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Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur
The history of agricultural education in Kerala can be traced back to the year 1896 when a scheme was evolved in the erstwhile Travancore State to train a few young men in scientific agriculture at the Demonstration Farm, Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram, presently, the Cropping Systems Research Centre under Kerala Agricultural University. Agriculture was introduced as an optional subject in the middle school classes in the State in 1922 when an Agricultural Middle School was started at Aluva, Ernakulam District. The popularity and usefulness of this school led to the starting of similar institutions at Kottarakkara and Konni in 1928 and 1931 respectively.
Agriculture was later introduced as an optional subject for Intermediate Course in 1953. In 1955, the erstwhile Government of Travancore-Cochin started the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Mannuthy, Thrissur for imparting higher education in agricultural and veterinary sciences, respectively. These institutions were brought under the direct administrative control of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Animal Husbandry, respectively. With the formation of Kerala State in 1956, these two colleges were affiliated to the University of Kerala. The post-graduate programmes leading to M.Sc. (Ag), M.V.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees were started in 1961, 1962 and 1965 respectively.
On the recommendation of the Second National Education Commission (1964-66) headed by Dr. D.S. Kothari, the then Chairman of the University Grants Commission, one Agricultural University in each State was established. The State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) were established in India as an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System to give the much needed impetus to Agriculture Education and Research in the Country. As a result the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) was established on 24th February 1971 by virtue of the Act 33 of 1971 and started functioning on 1st February 1972. The Kerala Agricultural University is the 15th in the series of the SAUs.
In accordance with the provisions of KAU Act of 1971, the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, were brought under the Kerala Agricultural University. In addition, twenty one agricultural and animal husbandry research stations were also transferred to the KAU for taking up research and extension programmes on various crops, animals, birds, etc.
During 2011, Kerala Agricultural University was trifurcated into Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) and Kerala Agricultural University (KAU).
Now the University has seven colleges (four Agriculture, one Agricultural Engineering, one Forestry, one Co-operation Banking & Management), six RARSs, seven KVKs, 15 Research Stations and 16 Research and Extension Units under the faculties of Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering and Forestry. In addition, one Academy on Climate Change Adaptation and one Institute of Agricultural Technology offering M.Sc. (Integrated) Climate Change Adaptation and Diploma in Agricultural Sciences respectively are also functioning in Kerala Agricultural University.
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ThesisItem Open Access Export performance and value chain analysis of chilli in India(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, 2022-03-03) Akhil Reddy, M; KAU; Anil, KuruvilaChilli and chilli products are the most important spices exported from India. The country is world's leading producer of chilli as well as exporter, accounting for almost half of the global export volume of chilli. The present study entitled “Export performance and value chain analysis of chilli in India," analysed the performance of chilli exports from India; assessed the export competitiveness measures and factors affecting chilli exports from India and undertook the value chain analysis of chilli in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The export performance of Indian chilli was examined for the period from 1960 to 2019. The rate of growth in chilli exports from India has increased in the post-2001 period as compared to the pre-2001 period, while the instability of chilli exports has decreased in the post-2001 period. Among all the decomposed components of the changes in the average export value, the contribution of the changes in the mean export unit value of chilli was found to be highest. The commodity concentration of chilli exports from India was high in pre-2001 period and the exports became more diversified in the post-2001 period. The average value of the commodity concentration index for chilli was 76.46 for the overall period from 1986-87 to 2019-20. The exports of chilli from India became increasingly diversified to different countries and hence the Gini concentration indices have decreased over the years. Before 2001, the geographic concentration estimated using the Hirshman index was above 40 per cent, denoting the higher level of concentration and uneven distribution of export markets. The Markov chain analysis showed that in the post-WTO period, a greater number of stable markets for chilli exports from India were identified. China, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Pakistan, Brazil and Indonesia became major markets for Indian chilli exports in the post-WTO period. China was an unstable export market for Indian chilli in the pre-WTO period, but it became a stable market in the post-WTO period due to high demand for chilli in China. The increasing trend in the trade complementarity indices of India with partner countries in the trade of chilli after 2001 confirmed that India and its partner countries are becoming more