Loading...
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa
In the imperial Gazetteer of India 1878, Pusa was recorded as a government estate of about 1350 acres in Darbhanba. It was acquired by East India Company for running a stud farm to supply better breed of horses mainly for the army. Frequent incidence of glanders disease (swelling of glands), mostly affecting the valuable imported bloodstock made the civil veterinary department to shift the entire stock out of Pusa. A British tobacco concern Beg Sutherland & co. got the estate on lease but it also left in 1897 abandoning the government estate of Pusa.
Lord Mayo, The Viceroy and Governor General, had been repeatedly trying to get through his proposal for setting up a directorate general of Agriculture that would take care of the soil and its productivity, formulate newer techniques of cultivation, improve the quality of seeds and livestock and also arrange for imparting agricultural education. The government of India had invited a British expert. Dr. J. A. Voelcker who had submitted as report on the development of Indian agriculture. As a follow-up action, three experts in different fields were appointed for the first time during 1885 to 1895 namely, agricultural chemist (Dr. J. W. Leafer), cryptogamic botanist (Dr. R. A. Butler) and entomologist (Dr. H. Maxwell Lefroy) with headquarters at Dehradun (U.P.) in the forest Research Institute complex.
Surprisingly, until now Pusa, which was destined to become the centre of agricultural revolution in the country, was lying as before an abandoned government estate. In 1898. Lord Curzon took over as the viceroy. A widely traveled person and an administrator, he salvaged out the earlier proposal and got London’s approval for the appointment of the inspector General of Agriculture to which the first incumbent Mr. J. Mollison (Dy. Director of Agriculture, Bombay) joined in 1901 with headquarters at Nagpur
The then government of Bengal had mooted in 1902 a proposal to the centre for setting up a model cattle farm for improving the dilapidated condition of the livestock at Pusa estate where plenty of land, water and feed would be available, and with Mr. Mollison’s support this was accepted in principle. Around Pusa, there were many British planters and also an indigo research centre Dalsing Sarai (near Pusa). Mr. Mollison’s visits to this mini British kingdom and his strong recommendations. In favour of Pusa as the most ideal place for the Bengal government project obviously caught the attention for the viceroy.
Browse
Search Results
ThesisItem Open Access Value Chain Analysis of Tomato in Kolar district of Karnataka(Dr.RPCAU, Pusa, 2022) M, VIJAY N; KUMAR, AMALENDUThe current study aims at the value chain analysis of tomato, growth trends in area, production and productivity of tomato, actors and their activities involved in tomato value chain, to workout marketing channels, margins and marketing efficiency and constraints faced by various actors in Kolar district of Karnataka. Both primary and secondary data were used for the study. The primary data were collected from the 90 tomato growers from six randomly selected villages and secondary data were collected from India-stat, agriculture produce marketing committee, national horticultural board published yearly reports, and world processing tomato council articles. To study the marketing and value addition in tomato, 60 intermediaries’ households were also selected randomly. The growth trends of area, production and productivity of tomato in India was 1.47 per cent, 2.69 per cent and 1.22 per cent per annum respectively. The growth trends in area, production and productivity of tomato increased during the period from 2001 to 2020. The growth trends in area, production, productivity in Karnataka were -4.42 per cent, -2.40 per cent and 2.02 per cent per annum respectively. Trends in area and production were declined drastically from 2001 to 2019 and productivity shown positive trend in overall period in Karnataka. The growth trends of area, production and productivity in Kolar district were 0.90 per cent, 3.50 per cent and 2.55 per cent per annum respectively. The area, production and productivity shown positive growth during the period from 2001 to 2019. The study identified major actors and their activities in different tomato value chains. The main actors were input suppliers, producers, commission agents, wholesalers, retailers, processors, distributors and exporters, HOPCOMS and these actors were found actively engaged in supplying of inputs, marketing of produce and performed activities like grading, sorting, standardization, transportation, packing, value addition etc. in the study area. The actors were taking important part in production, marketing and value additions in the study area. Three channels were recognised in the study area namely, APMC, Supermarket and Processing Channel. The marketing efficiency per quintal of tomato was found higher in Channel-II about (1.50) compared to channel-I (0.80). Channel-II was emerging fastest growing channel in the study area. Producer’s share in consumer rupee was higher in Channel-II about (60.04 per cent) compared to channel-I (45.90 per cent). The marketing margin of market intermediaries acting on different value chains were, wholesalers (Rs.149.20 per quintal), retailers (Rs.225 per quintal) and commission agents who charges five per cent commission from farmers in channel-I and in case of channel-II only limited players i.e., organised