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ThesisItem Open Access Study of the economic effects of the Punjab canal colonies(University of Leeds, 1925) Bajwa, Kapur SinghTo readers interested in the material progress of the Province, no introduction seems necessary for so fascinating, a subject as the "Enonomic effects of the Punjab Canal Colonies. The origin, growth and development of the Canal colonies is an interesting and surprising miracle of the 20th century -a miracle which has given rise to an important trading city like Lyallpur, the capital of the Lower Chonab Colony. The development of the Lower Bari Doab Colony has an importance of its own as it is the youngest of all its sister colonies and as most of us have seen the change that has come over the new Bar. One can see what it was like less than ten years ago as one passes in the Karachi mail through the desert skirting the youngest Canal Colony, not a vestige of cultivation on either side: only sand hills and a barren plain, dreariness unreclaimed save by the vivid mirage of water and trees. How this blight and hideousness of land, was redeemed by the miracle of the 20th century and what are the consequences of this change form the scope of my thesis. I have chosen what appears to me to be the notable features and grouped round them the circumstances which led to them and the consequences which came from them. It has not been possible, however, to mention all the noteworthy points in the development of different colonies and my apologies are, therefore, due for any partiality or neglect which I may appear to have done. I have deliberately given much attention and large space to Chapter LV (on means of communications) as the prosperity of colonies very much depends upon the progress and improvements effected in their means of communication and I feel therefore no hesitation in quoting A. Smith, that "improvement in the means of transport is the greatest of all the agricultural improvements". Chapter V (on population is meant to indicate the relation between migration of population and canal irrigation. Chapters VL & VII (dealing with depressed classes and the janglis respectively) are important both from social and economic point of view. The importance of Chapter VIII (unrocognised assets of the Canal Irrigation) lies in its exposition or a few important effects which are generally overlooked by a superficial observer. Chapters XI (experiment of co-operative sale) is very important from the present day stand point and the Chapter XIII dealing with the problem or indebtedness has much bearing upon the Chapter XI. The latter is a remedy of the economic ills of indebtedness diagnosed in the former. As for my appendices, I may submit that they form an integral part of my thesis and therefore deserve a careful perusal. Appendix "A" is based on an inductive enquiry into the village No. 369 near Cora, district Lyallpur. The usefulness of Appendix "B" lies in its reference to sufferings and hardships undergone by early colonists and also in its real story of a Sufaid Posh grantee.ThesisItem Open Access Production and procurement scenario of cereals in major producing states of India(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Jeevitha G. N.; Jitender Mohan SinghCereals are the staple food for the vast majority of the people in India and across the world. The present study was conducted to examine the production, procurement, and storage scenario of cereals in the country and to bring out the problems encountered during the procurement, storage and handling of cereals by the procurement agencies. The time-series data on area, production, and productivity of cereals like rice, wheat, maize and jower were collected for the period from 1960-61 to 2017-18, from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, GOI. Data on cereals procurement for the period from 2000-01 to 2018-19 and on storage capacities for the period from 2005-06 to 2020-21 were collected from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, GOI and the official website of Food Corporation of India. Information regarding the problems faced during the procurement, storage and handling of cereals was gathered through an e-survey of officials from agencies involved in the procurement and/or storage of food grains in India. The analysis of compound growth rate of area, production and productivity revealed that the cereals like rice, wheat and maize showed significant and consistent growth in the area, production and productivity while jower showed significant downturn in the area and production over the study period elucidating the poor status of jower cultivation in the country. The procurement scenario of rice, wheat and coarse grains revealed that the quantity of rice and wheat procured has more than doubled over the study period, and the procurement as a percentage of production has also improved at the national level. The quantity of coarse grains procured at the national level has declined to half of the quantity procured in the initial year of the study period. The share of state agencies in rice procurement increased to above 98 per cent at national level while increase in the share of state agencies was relatively lesser in case of wheat procurement over the study period. The storage capacity with the FCI increased over the years which was mainly due to the increase in the hired capacity. The results of the survey revealed that the main problem faced during the process of procurement and storage were; the low quality of the grains brought to the procurement centers by the farmers, risk of damage due to biotic factors like insects, pests, rodents and birds. The requirement of large capital to run the FCI, the labour scarcity, especially in the peak periods of procurement, lack of advanced storage structures were the main concerns from the institutional point of view. The study identified some policy measures such as; increasing coarse grains