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Central Agricultural University, College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Umiam
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ThesisItem Open Access Socio-economic study on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Ri-bhoi district of Meghalaya.(College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Central Agricultural University , Imphal, 2018-07) Shaikhtabrez; Choudhury, AnjuThe Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) aims at enhancing the livelihood security of the people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage employment in a financial year, to a rural household whose members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. Per capita annual income of Meghalaya is `60,966, which is less than all India average of `77, 524. This scheme is mainly for rural people and Ri-Bhoi district has more than 90 percent of rural population. Ri-Bhoi district, consists of marginal workers (95.59%), cultivators (96.49%) and agricultural labours (92.03%) respectively. As marginal workers work less than six months in a year and they don’t get employment all-round the year, MGNREGA has a great potential to fill the gap. Taking this into consideration, the present study was undertaken with the objectives. 1. To evaluate the impact of MGNREGA on income, expenditure and assets of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries. 2. To study the constraints faced by the beneficiaries. Multi stage random sampling technique was applied for the present study. Meghalaya and Ri-Bhoi was chosen purposively. From the district, two blocks viz., Umsning and Umling was also chosen purposively. Two villages from each block as 90 respondents (beneficiaries and non beneficiaries) were selected randomly from the four villages. To attain the first objective, personal interview was carried out for both the beneficiaries and non beneficiaries.To find the constraints faced by the beneficiaries two FGD was conducted in two villages of each block. It was followed by conducting PRA tools such as constructing seasonal calendar and social map. There was increase in income (20.79%), which was statistically significant and significant increase in expenditure of food items like cereals, pulses, vegetables, oil, meat milk and it’s by products, sugar,salt and spices, and non-food items also like cooking, electricity, transportation children education, medicine, cloths, and ceremony or function after getting wage from MGNREGA. There was significant difference among the expenditure of food items like vegetables, fruits and grocery, fermented pickle, egg, dry fish and sea food and non-food items like medicine between beneficiary and non-beneficiary. There was increase in the purchase of farm implements and household assets like T.V, mobile phone, bike, LPG connection and livestock as mainly pigs after employment get from MGNREGA. The non-beneficiaries were advanced in using television, radio, mobile phone, bike and LPG connection than beneficiaries. There is no significant difference in the income between the beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries. In case of expenditure also there is no significant difference, except in vegetables, fruits, others and medicine. No records entered in job card, demanded 100 days of work is not provided, delay in payment of wages and inappropriate work season were the major constraints faced by the beneficiaries.ThesisItem Open Access Consumer behaviour of tourists for agri-products in Meghalaya(College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Central Agricultural University , Imphal, 2018-07) Krishna, Kunchum Suresh; Feroze, S. M.Meghalaya, a famous hill station received 61.62 per cent of the total tourist inflow in the North Eastern (NE) states in 2015. The state is also known for fruits viz., pineapple, khasi mandarin and banana which are organically produced. These fruits along with other agri-products, which are highly preferred by the tourists, are sold at different tourist spots and along the NH-6. Tourism linked food marketing in the state generates opportunities for the farmers in direct marketing of their products as well as it provides income and employment opportunities to the stall owners and vendors.Consumers now increasingly demand specific attributes while purchasing agricultural products. Hence, the present study was conducted in Meghalaya to study the consumer preferences, identify the personal traits influencing preference and estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) for agri-products. A total of 220 tourists were personally interviewed at 44 stalls located at different tourist spots and along the NH-6. To find out the factors influencing consumer preference for different agricultural products binary Probit Models were used. Factor analysis was performed to group the similar personal traits that affect the preferences. Tobit Models were used to find out the factors affecting consumers’ WTP. The results revealed that the tourists preferred pineapple the most among different agri-products available at the stall or with the vendors. Local pickle products were mostly preferred by the tourists from NE states. Taste