complementary, which implied that India’s export pattern was matching with the import requirements of those countries. The estimated elasticity coefficients of the log-log model for finding out the determinants of Indian chilli exports showed that the production in India and the international price were statistically significant and having positive effects on export supply of Indian chilli, while an increase in the domestic prices and real exchange rate were found to result in a II decrease in the export of chilli from India. The Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) analysis showed that India and China were having high comparative advantage in the production and export of chilli. The estimated Nominal Protection Coefficient (NPC), Effective Protection Coefficient (EPC), and Domestic Resource Cost Ratio (DRCR) values were found to be less than one. The Policy analysis Matrix (PAM) analysis under exportable hypotheses suggested that Indian chilli was a moderately competitive crop as an export commodity. The findings revealed that chilli was an efficient exportable item, demonstrating Indian chilli's international competitiveness. The analysis of demand for chilli in the value chain showed that the countries with greatest potential for export of chilli from India are China, United states of America, Thailand and Sri Lanka. The markets with greatest untapped potential for India’s chilli exports are USA, China and Spain. The highest number of NTMs on chilli exported from India were imposed by China, USA, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. The analysis of institutional set-up of chilli value chain has shown that the major institutions providing technical, extension and administrative supports in the chilli value chain are Spices Board, Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI), National Horticulture Board (NHB), Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), State Agricultural Marketing Board (SAMBs), Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC), Regional Agricultural Research Stations (RARS), and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK). The major input suppliers for chilli are fertilizer and pesticide shops owned by input dealers and majority of the farmers were growing the chilli variety “Teja”. The Supply Utilization Account (SUA) published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) was used to analyse the quantity flows of chilli along the value chain in India. In 2018-19, the production of chilli in India was 18,08,011 tonnes, out of which, 12,52,823 tonnes were used for consumption. The opening stock was 8,87,466 tonnes and the import and export quantities were 1,361 tonnes and 3,86,276 tonnes respectively. The closing stock in the country was 10,13,683 tonnes. The estimated weighted average of cost A incurred for chilli cultivation in the sample districts was computed as ₹3,33,459 per ha. The weighted average value of cost B and C for chilli cultivation in these districts were ₹3,98,014 per ha and ₹4,67,610 per ha respectively. The highest values for all the three costs were found in Guntur, whereas it was the least for Mahabubabad district. The major share of input-wise cost incurred for cultivation of chilli in all the districts under study was accounted by hired human labour and was followed byfamily labour. The weighted average of net returns estimated at cost A, B and C were ₹4,69,312 per III ha, ₹4,13,339 per ha and ₹3,44,097 per ha respectively. The B-C ratio for chilli cultivation at cost A varied between the highest value of 2.66 for Guntur and the lowest value of 2.09 for Mahabubabad. The B-C ratio for chilli cultivation at cost B was found to be highest (2.2) in Guntur, while it was lowest (1.83) in Mahabubabad. Similarly, B-C ratio at cost C varied between 1.90 in Guntur and 1.48 in Mahabubabad. The price spread in marketing of chilli was found to be highest in channel IV for dry chilli, while in the case of chilli powder, channel III had the highest price spread. The producer’s share in consumer’s rupee was highest (80.89 per cent) and the price spread was found to be the least (₹27.29/kg) in channel II for dry chilli, while for chilli powder the producer’s share in consumer’s rupee was highest (60.89 per cent) and the price spread was found to be the least (₹89.45/kg) in channel V. The marketing efficiency for dry chilli was found to be highest in channel I due to low marketing cost, and it was highest for chilli powder in channel V as the price paid by the consumer in this channel was the highest. The scarcity of labour was identified as the most important constraint in the production and marketing of chilli and high labour charges as well as price volatility were identified as the other important constraints. Lack of infrastructural facilities like storage and processing were identified as the most significant constraint faced by the intermediaries. The major constraint faced by chilli exporters was highly volatile international price, and in the case of processors, the lack of infrastructure was identified as the major constraint. As SPS measures were the major NTMs in International trade, the quality of Indian chilli should be ensured by encouraging the farmers to adopt Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), while the processors should be motivated to implement Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). Development of proper warehousing facilities is essential for scientific storage of chilli as absence of proper storage facilities was reported as a major constraint. The chilli prices were highly volatile and hence the recommendation of Minimum Support Price (MSP) or possibility for making a price deficiency payment to the farmers based on a realistically estimated base price need to be explored. The dissemination of timely marketing intelligence is necessary to help the farmers