production by giving incentives to farmers, enhancing the storage capacity of the FCI by building advanced storage structures at the key locations and developing improved scientific methods to ensure the safe storage of grains.ThesisItem Restricted Protected cultivation of vegetables in Punjab-an economic analysis(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Manpreet Kaur; Parminder KaurThe present study was undertaken to assess the costs and returns in the production of major vegetable crops under protected cultivation vis-à-vis open field cultivation, to examine the economic viability of investment for the production of vegetables under protected cultivation and to identify the constraints in the production of vegetables under protected cultivation technique and making suggestions for streamlining the same. The primary data for the year 2018-19 were collected from 40 poly house and 40 open field farmers from Ludhiana and Jalandhar districts. The results revealed that the cost of establishment of polyhouse was to the tune of Rs.18,70,000/4000m2 with subsidy. The total per acre cost of production of capsicum, tomato and cucumber under polyhouse was higher by Rs.417233 (336.45%), Rs.420370 (328.73%) and Rs.398310 (343.02%) respectively than that of open field cultivation. The net returns under polyhouses were higher by Rs.280582.90 (510.50%), Rs.157269.84 (233.49%) and Rs.163925.05 (434.53%) respectively for the said crops in polyhouse cultivation. The huge differences in cost of production in polyhouse cultivation of vegetables were due to the use of more number of seedlings, costly seeds, high field and bed preparation cost and requirement of skilled labour while expenditure on weeding and irrigation was found less in polyhouse cultivation of vegetables. The yield of capsicum (111.05%), tomato (115.33%) and cucumber (109.14%) in polyhouse cultivation was found higher as compared to open field cultivation of vegetables. The cultivation of vegetables under polyhouse was found to be feasible as reflected in higher values of NPV i.e. Rs. 17,61,915.66, Rs. 8,18,623.31 and Rs. 6,17,997.35 per 4000m2 with benefit cost ratio (BCR) of 1.3, 1.1 and 1.5 and Internal rate of return (IRR) of 24%, 17% and 15% respectively for capsicum, tomato and cucumber. High investment cost, lack of technical guidance, costly seeds, non-availability of skilled labour and high cost of maintenance were the major constraints faced by polyhouse farmers. Despite these constraints, cultivation of vegetables under polyhouse emerges as a profitable venture to increase farmers‟ income.ThesisItem Restricted Assessing the Impact of Preservation of Sub Soil Water Act, 2009 on groundwater levels in Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Sharma, Yogita; Sidana, Baljinder KaurThe present study was conducted to study the groundwater table behaviour and the impact of Punjab Preservation of Sub Soil Water Act, 2009 on groundwater levels in Punjab. Secondary data from various sources for the time period from 1996 to 2018 was retrieved to accomplish the objectives of the study. The state has witnessed a fall in water table @ 0.43 metres per year during the last 22 years; with a serious fall @ 0.59 metres per year in Central zone. Only 2.62 per cent of wells were under water table depth of 20-40 m in 1996, which has increased to 41.88 per cent; thereby showing an increase of 16 times. A complete swap over of the area of the region under water table depth from non-critical stage to critical stage has been observed as only 10 per cent of the state area is now under water table depth of 0-5 m, 51 per cent of area under 5-10 m and 34 per cent of the area under the water table depth of more than 10 m. The groundwater balance has decreased from 0.027 m ha m in 1997 to -1.063 m ha m in 2017; turning the net groundwater availability to -14.58 bcm in 2017. The percentage of over-exploited blocks has increased to 79 per cent with only 16 per cent safe blocks. To study the impact of the Act, the time frame was divided into two periods viz. pre-act (1999 to 2008) and post-act (2009 to 2018). Difference-in-Difference (DiD) approach was employed to study the impact. The DiD estimates showed that even after the enactment of the Preservation of Sub Soil Water Act, 2009; the annual groundwater depth lowered by 1.48 metres in high rice growing areas. Addition of new crops in cropping pattern along with water use restrictions and placing of maximum limit on cultivation of water intensive crops can be adopted to check the declining groundwater levels.ThesisItem Open Access Production and Trade Performance of organic farming in India(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Shafiqullah; Kataria, PoonamThe present study entitled “Production and Trade Performance of Organic Farming in India” was envisaged to examine the status of India in global organic production and to have an overview of the regional spread of India’s organic production and export thereof. The formulations of the present study have been based on the secondary data starting from 2012-13 to the latest available ie 2018-19. The information on variables pertinent for the accomplishment of the stipulated objectives of the study has been extracted from various issues of the assessment reports of the programs/organizations entrusted with the task of overseeing the activities related to organic farming at the global and country level. In order to study the state-wise organic production performance, the seven top-ranking states in terms of organic production in TE2018-19 (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Gujarat) along with Sikkim (well-acclaimed organic state/having the remarkable distinction of being fully organic state) and Punjab (agriculturally the most advanced state) were selected. The selected states together accounted for 82 percent of India’s organic area and 90.05 percent production. India’s organic area increased nearly four-fold from 0.5 million