and freshness were perceived to be the important product attributes that influenced the consumer preferences. Factor analysis clubbed the consumers’ personal traits into three factors related to health and environment concern, marketing mix and food safety. WTP was highest in case of pineapple, followed by orange, bamboo pickle, banana and chilli pickle. Hence, fruits like pineapple and orange which are produced organically in the state have good potential to fetch high prices as they are preferred by the health concerned tourists. Organic labelling may be an added feature to be adhered in future.ThesisItem Open Access Value chain analysis of dairy industry in Nagaland(College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Central Agricultural University , Imphal, 2018-07) Chale, Sedeno; Choudhury, AnjuThe dairy industry in India has gone through a sea change, transforming itself from import-dependent and unorganized industry to a self-reliant and well organized industry. Dairy industry is one of the fastest expanding industries in India. Milk production in India has shown a rising trend ever since the inception of Operation Flood Programme in 1970-71. India ranks first in milk production; achieving an annual output of 165.5 million tonnes during 2016-2017.The per capita availability of milk in India was 355 grams per day during 2016-17. However, the situation of the dairy industry in Nagaland is in contrast to the national scenario. The per capita availability of milk in Nagaland during 2016-17 was 91 g/day which was much below the National availability. Local demands for milk and milk products continue to increase, which has been met through imports. Hence, the present study was conducted to estimate the costs and returns from milk production and to identify the structure of local dairy value chain and key actors’ role in the study area and to assess the value addition at different levels of the dairy value chain. To meet the objectives of the study both primary as well as secondary data were collected. Primary data were collected from 100 respondents in the selected villages using pre-tested structured schedule through personal interview for the calendar year 2017-2018. The costs and returns, marketing costs, marketing margin, producer’s share in consumer’s rupee, price spread, marketing efficiency and the value addition of milk were estimated to attain the objectives. The average milk yield per milking cow was 5.02 and 1.70 litres per day for crossbred and local cows respectively. The overall average daily net maintenance cost per milking animal was `143.26 and `53.32, while the net return was `77.70 and `16.86 for crossbred and local cows respectively. Three marketing channels were identified viz., Channel-l (Producer → Consumer) was the most efficient and prominent as 63.35 per cent of the marketed surplus was disposed off through this channel. Also, some margin or profit was gained by the stakeholders at every stage of the each channel through value addition process. The study also inferred that there is a need to manage the value chain in such a manner that the risks and profits are equally shared among the stakeholders. The study concludes that rearing of dairy animals is a profitable venture which can ensure the livelihood security of producers, provide margin to intermediaries and at the same time ensure the consumer’s nutritional security.ThesisItem Open Access Economics of tea cultivation in Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh(College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Central Agricultural University , Imphal, 2019-03) Wangnow, Nowang; Sethi, BinodiniArunachal Pradesh is the leading non-traditional tea growing state of the north eastern region. At present, there are 62 registered big tea gardens (above 10.12 ha), 50 registered small tea growers and around 4,500 unregistered small tea growers in the state. The Government of Arunachal Pradesh has been encouraging tea cultivation among the farmers under the Chief Minister's Mission Mode Project (MMP) and tea industry in the state is ready for a revolution with more farmers taking up tea cultivation. Therefore, the present research was required to study the trend of tea production, to work out the cost and returns, and to identify the constraints faced by farmers in the cultivation of tea. To achieve the objectives of the study, both primary and secondary data were used. Primary data were obtained from sample households through personal interview with the help of pre-tested structured schedule. Secondary data were collected from various publications and journals. Multistage random sampling technique was applied for the present study. Arunachal Pradesh was selected purposively for the study. Tirap district was selected purposively. Deomali and Khonsa block were selected purposively on the basis of having the highest area under tea in the district. Two villages from each block were selected randomly, viz., Borduria, Kaimai, Namsang and Doidam. Thus, a total of 80 respondents were selected from these villages adopting simple random sampling without replacement method. To study the trend of tea production, Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) was computed; for economics of