retailers having margin Rs.158.38 per quintal. The price per quintal obtained by tomato growers under different channels were Rs.975.80 per quintal in channel-I, channel-II Rs.1099.50 per quintal and Rs.1056.00 per quintal. The major constraints were encountered by tomato growers was high cost on fertilizers, labour shortage and high wage rate, high pests and diseases at production level, among the marketing constraints, price fluctuation, a greater number of acting in tomato marketing, losses due to long supply chain, absence of storage facilities were the major difficulties faced by tomato farmers. Majority of market functionaries were facing price fluctuation, lack of storage facilities, high transportation cost, lack of grading were the key constraints in the study area.ThesisItem Open Access AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF COCONUT PRODUCTION IN HASSAN DISTRICT OF KARNATAKA(Dr.RPCAU, Pusa, 2021) K T, THILAK; Sinha, D. K.The present study aims at assessing the trends in area, production, productivity and exports from India, costs and returns involved in production of coconut, resource use efficiency of inputs, constraints in production and marketing of coconut in Hassan district of Karnataka. The primary data was obtained from 120 farmers from 10 randomly selected villages of Hassan district of Karnataka by using survey method. The area of coconut had increased from 1893 thousand hectares in 2001-02 to 2109 thousand hectares in 2019-20 with a small compound annual growth rate of 0.6 %. The production of coconut rose from 12822 thousand metric tonnes in 2001-02 to 19717 thousand metric tonnes in 2019-20 with a considerable compound annual growth rate of 2.4. on the other hand, the export of coconut and its by-products showed growth from 25.56 crores in 2001-02 to 2006.73 crores in 2019-20 with a solid compound annual growth rate of 33.9 %. On overall farms level, the inputs requirement for establishment of coconut orchard like, hired labour, family labour, machine labour, seedlings, manure and fertilizer were found to be 49.09 man days, 45.40 man days, 98.63 machine hours, 133.36 seedlings, 407.21 quintals and 741.31 kgs, respectively. On overall level, the total cost of establishment or (Cost-C2) of coconut orchard was estimated to be Rs.529259.79. On overall farms level, for maintenance, inputs requirements like, hired labour, family labour, machine labour, soil bedding, manure and fertilizer was assumed to be 19.18 man days, 13.25 man days, 14.50 machine hours, 97.04 loads, 96.97 quintals and 247.41 kgs respectively. On overall farms level, the total cost of maintenance or (Cost-C2) of coconut orchard was found to be Rs.168891.34. At overall farms level, gross return from coconut was found to be Rs.3,26,999.9. The main contributor to gross returns was main product with Rs.310763.7. Further, the incomes from husk, broom and leaf base were estimated to be Rs.14125.6, Rs.909.4 and Rs.1201.1 correspondingly. The returns over cost-A1, cost-A2, cost-B1, cost-B2, cost-C1, cost-C2, and cost-C3 at overall farms level were accounted to be Rs. 254320.54, Rs. 254320.54, Rs. 248199.90, Rs. 164737.10, Rs. 241571.31, Rs. 158108.51 and Rs. 141219.38, respectively. It is observed that, for the farm as a whole, net present value was estimated to be 3,67,195.57 Rs. /ha. Further, internal rate of return was revealed to be 15.12. The benefit cost ratio was found to be 1.19, for the farm as a whole. The value of multiple determination was found to be 0.76, indicating there by 76 per cent variation in output explained jointly by 5 independent variables like manure, fertilizer, human labour, machine labour and seedlings under study. The regression coefficients of variables like fertilizer, human labour and seedlings were revealed as positive and significant, indicating there by 1 per cent increase in these inputs over their geometric mean would increase the yield by 0.07, 0.05 and 1.07 per cent sequentially. The regression coefficients of variables like manure and machine labour were observed to be positive, but non-significant. The sum of elasticities (bi) value was observed to be 1.18, showing increasing returns to scale, that in turn implies that, input resources were being underutilized. The marginal value productivities of manure, fertilizer, human labour, machine labour and seedlings were computed to be 3237.44, 1337.97, 16549.44, 21506.65 and 7397.01, correspondingly. The values of MVPx/MFCx of manure, fertilizer, human labour, hired labour and seedlings were 21.58, 55.75, 33.10, 28.68 and 73.97. Therefore, it is crystal clear from the discussion that the resources were underutilized and there is ample scope of further use of these inputs to raise the gross returns. The major constraints faced by the coconut growers for overall farms level were identified as the unavailability of credit, water scarcity, high labour wage rate, timely unavailability of labour and pest and disease attack.ThesisItem Open Access AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING EFFICINCY OF LITCHI IN MUZAFFARPUR DISTRICT OF BIHAR(Dr.RPCAU, Pusa, 2021) KUMAWAT, SHIVLAL; KUMAR, JANMEJAYThe present study planned to analyze “An economic analysis of Supply Chain Management and Marketing Efficiency of Litchi in Muzaffarpur District of Bihar”. The district was selected purposely because of the leading litchi producing district in the State. For the purpose of study 140 respondents were interviewed which consisting of 60 litchi growers and 80 