ha in 2012 to 1.96 million ha by 2018. As of now, it accounts for 30 percent of the organic area in Asia and nearly three percent of the global organic area. Asia accounts for close to half (47%) of the world’s organic producers with 87 percent of Asian organic producers being Indian. The organic producers in India have increased from 0.6 million in 2012 to 1.1 million by 2018 with each cultivating 1.7 ha up from 0.8 ha recorded during 2012. India’s organic production has doubled (2.6 million MT) by 2018-19 from 1.3 million MT in 2012-13. Nearly 90 percent of organic production comes from seven major organic states of the country. Punjab accounts for only 0.3 percent of organic production from half a percent of India’s organic area. Sikkim, winning accolades for being a fully organic state accounts for 3.3 percent of India’s organic area and contributes only 0.02 % to the country’s total organic output. As high as 99.7 percent of India’s organic produce is certified organic. The organic exports to the tune of 6.14 lakh MT from India translated into a realization of Rs 5151 crore in the recent fiscal ending 2019 up from Rs 1156 crore in 2012-13. India’s major export products are oil and oilseed products, cereals and millets, and sugar crops. Key markets for Indian organic exports include developed countries such as the United States of America, the European Union, and Canada, which together account for 96 percent of the country’s organic exports. The foregoing analysis points towards the ample scope for propagating organic agriculture, given the large land base in the country. It has been estimated that if the top four states viz. Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, together accounting for 48 percent of the country’s cultivated area allocate additional one percent to the existing organic area, the absolute addition would be to the tune of 0.67 million ha, which is equivalent to 8.6 times that in Sikkim alone. The competitive strength of the states in producing a particular organic crop highlighted by the study can well be exploited to make the most of the opportunities thrown open by the ever increasing organic trade.ThesisItem Open Access Energy Potential of Agricultural Biomass in Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Rajinder Kaur; Kataria, PoonamThe secondary data based study entitled “Energy Potential of Agricultural Biomass in Punjab” was envisioned to assess the availability of agricultural biomass in Punjab and to estimate the energy potential thereof. The district-wise analysis for all the major and minor crops has been carried out for the triennium ending (TE) 2017-18, except for cotton, wherein the average corresponds to two years i.e. 2016-17 and 2017-18 to omit the influence of the abnormal year 2015-16 with a substantial crop loss due to whitefly attack. The data on the requisite variables have been culled from various web and published sources and verified from certain research papers, wherever deemed necessary. The annual agricultural biomass potential from all the major and minor crops in the state has been estimated at 56.4 million t in TE 2017-18, the on-farm, and the processing level biomass being in the ratio of 83.6:16.4. It comprised 54.8 per cent of wheat, 38.0 per cent of paddy, 4.5 per cent of cotton, and 1.8 per cent of maize residue. The quantity of surplus biomass available for power generation has been estimated at 27.4 million t, out of which 22.9 million t (83.5%) is the quantity rendered surplus out of the field-based residue generated. The crop-wise analysis of biomass surplus highlighted the prominence of paddy with a contribution in total available biomass recorded at 63.1 per cent followed by wheat (28.2%), cotton (5.1%), and maize (2.8%), together accounting for 99.2 per cent of the biomass availability. The study of district wise spread of annual availability of biomass recorded at 27.4 million t at the state level highlighted that district Sangrur was at the top with a share of 9.6 per cent followed by Ludhiana (8.3%), Bathinda (7.4%), Patiala (6.8%) and Sri Muktsar Sahib (5.8%) collectively accounting for 37.9 per cent. A total of five districts namely, Fatehgarh Sahib, S.B.S. Nagar, Rupnagar, S.A.S. Nagar and Pathankot at the bottom ebb of the contribution scale together contributed 8.7 per cent. It was estimated that 22.9 million t of on-farm biomass available in Punjab had the energy potential of 358 PJ, out of which as high as 92 per cent is accounted for by paddy and wheat alone. Of all the districts, Sangrur had the maximum energy potential (34.8PJ) accounting for 9.7 per cent of the state total, followed by Ludhiana (8.5%), Patiala (6.9%), Bathinda (6.6%) and Moga (5.8%) together contributing 38 per cent to the energy potential of the state. The district-wise energy potential per unit of cropped area ranged from 36.9 GJ/ha in the case of district Pathankot to as high as 60.1 GJ/ha in Sangrur, with the state average recorded at 50.5 GJ/ha. The present study conclusively establishes the immense potential of Punjab agriculture in terms of conversion of agricultural biomass to energy. However, the effective use of this potential calls for a reorientation of the policy priorities to make use of this potential judiciously.ThesisItem Restricted Changing income and employment structure of agricultural labour in Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Gurlal Singh; Sharma, V. K.The present study has been designed to investigate the income and employment structure, decomposition pattern and impactofdifferentfactorsaffecting demand for agricultural labourin Punjab. The primary data was collected from 270 agricultural labourers in three different agro-climatic zones of state and secondary data was extracted from state and centrally sponsored projects. The results of the study showed that the share of agricultural workforce declined from 55.25 per cent in 1991 to 30 per cent during the period, 2011. The compound annual