production, Cost concepts, Net Present Value (NPV), Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) and Pay Back Period (PBP) were used and for identifying the constraints in tea cultivation, Garrett’s ranking technique was used. The Compound growth rate computed reveals that the area, production and productivity of tea in Arunachal Pradesh have increased by 9.61 per cent, 21.20 per cent and 10.56 per cent respectively; during the period 2000-01 to 2014-15.The establishment cost of tea garden was calculated to be `35980 per ha and the highest cost incurred was on planting materials (35.83%). The operational costs consist of intercultural operation, weeding, pruning, drain management, fence maintenance, tipping, plucking etc., and was observed to be increasing from the first year up to the peak harvesting years. Economic analysis of data shows that the total variable cost was higher than the total fixed cost and per hectare cost of cultivation of tea was costlier in the first year as compared to the later years. This was due to adding-up of the establishment cost. The tea garden started giving returns from the third year onwards and the returns per hectare increased as the tea plants matured. The Net Present Value (NPV), Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) and Pay Back Period (PBP) were found to be `82768, 1.52 and 6.2 respectively. Problems of diseases and pest attacks were rated as the major constraint by the farmers, followed by non-availability of finance and lack of proper marketing. Tea plantation as an enterprise is a source of income and employment for the population in the study area and the government must encourage people to take up the activity on a large scale for commercial purpose.ThesisItem Open Access Valuation of Alder based farming system in Nagaland(College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Central Agricultural University , Imphal, 2018-07) Ozukum, Limasunep; Feroze, S. M.Valuation of the environment is necessary for achieving greater sustainability, assessing management efficiency and make possible to include the non-measurable environmental impacts in terms of cost benefit analysis. Hence, the present study was conducted to measure the monetary value of the goods and services provided by the alder based farming system (AFS) at Khonoma village under Kohima district in Nagaland. To study the AFS, two FGDs were conducted in the village and in each FGD, 30 farmers practicing the AFS participated. The area under AFS at Khonoma is approximately 900 ha where the farmers practiced total 23 combinations of different crop mix but three crops mix (potato – maize + naga garlic) were followed by majority of the farmers. The current fallow period reduced from 10-20 years to 5-7 years due to the transition from subsistence farming to commercial farming and population pressure. Direct market price and preventive expenditure method under the revealed preference approach was used to measure the economic value of the goods and services provided by the system. The estimated number of alder trees per farm was 88 and the density was 183 alder trees/ha. The farmers harvested on an average of 7.99 m3 of firewood per farm and the estimated gross return from firewood was `17033.00/farm and `35485.42/ha. The estimated value of the goods (biomass) provided by the system was `38948.74/farm and `3.86 lakh/ha. The estimated value of the nitrogen (N) contributed naturally by the alder trees was `3208.95/farm and `7073.70/ha. If urea would have been applied in the absence of the alder trees, the estimated cost of lime to ameliorate the soil due to the application of urea would be `10656.00 to `12835.80/farm and `22200.00/ha to `26741.25/ha and the estimated associated average environmental damage cost from emission of N2O would be `14.86/farm and `32.53/ha. The total value of the services provided by the alder trees at Khonoma ranged from `14936.81/farm to `17169.61/farm and `30521.59/ha to `35171.82/ha. Hence, it can be concluded that the system sustained for decades due to its importance in terms of goods and services it provides, and the villagers of Khonoma understand it. Thus, the AFS has the potential to be replicated in other jhum areas through dissemination of knowledge on alder tree management.ThesisItem Open Access Performance of agriculture in Sikkim: assessing the satisfaction of farmers(College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Central Agricultural University - Imphal, 2019) Gamoh, Minam; Feroze, S. M.The performance of the agricultural sector is often judged by the performance of the macro economic variables viz., growth in agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its share in country’s GDP while overlooking the humane side of the production process. But, the question of wellbeing of the farmers matters for the real development as they are at the centre of production process. Sikkim is the first state in the country declared as an organic state in 2016. This is a partial deduction of the negative externalities from the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). Hence, the present study was carried out to assess the performance of agriculture sector of the state at macro level and to understand and quantify