market intermediaries under the study. In the district, during the year 2019-20, litchi crop was extensively grown with an area of 33.4 thousand hectares and annual production of 258.3 thousand MT with the productivity of 7.8 MT/hectare. The trends of area, production and productivity of litchi in the district has showed increasing trend with 0.12, 0.014, and -0.12 annual compound growth rate respectively. In the state, the area, production and productivity of annual compound growth rate of litchi was 1.01, 0.5 and -0.4 percent respectively. The overall productivity in the State of Bihar and Muzaffarpur district was found negative whereas national level data showed positive trend. The main reasons behind negative trend were due to uncertainty of rainfall, poor nutrients management, and biennial fruit production in Bihar as well as in Muzaffarpur. The study showed that the marketing of litchi is a very complex procedure in the study area and four major types of marketing channels were identified. Channel I: Producer - Pre-harvest contractor - Commission agent cum Wholesaler – Retailer – Consumer. Channel II: Producer- Village Trader- Wholesaler (local) – Commission agent (distant) – Wholesaler (distant) – Retailer –Consumer. Channel III: Producer - Retailer – Consumer. Channel IV: producer –consumer. The fourth channel Producer → Consumer, (local market) was found very much efficient for the producers as compared to other three identified marketing channel due to involvement of less number of middlemen. In fourth channel producer received 70.23 % of share in consumer rupee the rest share distributed 29.77 % was in marketing costs and margin. The price spread was found minimum for channel IV that is Rs. 493.38 per quintal due to absence of market middlemen. The marketing efficiency was highest in channel IV (2.02) & lowest in channel II (0.16) due to the reason that channel IV, producers directly sell their produce to consumer. The most important marketing constraints of litchi marketing was perishability of fruits with 98.92 mean score (With 1st Rank), followed by others problems i.e. labour shortage during harvesting reason, lack of market information, lack of marketing infrastructure, lack of organized marketing, high transportation cost for distant markets, problem of credit facility, unorganized production and price fluctuation etc. The study observed so many interesting facts about the marketing of litchi and suggested ways and means for improvement of marketing and supply chain for obtaining higher share of consumer to the producer.ThesisItem Open Access STUDY ON PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY CHAIN OF MENTHA OIL IN BARABANKI DISTRICT OF UTTAR PRADESH(DRPCAU, PUSA, 2021) PRAKASH, SATYA; Kumar, AmalenduThe present study aims to the study of production and supply chain of mentha herbs and mentha oil in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh. The study based on 120 sampled households selected through multistage sampling procedure from Barabanki district. The sampled household comprises 30 from mentha growers, 30 from mentha processing units and 60 from market intermediaries of mentha oil. The sampled of mentha growers was selected from three blocks namely Deva, Masauli and Fatehpur and from each block two villages were selected. In this way a total of six villages namely Ukhadi, Dewa, Semri, Rasauli, Banar and Madanpur. Out of total number of mentha growers’ marginal farmers were 11 (36.67 %), small farmers were 8 (26.67 %), medium farmers 7 (23.33 %) and large farmers 4 (13.33 %). Out of 30 mentha processor, 25 under the categories of small units and 5 large unit. Similarly, the household of market intermediaries comprises 25 village traders, 15 retailers and 20 wholesalers involved in marketing of mentha oil. The study finds that about (66.67 %) mentha growers were under the middle age group i.e., from 31 years to 50 years followed by 20 % under the age group of above 50 years and only 13.33 % growers were under the adult age group i.e., below 30 years. The study again showed that about 23.33 % farmers were qualified up to primary school followed by 20 % farmers were intermediate and illiterate level each followed by matriculation level 16.67 % followed by middle school level 13.33 % and under graduate level 6.67 %. In case of mentha processors the study finds that the family size ranges between 5.60 to 6.25 person per household and overall average was 6 persons. The average overall literacy level was 87.53 % amongst the sampled. It was observed that the majority of mentha processors were under the age group of 31 years to 50 years i.e., 56.67 % followed by adult age group 30 % i.e., under the age group of below 30 years and only 13.33 % were in the age group of above 50 years. The compound annual growth rate of area, production and productivity of Barabanki district indicates that a positive growth rate in area 6.50 % production 8.28 % and productivity 1.67 % and statistically significant at the level of 5 %. In case of state of Uttar Pradesh, the growth trend in area, production and productivity that an increase in area 8.69 % in production 10.09 % and productivity 1.40 % and statistically significant at 5 % level of significance. The compound growth rate of the country showed that an increasing trend in area 7.34 %, production 8.37 % and productivity 1.03 % and it was statistically insignificant at 5 % level. The cost and returns of mentha crop production indicate the total cost of cultivation