to decide on the time of harvest, period of storage and place of sales. Indian chilli exports were found to be concentrated on few products and the country needs to explore the possibilities for value addition and product diversification which will help the farmers to move up in the value chain. India needs to develop trade policies to sustain as well as increase the share in stable export markets of chilli and must make efforts to enter non-traditional markets.ThesisItem Open Access Economic analysis of production, marketing and price behaviour of cocoa in Kerala(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, 2022) Anila, V S; KAU; Anil, KuruvilaCocoa (Theobroma cacao) is one of the important plantation crops which is widely cultivated for its delicious beans. In India, cocoa is cultivated intensively in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The demand of cocoa is growing at 15 per cent every year but there is no corresponding increase in production. The present study entitled ‘Economic analysis of production, marketing and price behaviour of cocoa in Kerala’ analysed the major trends in area, production and productivity of cocoa in India and Kerala; examined the price behaviour of cocoa; estimated the economics of cocoa production; calculated the efficiency of marketing channels and identified the major constraints in production and marketing of cocoa. The study was based on both primary and secondary data. Idukki and Ernakulam districts were purposively selected for the study as these districts accounted for about 90 per cent and 10 per cent respectively of the area under cocoa in Kerala during 2018- 19. From Idukki district, 108 samples were selected and 12 samples were selected from Ernakulam district based on proportionate sampling, thus making the total sample size of 120. The data was also collected from 20 village traders, five wholesalers and three processors. The area under cocoa cultivation in India progressively increased from 11,900 ha in 1993-94 to 98,000 ha in 2019-20, resulting in a concomitant increase in production from 6,700 tonnes to 26,000 tonnes even with a decline in productivity from 0.6 t/ha to 0.4t/ha during the study period. In Kerala, the area increased from 10,500 ha in 1978- 79 to 13,891 ha in 2018-19, whereas the production increased from 500 tonnes to 13,400 tonnes during the same period. The productivity of cocoa in Kerala improved from 0.047 tonnes per ha in 1978-79 to 0.96 tonnes per ha in 2018-19. The development plans for cocoa implemented in 2005 under the National Horticultural Mission and the subsequent area expansion schemes implemented in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh during 2005-06 could be the major factors responsible for the increase in area under cocoa in India. The adoption of superior hybrids released by Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) and Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) by the farmers as well as the training programmes under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) in 2014 has resulted in improvement in production and productivity of cocoa in India. ii The trend analysis indicated that the prices of cocoa have witnessed a sustained increase in international markets during the period from 1980-81 to 2018-19. The analysis of the seasonal variations showed that the international prices remained comparatively low during the months of April and May and, the peak price was observed during September. The prices of cocoa in all the major markets of Kerala showed similarly increasing trend during the period from 2005-06 to 2021-22. The prices in Kerala were found to be the lowest during the months from August to October, while were highest during the months of April and May. The cyclical and irregular variations in prices of cocoa in international as well as Kerala markets were found to be insignificant. The establishment cost of cocoa was worked as ₹1,78,022 per hectare and ₹2,10,150 per hectare in Idukki and Ernakulam districts respectively. The weighted average establishment cost for cocoa was estimated as ₹1,80,813 per ha. The costs incurred during the early bearing, yield stabilising and yield declining phases were ₹50,904, ₹80,916 and ₹56,925 per ha per year in Idukki and, ₹36,925, ₹52,525 and ₹8,400 per ha per year in Ernakulam respectively. The aggregate maintenance cost for cocoa cultivation was worked out as ₹67,365. The total cost of cultivation for cocoa was estimated as ₹86,649 per ha. The cost of production for wet cocoa beans was found to be ₹70 per kg, while the cost of production for dry cocoa beans was estimated as ₹225 per kg. The efficiency of cocoa cultivation was analysed using the Cobb Douglas production function analysis and the cost incurred on plant protection chemicals, cost incurred on manures and age of the tree were found significantly influencing the returns from cocoa at one per cent level of significance. The ratio of MVP to price for manure was found to be 66.74, whereas for plant protection chemicals it was found to be 0.73 and this indicated that the plant protection chemicals were overutilised, whereas manure was underutilised in cocoa cultivation. Nearly 70 per cent of the farmers in the study area sold cocoa to the village traders, while 20 per cent of the respondents marketed the produce directly to the exporters. Eight major marketing channels were identified in the study area. The highest producer’s price of ₹180 was found in channel V and VII, whereas the lowest producer’s price of ₹35 was observed in channels II, III and VI. The marketing iii efficiency in all the channels under study were found to be very low due to high marketing costs incurred, increased marketing margins extracted by the intermediaries and the involvement of large number of intermediaries in the marketing of cocoa. The price spread was found to be the