the satisfaction derived by the farmers from farming and overall life situation. Analysis of secondary data revealed that the share of agricultural Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) to GSDP and Gross Capital Formation (GCF) in agriculture decreased over the years indicating the declining importance of agriculture in Sikkim’s economy, though the percentage of people depending on it has remained substantial. The net sown area decreased due to use of land for other purposes. The existing number of agricultural markets in the state was much lesser than the requirement. Hence, use of agricultural land for non-agricultural purpose should be discouraged and policies need to be initiated to attract capital and for strengthening marketing infrastructure. To study farmers’ satisfaction focus group discussions were followed by personal interviews covering total 70 farmers in East Sikkim and South Sikkim districts of Sikkim. Two approaches viz., receipt-expenditure approach and self-rating approach were applied. About 55.71% of the respondents had deficit farm receipts over its basic expenditure. Similarly, the self-rating approach also revealed that only 47.14% and 38.57% of the farmers were satisfied at farm input and output indicators, respectively, but when the subjective indicators related to farming were included, about 71.43% farmers were found to be satisfied at farming. Majority of the respondents (80%) were satisfied at their overall life due to their satisfaction at indicators included in life situation dimension. The inner happiness outweighed the shortcomings in income. Binary logit model revealed that ownership of livestock, cultivation of high value crops, subsidiary occupation, social group, land holdings, family size were the factors influencing the probability of being satisfied. Level of satisfaction at farming can be improved through premium pricing of organic produce and development of effective bio-pesticides.ThesisItem Embargo Value chain analysis of bamboo in North Eastern Region of India(College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Central Agricultural University - Imphal, 2022-09) Gogoi, Jeemoni; Singh, RamBamboo is a naturally distributed evergreen perennial flowering plant belonging to the grass family Poaceae (Li and He, 2019).Trading in value-added products of bamboo has the potential to make positive contribution to the global environment and economy. The North Eastern Region (NER) of India along with West Bengal contributes half of the bamboo area of the country and bamboo craft has been practiced in NER for centuries as their prime livelihood and income source. For realizing bamboo’s full potential as a driver of environmental sustainability and inclusive economic growth, a fundamental shift in the current system is required. It has become necessary to examine the markets in terms of value addition, involvement of actors and quality requirements. Therefore, the study was carried out with the specific objectives (i) to study the utilization pattern of bamboo (ii) mapping of value chain actors in bamboo and its products (iii) estimation of compliance cost, investment and return involved in value chain of bamboo (iv) to assess the impact of value chain of bamboo on livelihood and income of different stakeholders in the state of Assam and Meghalaya. The study was conducted with primary data from Assam in Barpeta and Nalbari district with a total respondent of 130 and 150 respectively, and in Meghalaya, a total of 53 and 47 respondents were selected from East Khasi Hills and Ri- Bhoi district, respectively. To fulfil the above objectives, utilization of bamboo was classified into five categories; value chain map was prepared with identification of actors involved. The compliance cost, marketing margin, price spread, percentage change, Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient were estimated for the stakeholders. The results showed that the maximum quantity (84.50%) of bamboo has been utilized by the respondents for building and scaffolding purposes. The raw bamboo in Assam mainly marketed outside the state through channel-I (Pole collector →Traders→ Other states of India) (46.43%) in Assam, while in Meghalaya, it was through channel-II (Pole Collector→ Traders (Assam/Shillong)) (81.35%). In Assam, five channels were identified for bamboo products and maximum quantity (49.24%) was marketed in channel-IV (Artisans→Trader-cum-Wholesaler-cum-Producer→ Outside Assam) whereas, in Meghalaya majority of the product (90.39%) was sold off through channel-I (Artisans→ Village merchant→ Wholesaler-cum-Retailer→ Consumer). The bamboo shoots were marketed only in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya through five channels out of which three channels were used for marketing of fermented (pickled) bamboo shoots. Differentiated value added furniture products viz., sofa set, bed, dining table and handicrafts and traditional products (Japi, Duli and Khorahi) were marketed in Assam while in Meghalaya handicraft and traditional products (Polo and Khoh) were marketed. In Barpeta and Nalbari districts, the price spread was found to be higher in channel-I and channel-V, respectively for all the products while in Meghalaya, the maximum