across the farm found varied. In case of marginal farm cost was Rs. 81205.43, small farm was Rs. 78301.14, medium farm was Rs. 76400.11 and large farm was Rs. 79480.64. The overall average cost of the farm was Rs. 78846.83. The examination of returns from the investment indicates that the yield (quintal per hectare), gross return (Rs. per hectare), net return (Rs. per hectare) and benefit-cost ratio mentha cultivation were R.s 288.41, Rs.103827.60 and Rs. 24981.55 and 1:1.32. respectively at aggregate level however, the farm size wise analysis indicates a significant variation in the returns. The cost and return incurred in mentha oil production reveals that the overall cost of mentha oil processing (per unit per season) for small and large unit was borne to Rs. 535285.06 and Rs. 752146.98 respectively. The total cost of both categories of processing units indicates that the total cost varied with the variation of size of mentha processing units. The examination of efficiency parameters of mentha oil production indicated that the cost of oil production Rs. 813.69 per kg, gross return Rs. 822907.25 /unit/season, net return (Rs. 179191.23 /unit/season and benefit-cost ratio were 1: 1.28 at aggregate level. The produce of mentha oil passes through three different channels. In channel-1marketing cost was borne Rs. 135.73, marketing margin Rs. 109.75 and price spread 20.25 %. The producers share in consumers rupees was Rs.966.59 (79.75 %). In case of channel-2 marketing cost, marketing margin and price spread was estimated to Rs. 130.68 Rs.109.77 and 19.81 % respectively. The producers share in consumers rupees was Rs.973.47 (80.19 %). In the channel-3 marketing cost, marketing margin and price spread was Rs. 79.62 Rs. Rs. 57.50 and 7.53 %. The producers share in consumers rupees was Rs.977.49 (92.47 %). The analysis clearly indicates that the channel-3 is more remunerative followed by channel-2 and channel-1 in the study area. The study also identified various constraints faced by the growers, processors and intermediaries during the mentha cultivation, processing and marketing. It was observed that the major constraint that was reported by the mentha growers was the attack of insect- pests and on Garrett mean score it was 78.20. The other constraints i.e., high price fluctuation in the price of mentha oil as reported by majority of mentha growers i.e., 76.87 on Garrett Mean Score. The constraints which are reported by processors are Fear of boiler bursting with Garret Mean Score 70.63. Inadequate market information is main problem during the marketing of mentha oil with the Garrett Mean Score of 63.97. The major problem faced by the mentha processor while undertaking marketing operations was the lack of regulated market in the study area with Garrett Mean Score of 73.18. The study suggested many ways to strengthen the production, processing and marketing improvement as a policy measure.ThesisItem Open Access AN ASSESSMENT OF PROFITABILITY IN WHITE LEG SHRIMP FARMING IN BALASORE DISTRICT OF ODISHA(DRPCAU, PUSA, 2021) OJHA, PRADEEP KUMAR; MISHRA, R. R.The present study aimed at analysing the profitability in shrimp farming and factors affecting shrimp production in Balasore district of Odisha. The study is principally based on primary data which was collected from 120 sample shrimp farmers from four blocks namely, Baleswar, Bahanaga, Baliapal and Remuna. The study revealed that majority of the respondents belonged to mature age group of 31-50 years (68.00 per cent) and used their own land for shrimp farming. A larger proportion of the families were nuclear (55 per cent) and small sized (41.67 per cent). Among the various caste groups, castes like general (33.33 per cent) and OBC (40 per cent) were observed to be mostly involved in shrimp farming. Most of the respondents were educated up to secondary (36.67 per cent) and higher secondary (28.33 per cent) level. Nearly half of the respondents (47.50 per cent) had an experience of 5 – 10 years in white-leg shrimp farming. Most of the respondents followed the occupation mix-IV (37.50 per cent) which comprised occupations like shrimp farming, non-shrimp aquaculture and agriculture. Income from Shrimp farming was found to constitute 50-60 per cent of the household income and its share decreased with increasing size of holding. Experts of private companies were major source of technical information and commission agents were major source of credit. Farmers in the study area were observed to be practicing shrimp farming intensively (71.67 per cent) and semi-intensively (28.33 per cent). The estimated value of the initial capital required for starting shrimp farming business in one hectare area was around₹640166.50 and it was ₹ 725762.47 for small farmers, ₹ 64389.90 for medium farmers and ₹ 531437.67 for large farmers. Total cost incurred during crop 1 (Mar-June) was enumerated as₹1270739.26 per hectare and it was ₹ 1293792.78 per hectare, ₹ 1319872.01 per hectare and ₹ 1140039.30 per hectare for small, medium and large farmers respectively. However, the same for them in crop 2 (June-Sep) was₹1417079.86 for all farmers and it was ₹1469059.10 per hectare, ₹ 1463365.14 per hectare and ₹ 1258288.93 per hectare for small, medium and large farmers respectively. Gross income earned by shrimp farmers by culturing crop 1 in one hectare of land was found to be₹1856201.91 and it was ₹188331.14 for small farmers, ₹2000131.98 for medium farmers and ₹1711364 for large farmers respectively. In case of crop 2, overall