least while marketing cocoa as dry beans as compared to marketing as other processed cocoa products. The producer’s share in consumer’s rupee was found to be the highest in channel V and channel VII as compared to other channels, in which farmers were selling cocoa as dry beans. The high incidence of phytophthora was found to be the most serious constraint affecting the yield and returns from cocoa. The other major constraints included the damage caused by tea mosquito bug, attack of rodent and mammalian pests, yield decline due to climate change, difficulty involved in spraying operations and low price of the product. Provision of proper training for cocoa farmers; directing farmers to apply plant protection chemicals, manures and fertilizers as per recommended doses; arranging common drying facilities for farmers and setting up standards for grading and pricing are recommended to address the constraints faced by farmers. Also, if government procurement is done and MSP is announced, it will definitely help the farmers to earn stable and remunerative prices, which will in turn motivate the farmers to expand the area under cocoa cultivation. Farmers should be encouraged to form Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) so that the operations like spraying of plant protection chemicals, drying and processing can be carried out collectively and thereby help in lowering the cost.ThesisItem Open Access Implications of trade agreements on India's trade in black pepper and its products(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, 2022) Sachu, Sara Sabu; KAU; Anil, KuruvillaBlack pepper is one of the most traded spices in the world. The exports of black pepper from India as a share of world exports almost halved from 15.1 per cent in Triennium Ending (TE) 1992 to 7.8 per cent in TE 2017. India became one of the major importers of black pepper, accounting for a share of 7.4 per cent in world imports during 2018. In this context, the present study was undertaken with the objectives, to analyse the trade performance of Indian black pepper and its products, study the dynamics in the trade policies and tariff structure of black pepper, analyse the impact of multilateral and regional trade agreements on trade, ascertain the Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) affecting black pepper exports from India, estimate the measures of trade competitiveness and to identify the constraints faced by producers and exporters in increasing the competitiveness and exports of Indian black pepper. The rate of growth in black pepper exports decreased in the post-2000 period as compared to the pre-2000 period, whereas the import growth has increased in the same period. The instability of black pepper exports has increased in the post-2000 period, while that of imports decreased during the same period. The export unit value contributed 96.77 per cent growth in the export value of black pepper between preand post-2000 periods. The commodity concentration of black pepper exports from India was high in pre-2000 period and became more diversified in the post-2000 period. The exports of black pepper neither crushed nor ground from India were diversified to different countries after 2000, whereas the crushed or ground black pepper exports were concentrated to few markets in both the periods. The Markov chain analysis showed that number of stable export markets for black pepper neither crushed nor ground have increased after 2000 and USA, Sweden, Canada, Turkey, Switzerland and Spain were found to be the stable markets in the post-2000 period. USA was the most stable market for crushed or ground Indian black pepper in all the periods. The trade complementarity of black pepper neither crushed nor ground was found to be less when compared to crushed or ground black pepper. The estimated import demand function showed that the import demand for Indian black pepper increased with the increase in the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of the importing countries and the import price, whereas it was found to decrease in the post-2000 period. The estimated export supply function showed that the international price and II Indian production of black pepper were found to be positively influencing the export supply, while post-2000 period was found to be negatively affecting the export supply. The trade policy changes in India have affected the trade of black pepper and the major implication was on the imports of black pepper to India, which has increased after 2000 due to the removal of quantitative restrictions and reduction of tariffs on black pepper. The Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) that are having implications on Indian black pepper trade are Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISLFTA), South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA). The RTAs have caused a significant increase in India’s imports of black pepper from Sri Lanka and ASEAN countries. The SMART model showed that the tariff reduction under AIFTA increased the imports of black pepper from ASEAN countries after 2000 and it created a trade creation effect of 19.36 lakh US$, in which Indian consumers were benefitted by low-priced imports of black pepper from ASEAN. Even though there was an increase in black pepper imports from Sri Lanka to India, the ISLFTA and SAFTA caused trade diversion of 14,226 US$ among the non-member countries as compared to trade creation of 11,147 US$ between India and Sri Lanka and the agreements were found to be in favour of Sri Lanka. The interrupted time series analysis showed that the increase in black pepper imports to India after SAFTA was less when compared to increase in imports after ISLFTA. The NTMs imposed by the importing countries affected the black pepper exports from India. As the number of NTMs initiated by the importing country increases in a