price spread was found in channel-I in both the districts for all the bamboo products. Positive impact of bamboo value chain was observed on different stakeholders’ income and expenditure with significant difference in the income distribution assessed through Gini coefficient. Maximum employment was generated at artisan’s level (533 mandays). The study recommends the establishment of bamboo product export zone in the NER with focus on export-oriented bamboo value chain including high value product development viz. laminated bamboo boards, engineered bamboo products, bamboo vinegar, etc. for the improved livelihood of the stakeholders involved in the sector.ThesisItem Open Access Economic analysis of milk production in East Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya(College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, CAU-Imphal, Umiam, 2020-08) Ahmed, Jabir; Singh, RamDairy sector is important constituents of diversified farming system in Meghalaya and the demand for milk is increasing due to change in lifestyle and increase in income. The productivity of crossbred animals is 6.56 L/day which was introduced to meet up the demand for milk in the state. Therefore, the current study was conducted to estimate household milk production and its disposal pattern, and assess the yield gap in milk production and identify factors affecting it. Primary data was gathered through interview from a random sample of 82 households from four villages of East Khasi Hills district which was subjected to tabular, correlation, regression and yield gap analysis. The average milk production stood at 39.81 L/day/household; 96.66 per cent of which was marketed by the cattle rearers. The cattle rearers traded highest amount of milk (81.97%) through the cooperative societies. Marketed surplus demonstrated significant (p<0.01) positive association with total milk production across the herd size category of cattle rearers. Total yield gap was about 49.62 per cent which was comprised of yield gap-I (6.52%) and yield gap-II (43.10%). The highest percentage (56.00%) of total yield gap (TYG) existed in large cattle rearers but the least TYG (46.71%) detected in small cattle rearers. The variables namely, experience in dairy farming (β = -0.190**), distance from farmer’s farm to research station (β = 0.266***), contact with extension personnel (β = 0.211**), price of concentrate (β = -0.218**) and human days allocated for dairying (β = -0.572***) were noticed to be the significant factors influencing yield gap. Delay in payment (45.12%) by the dairy cooperative society stood as the foremost constraint experienced by the cattle rearers. This investigation proposes that the government shall take the initiative to demonstrate the benefits of advance technologies which is being adopted at research station to minimize the yield gap-I and motivate the cattle rearers to use the technologies or the practices which is being followed by progressive cattle rearers to minimize yield gap-II.ThesisItem Open Access An evaluation of the public distribution system in Kamrup (Rural) district of Assam.(College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, CAU-Imphal, Umiam, 2020-08) Ahmed, Rizwan; Singh, S. BasantaFood is one of the basic necessity for human survival. The public distribution system (PDS) in India acts as a safety net for the poor by providing essential items, i.e. rice, wheat, sugar, kerosene etc. at subsidised cost and contributes towards the social welfare of the people. India’s public distribution system with a network of 4.78 lakh fair price shops (FPS) is the largest retail system in the world (Gupta and Saxena, 2014). Therefore, the current study focuses on the following three objectives viz., 1) To understand and assess the status of functioning of PDS in Kamrup (R) district of Assam, 2) To estimate the impact of PDS in calorie intake of BPL households and 3) To estimate the various parameters for effective participation in PDS and identify the problems faced by households due to PDS. Primary data was gathered through interview applying multi stage sampling method from a random sample of 132 households from four villages of Kamrup (Rural) district of Assam which was subjected to tabular, logit and Garrett ranking analysis. The findings suggest that PDS is functioning efficiently in the district although it has some shortcomings which are very much valid. PDS has had a marginal positive effect on calorie intake (▲C= 104.1cal/day) on BPL households. The subsidized food items have helped in attainment of calorie security but lacks in terms of providing balanced diet and nutritional security. The variables namely, distribution of variety of goods (β = 2.131***), lack of awareness (β = -2.387***) and location of PDS in easily accessible areas (β = 2.892***) were found to be significant factors influencing the participation in PDS. Adulteration and leakage of goods in open market were considered to be major constraints faced by the beneficiaries. This investigation proposes the need to introduce innovative ideas such as smart cards, food credit/debit cards and use of both print and digital media to spread awareness about PDS and check the bottlenecks in the PDS to make the system more efficient.