gross income earned by shrimp farmers was ₹1693655.53 per hectare and that was ₹1726732.05 per hectare, ₹1721822.77 per hectare and ₹1619558.77 per hectare for small, medium and large farmers respectively. Benefit cost Ratio (BCR) on the basis of total cost was estimated to be 1.46 for crop 1 and 1.20 for crop 2 which indicated that both the crops are profitable. The study further revealed that factors like age, level of education of farmer, stocking density, quantity of supplementary feed used and survival rate positively and significantly affected level of shrimp production. It was observed from the study that inputs such as post-larvae and supplementary feed were underutilized and other inputs like labour, capital investment and expenditure on fertilizer and chemicals were over-utilized. Outbreak of disease and higher cost of inputs were major production constraints faced by farmers. However, fluctuation in the price of shrimp and difficulty in getting credit support from financial institutions were major marketing and financial constraints.ThesisItem Open Access AN ECONOmIC ANALYSIS OF PRODUCTION AND MARKETING OF ARECANUT IN TUMKUR DISTRICT KARNATAKA(DRPCAU, PUSA, 2021) B N, MALATHESH; Kumar, AmalenduThe present study aims at studying an economic analysis of production and marketing of arecanut in the district of Tumkur (Karnataka). The primary data was obtained from 120 farmers spread under 9 selected villages of three taluks on the basis of higher acreage under arecanut cultivation. The study also utilized data of 30 intermediaries like traders, pre-harvest contractors, wholesalers, processors, cooperatives, itinerant traders and retailers from three selected taluks of Tumkur district of Karnataka by conducting interviews with individual respondents. Multistage type of sampling was used to select the ultimate sample and the data required were collected based on the records and recalls of the sampled respondents. The compound annual growth rate of arecanut area in Karnataka as well as India has encountered a positive rate of growth which was 2.1595 and 1.3040 respectively. The growth rate was statistically significant in Karnataka as well as India at 5% level of significance. The compound growth rate for production was observed 3.1744 and 2.2235 in Karnataka and India in the same order and was statistically significant in both the cases at 5% level of significance. The compound annual growth rate of Productivity (kgs/ha) registered an increasing and positive growth rate with 0.9955 and was statistically significant at 5% level of significance in Karnataka and 0.9076 in India which was statistically significant at 5% level. The study finds that in the state and country the arecanut area, production and productivity registered positive growth rate. The analysis of costs and returns reveals that the cost of establishment consists an initial investment in the first year and various fixed costs and Variable costs involved during the gestation period (upto fifth year from planting). The total cost of establishment borne by small, semi-medium and medium farms were Rs.7,83,925.36/- per ha, Rs.8,21,516.80/- and Rs.8,71,610.18/- per ha in the same order. The investment was somewhat higher in medium plantation (Rs.8,71,610.18/- per hectare) than small plantation (Rs.7,83,925.36/- per hectare). The total annual cost of maintenance of arecanut plantation was worked out Rs.2,86,487.95/- per hectare, Rs.2,80,184.43/- per hectare and Rs.2,83,719.86/- per hectare in the same order for small, semi-medium and medium arecanut plantation farm. The NPV on small plantation was found (Rs.16,72,097/-per ha) which was more than the semi-medium (Rs.11,55,033/-per ha) and medium (Rs.9,56,872.7/-per ha) plantation. It might be because of the higher realization of returns in case of small plantations with compared to other farms. The IRR on medium plantation recorded (16 %) was lesser than semi-medium (17.15%) and medium plantation (18%). The lending rate in banks are usually 10 per cent (commercial banks) for the long-term loans and the IRR was found to be greater than the lending rate in all the three types of gardens which depicted that arecanut enterprise had a good repayment capacity in the long run. The analysis established the relationship between higher the rate of return higher the investment and vice versa. The Benefit-cost ratio was worked out and seen to be 1.56, 1.51 and 1.50 in case of small, semi-medium and medium farmers but higher return again observed in case of small farmers. On the basis of analysis concluded that small garden owners gained more from the investment on the arecanut plantation than that of other sampled categories of farmers. The Pay back period was found to be 7.67 years,7.76 years and 8.60 years in case of small, semi-medium and medium plantation. Majorly three marketing channels were observed in the study area. The farmers sold their produce to the traders, cooperatives and the pre harvest contractors in first, second and third channel respectively. For Per quintal of arecanut, the producer’s share in consumers rupee was observed highest in case of channel 2(50.26%) as compared to channel 1 (47.79%) and channel 3(41.22) and the price spread was noticed to be maximum in channel 3 (Rs.48,468.76/-) than channel 1(Rs.42,524.41/-) and channel 2 (Rs.39,552.82/-). In the value addition aspect, the processors are the major actors with incurred highest cost for the areca nut value addition. The major constraints faced by the growers in