particular year, the export quantity of black pepper from India was found to decrease in the subsequent year. The values of Nominal Protection Coefficient (NPC) and Effective Protection Coefficient (EPC) were greater than one, which indicated that the export of black pepper from India was non-competitive in the international market. The major constraints faced by the producers were price volatility and disease and, pest incidence, while the constraints faced by exporters were price volatility, stiff competition from other countries and inadequate storage facilities. The trade policy measures to regulate black pepper imports to India should include bringing black pepper under the exclusion list in trade agreements, implementing a safeguard mechanism from surge in imports by imposing additional III tariffs on the basis of volume and price triggers, strictly verifying the country of origin of imported black pepper and monitoring the Advance Authorization Scheme. To increase the awareness of exporters on SPS and TBT measures specific to black pepper, the details of NTMs imposed by major importers of black pepper need to be published. In order to enhance the export competitiveness of Indian black pepper, farmers should be encouraged to increase the productivity and reduce the per unit cost of production. The country also needs to formulate trade policies for stable export markets and develop strategies for gaining entry into non-traditional markets. A market intelligence system with a crop specific price stabilization mechanism and provision for price deficiency payment ought to be developed to tackle the volatility in black pepper prices.ThesisItem Open Access Economic analysis of production and marketing of turmeric in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2022) Akkidasari, Venkata Rao; KAU; Thasnimol, FThe present study entitled “An economic analysis of production and marketing of turmeric in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh” was carried out in Palakkad district of Kerala and Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. The specific objectives of the study were to study economics, input use pattern and resource use efficiency of turmeric cultivation in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, to estimate the marketing efficiency and to analyse the constraints in production and marketing of turmeric. Both primary and secondary data were used to examine the specific objectives of the study. Palakkad district and Visakhapatnam district were purposively selected as these districts were the major producer of turmeric in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, respectively.Alathur and Kuzhalmannam blocks of Palakkad district and Chinthapalli and G Madugula blocks of Visakhapatnam districts were purposively selected based on high acreage and production of turmeric. From the selected block panchayath, one grama panchayath was selected based on high acreage and production of turmeric. Finally, 35 farmers were randomly selected from the selected panchayats in the Visakhapatnam district, and 15 farmers were randomly selected from the selected panchayats in the Palakkad district. Apart from these, 10 market intermediaries from Palakkad district and 20 from Visakhapatnam district were selected to elicit market-related information. The total operational cost of turmeric was Rs. 1,74,430 in Palakkad district and Rs. 1,14,022 in Visakhapatnam district. In total operational cost, 71.63 per cent was attributed to the labour cost in Palakkad district, whereas it was 42.19 per cent in Visakhapatnam district. The low share of labour cost was mainly due to the low wage rate prevailing in the Visakhapatnam region. The total fixed cost for the cultivation of turmeric was Rs. 26,794 in Palakkad and Rs. 10,480 in Visakhapatnam. The gross income from turmeric was Rs. 2,70,000 in Palakkad district, whereas it was Rs. 1,68,000 in Visakhapatnam district. The total cost of cultivation (cost C) of turmeric incurred by the farmers in Palakkad and Visakhapatnam districts was observed to be Rs. 2,01,224ha-1 and Rs. 1,24,410ha-1 respectively. The net return at cost C for Palakkad and Visakhapatnam farmers was Rs. 68,775 ha1 and Rs. 43,589 ha1 , respectively. The estimated Benefit- Cost (BC) ratio was almost equal in both districts i.e., 1.34 in Palakkad and 1.35 in Visakhapatnam district. Analysis of input use patterns in turmeric cultivation revealed that the total labour required to perform various operations in turmeric cultivation was 241 man-days and 160 man-days, respectively, for Palakkad and Visakhapatnam districts. In Palakkad district, the major labour absorbing operation was harvesting and it accounted for about 34.69 per cent of total labour requirement, followed by land preparation, curing, and intercultural operations. Similarly, in the Visakhapatnam district, harvesting operation also required more number labours and it accounted for 27.72 per cent of the total workforce, followed by planting, weeding, and irrigation. Resource use efficiency in turmeric cultivation was estimated using the Cobb-Douglas production function, and it was fitted separately for Palakkad and Visakhapatnam districts. In Palakkad district, the independent variables like area, number of labourers, farmyard manure and muriate of potash were significantly and positively affected the yield of turmeric. While in Visakhapatnam district, area, seed and machine service were significantly and positively influenced the yield of turmeric. Allocative efficiency was examined to know whether the resources in the farm were efficiently utilized or not. Marginal productivity analysis showed that resources like farmyard manure, labour and muriate of potash were underutilized, whereas the resources like factomphos and lime were over-utilized in Palakkad district. Similarly, in the Visakhapatnam district, seed