growth rate showed that there was decline in casual agricultural labour to the tune of 4.06-man days per hectare annually since 1990. The income of agricultural labour household was observed as `10615.95 per month and consumption expenditure of farm laboures was recorded as `11493.93 per month. On an average the liabilities of agricultural labourers as debt was `57143 and average value of owned household assets was `225701. The poverty head count ratio was recorded as 8.89 per cent. The major reasons for casualisation of farm labour were overuse of permanent labour hours by the farmers and influx of cheap migrant labour in the state. The higher wage rate and freedom of work were the main reasons for the contractualisation of agricultural labour. The farm labour employment was declined as 18.17 hours per hectareduring 2008-09 to 2015-16. The decomposition of declined agriculture labour employment showed that the technology replaced 28.56 hours of farm labour. Contrary to this, cropping intensity contributed an increase in agriculture labour demand as 12.35 hours per hectare during the same period. It was observed that one per cent increase in the cropping intensity would incline the use of labour by 1.33 per cent, while one per cent increase in wage rate would decline the labour demand by 4.7 per cent. The agriculture laboures household of the state facing the problem of illiteracy, healthcare, debt burden, use of drugs, less availability of farm work, and deprived economic condition. The study brings into account that during the last two and half decades, most of the zones experienced a significant decrease in use of agriculture demand in the state. It was concluded that agricultural labour use pattern changed as permanent to casual and to contractual in the state.ThesisItem Restricted Impact assessment of organized retail chains on vegetable growers of Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Pratishtha; Sharma, V. K.India is the second highest vegetable producing nation which contributes 12.22 percent in the total vegetable production and the retail sector accounts for about 10 percent of the country's GDP. Although unorganized market dominates the vegetable retail sector but since 2010, organized retailers also started functioning in the vegetable retail sector of Punjab. The present study was undertaken in the Ludhiana district due to the presence of both traditional and organized vegetable retail chains. Four major winter vegetables were considered viz. green peas, cauliflower, cabbage and radish for detailed analysis. The primary data were collected from 120 vegetable growers out of which 60 growers were supplying vegetables to the traditional retail chains and 60 growers directly to the organized vegetable retail chains. The results of the study indicated that the higher returns were received by the farmers supplying vegetables to the organized retail chains. The study identified three traditional marketing channels and one organized marketing channel. The producer’s share in consumer’s rupee and marketing efficiency was highest in channel III followed by organized retail channel, channel II and channel I of traditional retail chain. It was highest in channel III due to direct sale of the produce to consumer and in organized retail channel due to fewer intermediaries in the retail chain. The major constraint faced by the vegetable growers with the traditional retail chains was high commission charges of intermediaries, whereas, in case of organized retail chain is the rejection of produce over the requisite quality standards was the major drawback. This study will serve as a guideline for vegetable growers to diversify the supply in the retail chains of Punjab.ThesisItem Open Access Food Security and Sustainability: A comparative study of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2020) Singh, Priyanka; Goyal, MiniEnsuring food security has been the central theme of agricultural development policy. Therefore, studies are being increasingly taken up to assess the food security status from national perspective in recent past. Since, precise assessment of regional food security and its sustainability is prerequisite for strategic planning and prioritizing allocation of resources; the present study ascertained the sustainability of food security in the most populous and productive states of India i.e. Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. The study, using secondary data, examined the growth performance of foodgrains over a comprehensive period of TE1990/91TE2016/17 and for the three decadal periods viz., TE1990/91-TE2000/01, TE2000/01- TE2010/11 and TE2010/11-TE2016/17 at national level and for the selected states. The production of food grains shows an impressive and significant growth (CAGR 1.60%) at national level during the whole period as well as in the sub periods with the highest growth in TE2010/11-2016/17 (CAGR 1.70%). Unlike in Uttar Pradesh, where foodgrains witnessed productivity led growth during the overall period; both increase in area and yield contributed in production growth of foodgrains in Punjab. The district wise composite index of sustainable food security for the selected states has been constructed from its components – food availability, access and utilization. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) technique was used to assign weights to indicators of each dimension of food security. In Punjab, the sustainability of food security increased as one moves from southern to northern parts of the state. Districts in the western (Fazilka, Muktsar etc.) and southern (Mansa and Sangrur) part of Malwa region of the state were rated low in sustainable food security index. In Uttar Pradesh, large number of district fell into the moderate range of sustainable food security index. The results of the study will support the decision makers in implementing suitable policy measures to address regional food insecurity in both the states.