arecanut cultivation was erratic supply of electricity with 66.17 Garrett mean score, followed by non-availability of skilled labours during peak season, high initial investment, demand on high wage rate, water scarcity, high cost of inputs, poor knowledge on improved varieties and poor knowledge on pest and disease management with mean score of 59.54, 54.04, 48.35, 46.88, 43.60, 41.59 and 39.81 respectively. The prime constraint faced by the growers in marketing aspects was high intervention of middlemen with Garrett mean score of 60.75 and the constraint encountered by the market intermediaries are commercial grading and cleaning with the mean score of 62.25. The overall analysis indicates that some of the constraints are powerful barriers in production and marketing as reported by the sampled respondents.ThesisItem Open Access WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH PRODUCTION AND MARKETING OF MULBERRY SILK IN CHIKKABALLAPUR DISTRICT OF KARNATAKA(DRPCAU, PUSA, 2021) D M, MADHU; SINHA, D. K.The present study aims at assessing the share of women in cost and return involved in production of mulberry silk and women empowerment achieved in Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka. The primary data was obtained from 90 sericulture farmers from six randomly selected villages and 50 intermediaries like silk reelers, silk twisters, weavers and consumers from two randomly selected blocks of Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka by conducting interviews with individual respondents. At overall farm level, women labour participation in weeding activities accounted for 21.36 % of total man days, followed by mulberry planting (13.50%), and so on. It was observed that the total establishment cost of mulberry for the overall farmers was accounted for Rs. 50,222.76 per acre, Rs. 49,514.15, Rs. 50,276.62 and Rs. 51,459.69 per acre for marginal, small and medium category farmers, subsequently. In mulberry maintenance, (women employment) share of women labour was comparatively high in case of weeding with 6.96 man days (34.55%), followed by FYM application with 3.44 man days (17.08 %) etc. The total cost of mulberry maintenance for the overall farmers was accounted for Rs. 28,568.73 per acre. The share of women labour was enumerated higher in case of feeding of silkworms (at different stages) with 5.02 man days (16.20%), followed by leaf harvesting with 3.83 man days (12.36 %) and so on. The total costs of mulberry cocoon production per batch was estimated to be Rs. 44,234.86 for the farm as whole and Rs. 27,352.31, Rs, 48,987.76 and Rs. 73,146.07 for marginal, small and medium category farmers, respectively. The major utilization of women labour was found to be about 808.93 mandays (43.19 %) in case of cooking with reeling of cocoons & changing water in the pans, followed by about 123.75 man days (6.60%) in cleaning and sorting of cocoons and so on. The total cost for the production of raw mulberry silk was estimated Rs. 1,45,76,798.4 per year per six reeling basins. The total gross returns from the selling of the main product and by-product figured out to be Rs. 1,60,46,945.76 per year and net returns was Rs. 14,70,147.36. The marketing cost incurred by various categories of farmers i.e., for overall, was amounted to Rs. 980.78, and Rs.1109.72, Rs.966.98 and 882.14, for marginal, small and medium category farmers, respectively. Producers share in consumer’s rupee was estimated to be 34.28 per cent, and further price spread was 65.72 per cent to the consumer’s rupee. The frequency of women IEI falling in the range of more than 0.75 (>0.75) which was considered as adequate empowerment thus, only 22.22 % of women fell under a range of IEI > 0.75 which opined as women could have attained their adequate empowerment and remaining 77.78% women were confined to the process of attaining empowerment. The Women Empowerment Index (WEI) was found 0.688 for these women who participated in sericulture. The major constraints faced by the women in mulberry cultivation was water scarcity, followed by wage discrimination etc. Constraints encountered in cocoon production was identified as pest and disease of mulberry silkworms, followed by improper disinfectant and so on. Constraints encountered in marketing of mulberry silk cocoons was with formed as high price fluctuations in the market followed by the absence of quality based pricing. The constraints faced by women in mulberry silk production was formed majorly high investment cost followed by women drudgery problems in reeling and constraints in marketing of silk was high price fluctuations followed by less access to marketing and non-profitable prices and so on.ThesisItem Open Access AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF PIGEONPEA PRODUCTION IN KAIMUR DISTRICT OF BIHAR(DRPCAU, PUSA, 2021) SETH, KUNDAN; Mishra, R.R.Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) is the second most important pulse crop in the country after gram and it is cultivated mainly, during kharif season. Pigeonpea is one of the important major protein-rich and source of carbohydrates, B‐group vitamins, and certain minerals. This legumes crop is major crop of the semi-arid tropics which is grown throughout the tropical and subtropical area of the world. Its seeds and fodders constitute about twenty to twenty two per cent protein. Seeds are also rich in fundamental amino acids like Lysine, Arginine and Cystine along with iron and iodine. Red gram being a leguminous crop, besides its value of nutrition it has also a unique property of enhancing and maintaining soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation. It improves the physical properties and heath of the soil in the field by virtue of its own unique property. The present study was carried out to assess the growth rate in area, production and productivity in major pigeonpea growing district of Bihar and examine the cost of cultivation, resource-use-efficiency and major constraints in pigeonpea production in Kaimur district. The study was based on both primary as well as secondary data and carried out in the Kaimur district of Bihar selected purposively. Further two blocks of Kaimur district and five villages from each blocks were selected randomly. Sixty farmers from each block were randomly selected, thus, a total number of 120 farmers were selected for detailed studies and investigations.The result of the study revealed that the approximately, fifty five per cent of pigeonpea growers were marginal farmers having size of land holdings less than one hectare. The percentage of medium (2.01 -4.00 hectare) and small farmers (1.01-2.00 hectare) were 22.50 and 15.00 % respectively and the large category of farmers (>4 hectare) were only 7.5 % in the sample. Majority of family members (67.50 %) were from the age of 30-50 year followed by more than 50 years of age (17.50 %) and 15.00 % sample respondents from the age of 20-30 years. Relatively larger proportion (29.17 %) of farmers had qualification up to secondary level, followed by primary (21.67 %), and Higher secondary (20.83 %). Illiterate and functionally literate were 15.83 % and only 11.67 % sample respondents were found to be graduate and post-graduate. Out of the total source of income taken by the farmers, 70.83 % had from agriculture occupation followed by agriculture plus business (22.50 %), and agriculture plus service only 6.67 %, respectively. Per hectare costs involved in and returns from pigeonpea were calculated. From the findings, it was seen that, per hectare cost of cultivation (Rs./ha) for overall farmers in term of cost concept cost-C1, C2, and C3 of pigeonpea cultivation was Rs. 25121.18, 49590.45, 54549.49, Cost-B1 and B2 was Rs. 23503.48, 46272.88 followed by Cost-A1 and A2 was Rs. 21803.60, 24703.74 respectively. The total cost of the four types of the pigeonpea farmers indicates that the total cost decreases with increasing the size of land of pigeonpea farmers. The calculated costs and returns of pigeonpea cultivation revealed that the productivity (Q/ha), gross return (Rs./ha), net return (Rs./ha), benefit-cost ratio and cost of production of pigeonpea (Rs./Q) for overall farmers were 14.69, 76382.70, 26797.55 (over cost C2), 1:1.54 (over cost C2) and 3375.80 (over cost C2) respectively.The coefficient of multiple determinations i.e. (R2) was 0.826 which indicated 82.60 % variation in pigeonpea production was explained by selected independent variables. The return to scale was 0.950 which indicated decreasing return to scale and the level of production was working in the rational stage of production curve. Human labour partial regression coefficient under pigeonpea was 0.41 which was positively significant at 1 % level of significance. Machine labour, partial regression coefficient was positively significant and capital cost was negatively significant at 5 % level of significance and these were 0.17 and -0.08 respectively. Partial regression coefficient of seed and fertilizer was positive and it was 0.19 and 0.25 respectively. In the opinion of sample farmers, unfavourable climatic condition, outbreak of disease and pest and high price of farm input were the major production constraints. High rate of interest and non-availability of adequate credit were the most important financial constraints. Major marketing constraints were price fluctuation and lack of access to market. These were the common obstacles confronted by the pigeonpea sample respondents in the study area from cultivation to marketing of pigeonpea crop.ThesisItem Open Access VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS OF NENDRAN VARIETY OF BANANA IN PALAKKAD DISTRICT OF KERALA(DRPCAU, PUSA, 2021) P, KRISHNA; SINGH, K. M.Nendran variety of banana is one of the varieties cultivated for commercial purpose in Kerala. Nendran variety is cultivated for both fruits and vegetable purposes. This variety of bananas is widely preferred by consumers on account of long and thick fruit with long shelf-life in the state. Its demand gets increased during festive season of Onam. Banana chips are the main processed popular product and are sold across the entire state. Palakkad, Malappuram, Ernakulam and Thrissur are the major banana growing districts in Kerala. Among these districts Palakkad stands first in the cultivation and production of banana. Keeping in view its popularity, the present investigation was designed to study the value chain analysis of Nendran variety of banana in Palakkad district of Kerala. The objectives of the study were to identify and prepare the value chain map of Nendran variety of banana, to analyse the cost and margin involved in the banana value chain and to examine the constraints faced by the various actors involved in the value chain and document possible suggestions for its improvement. Palakkad district was selected purposively and from the districts, four different blocks were selected based on the maximum area and production of banana. Thus a total 120 actors were selected for