop dairy enterprises along with crop production to enhance family income. Suitable remedial policy measures should be framed for improving the crop value productivity, which may be possible by increasing more area under high value crops.The government, should regulate ever-increasing rent paid for leased-in land which is also an important factor responsible for making crop cultivation unviable. Farmers are advised to curtail household consumption expenditure, adopt cost effective methods to reduce crop grown expenditure on account of making their livelihood economically more secure and viable.ThesisItem Open Access Economic Analysis of Poplar Based Agro-forestry System and Its Adoption Behaviour in Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2018) Mandeep Singh; Manjeet KaurThe present study was conducted to analyze economics of poplar cultivation and its adoption behaviour in Punjab based on primary data collected from a sample of 60 adopters and 32 non-adopters of agro-forestry from 4 clusters of villages from Ludhiana and Ropar districts of Punjab state pertaining to year 2013-14. Two types of agro-forestry systems AFS-I (wheat + kharif fodder during 1st four years of poplar cultivation) and AFS-II (sugarcane for first two years and wheat during 3-4 years) were identified. The establishment cost on per acre basis was estimated at `8,034, `7,731, `7,849 and `7,871 for small, medium, large and overall farm size categories. The operational cost was worked out at `3,724 per acre during 1-4 years and `2,919 per acre during 5-6 years of plantation in AFS-I on overall basis. The operational cost in AFS-II on overall basis was estimated at `1,904 during 1-2 years, `5,071 during 3-4 years and `3,630 during 5-6 years of poplar plantation on per acre basis. Returns varied directly with farm size and age of harvesting. The per acre net returns were `2,02,463, `2,05,283 and `2,29,720 in AFS-I and `2,19,015, `1,78,832 and `2,00,639 in AFS-II at 4th, 5th and 6th years of harvesting on overall basis. Returns from wheat-paddy crop rotation cultivated by non-adopter farmers varied directly with farm size and average net returns were `40,744 per acre. The annuity value of net present worth in poplar cultivation estimated at 12 per cent discount rate was higher than net returns from wheat-paddy cultivation indicating poplar cultivation was more profitable than wheat-paddy cultivation. The benefit-cost ratio was the highest at 5th year of harvesting in case of AFS-I and AFS-II. Age, education and extension contacts of the sample farmers was positively correlated with adoption behavior, whereas working members in agriculture and off-farm income was negatively correlated with the adoption behaviour of poplar cultivation.