detailed investigation. From the selected blocks 80 farmers, cultivating Nendran were selected (20 from each selected blocks).7 wholesalers, 12 retailers, 2 SKS (Swasraya Karshaka Samithi) of VFPCK, 4 processors and consumers were selected for obtaining information using pre-tested schedule, required to fulfil the objectives of the investigation. The core activities identified in mapping the value chain of Nendran banana were input supply, production, procurement, marketing, processing and consumption. The participants involved in the value chain added value from input supply to the consumption. It was observed that the procurement activities were mainly done by SKS and wholesalers in the area under investigation. Nendran banana are mostly used for the production of chips. In the value chain processors were involved in the production of banana chips only. Marketing was done by retailers. The participation of different institutions throughout the value chain was also noticed in the study. The overall cost of cultivation of the Nendran banana in Palakkad was estimated to be Rs.516751/ha. Operational costs of and over-head costs were estimated to be Rs.393352 and Rs.123399. It was further observed that cost of cultivation per ha was comparatively more for marginal farmers. The results pointed out that cost of cultivation decreased with increase in farm size. The average cost of production of Nendran banana was estimated to be Rs.14617/t, however the comparison of the production cost per ha of Nendran banana indicated a negative correlation with the size of the holdings, resulting in improved output per ha on larger farms. The production costs on marginal, small, medium, and large farms were found to be Rs.15241, Rs.14317, Rs.13295, and Rs.12841,respectively.Net return for overall size group was found to be Rs.795003, while it was estimated to be Rs.937976 for large farmers and Rs.755515 for marginal farmers. At the time of Onam season farmers got more than double of returns as compared to normal time. From the study area three value chain channels were identified.The price spread for one tonne of banana in the channels 1, 2 and 3 were Rs.29618, Rs.26779 and Rs.54625, respectively. The producers share in the consumer’s rupee was calculated and it was found to be 60%, 62.7% & 46.5% in channel 1, 2 & 3 respectively. In channel 2, producers share in the consumer’s rupee was high compared to channel 1 and 3 & said to be more efficient than the other two channels. Among the three channels, the channel 3 was observed to be more efficient than the channel 1 and channel 3. The marketing efficiency of the channel 1, 2 & 3 were 1.50, 1.68 & 0.86. The less difference between price paid by the consumer and price received by the producer, the more is the efficiency of the channel. In channel -1, for one tonne of banana, a total value addition was estimated to be Rs.29618. In channel-2 it was Rs.26779 and for channel -3, value addition was estimated to be Rs.54625/tonne. Among the channels, value addition was estimated to be more in third channel. Among the three channels, channel-3 only transferred value added products through the chain. As the demand for value added product was high and the consumers were ready to pay higher cost for the products. Increasing labour costs, incidence of pests and diseases, shortage of workers, price fluctuations, lack of owned land damage caused by wild animals, lack of knowledge in value added products and Natural disasters and climate change were the major constraints reported by the farmers. The key difficulties faced by the Swasraya Karshaka Samithy were delay in receiving maintenance funds from the government and delay in receiving concessions from the VFPCK to the farmers. Lack of storage facility, high transportation charge, market price fluctuations and damage in handling were the major problems faced by the wholesalers and retailers. Small units with lower production capacity, and a scarcity of skilled labours, inconsistency in supply, and lack of adequate promotional activities were the major problems faced by the processors. High produce prices, shortage of high-quality processed products, and non-availability of the required amount of processed quality produce were major constraints reported by the consumers. To conclude, the present investigation mapped the value chain of nendran verity of banana and analyzed the different actors engaged in value chain. The cost and margin of different value chain actors were also assessed and constraints faced by different value chain actors at various levels were also identified. The involvement of intermediaries was also noticed which reduces the marketing efficiency of Nendran value chain on account of increased cost and shared margin of middlemen. On the basis of the study suggestions emerged for better production and awareness about value added products are: Kerala Agriculture University, krishibhavan, and VFPSC should take initiative and provide up-to-date training to farmers for improving product quality by making better use of available resources. Suckers delivery of tissue culture bananas through krishi Bhavan could improve the production and quality. Grouping farmers into clusters like SKS that permit pooling to create sufficient volumes for effective marketing in domestic markets would be desirable and organizational initiatives could promote relationships between farmers and stakeholders, i.e. farmer-stakeholder collaborative initiatives to improve market efficiency.