and machine services were having greater potentiality for further use as these resources were underutilized in the study area. Among the two identified channels in Palakkad district, channel-II (Producers - Trader cum semi processors - Processor cum primary wholesaler- Retailers) was the most preferred channel among producers due to its relatively low marketing cost, marketing margin and high marketing efficiency. Three marketing channels were identified in the Visakhapatnam district. Among three, Channel I (Producer- village merchant- trader cum semi processor- processor cum semi wholesaler- retailer- consumer) was the predominant marketing channel in the study area. Although Channel I was the dominant marketing channel, Channel III (Producer- trader cum semi processor- processor cum semi wholesaler- retailer- consumer) was the most efficient channel due to its low marketing cost and marketing margin. High wage rates and shortage of labour were considered as the major production constraints faced by the turmeric farmers in the Palakkad district. While in Visakhapatnam district, lack of remunerative price and lack of suitable machinery services for different operations were the major production constraints faced by the farmers. In the case of marketing, price fluctuations and inadequate storage and marketing facilities were the important constraints faced by the farmers and traders. Turmeric cultivation is found to be profitable in both districts, hence government may take suitable measures to bring more land under turmeric cultivation through area expansion programmes and such other programmes. To address the problem of labour shortage, incorporate agricultural operations in the ‘MGNREGA’ programme and may also be addressed with the use of low-cost machinery hence policies may be formulated to provide suitable machinery for the farmers through respective Krishi Bhavans. Strengthen the infrastructure facilities near the production sites and facilitate the farmers to perform on-farm post-harvest handling operations through the formation of several Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs). The establishment of a regulated market in the Visakhapatnam district may help the farmers to realize a better price for the produce by eliminating the involvement of market mediators.ThesisItem Open Access Dynamics of fertilizer consumption and its marketing: a comparative study in two states of south India(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, 2022) Ankitha Thakur; KAU; Prema, AMore than half of India's population relies on agriculture for survival. According to the Economic Survey 2020-21, agriculture and related industries contributed 17.8 per cent of the country's Gross Value Added (GVA) at current prices in 2019-20, The country's most challenging problem currently is maintaining a balance between population boom and agricultural production. The fertilizer industry in India has been under strict governmental control for most of the period since independence. The Government of India declared fertilizer as an essential commodity and notified the Fertilizer Control Order (FCO) in 1957. Major controls on prices and distribution of fertilizers were introduced in 1973 under the Fertilizer Movement Control Order. The Retention Price cum Subsidy Scheme (RPS) was introduced in 1977 for encouraging investment in the fertilizer sector. The economic reforms of 1991 paved way for many policy changes and it also resulted in the formation of several committees. Price of fertilizers were deregulated and new schemes like New Pricing Scheme (NPS) and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) were introduced. The growth trend in the chemical fertilizer production and consumption was studied. The results showed that in the year 1950-51, the all-India consumption of N, P2O5, K2O fertilizers was 55.0, 8.8 and 6.0 (‘000 tonnes) respectively. In the 1990s, the total fertilizer consumption varied between 12.15 and 16.8 million tonnes. In 2007-08, the total consumption outreach was 22.5 million tonnes. The total estimated nutrient consumption for 2019-20 (N+P2O5+K2O) was 29.04 million metric tonnes. Fertilizer production in India has increased at a rapid rate i.e., 38.7 thousand tonnes in 1951-52 to about 17.9 million tonnes in 2015-16. Fertilizer production increased modestly by 3.3 per cent to 18.5 million tonnes (N+P2O5) in 2019-20. The production of fertilizers accompanied by the imports in the country have resulted in high fertilizer use by the farmers. The gap between the domestic consumption and production was also studied and the results indicated a deficit (1.31) in the total production and consumption. Forecasting for the next 6 years from 2020-21 to 2025- 26 was also carried out and it showed an increasing trend in both consumption and production for all the major chemical fertilizers. A comparative analysis of fertilizers usage and its marketing in Kerala and Telangana was also studied. Two districts with the highest area under paddy was purposively selected. Two panchayats from each block were randomly selected. The sample included 120 farmers and 20 traders. Second order polynomial regression was carried out to analyse the effect of consumption of N, P and K on the yield. Fisher’s t test was also performed to know whether there is any significant difference between the consumption of N, P, K and yield in the two study areas. It was found that consumption of N and P fertilizers were different in the two states. Yield was found to be higher in Telangana. The consumption of K fertilizers was more or less equal. A significant value of Kendall’s coefficient of concordance showed that there existed strong agreement among the respondents to rank the various brands of fertilizers. It was found that IFFCO fertilizers was preferred in Telangana and in Kerala it was FACT. The marketing system of fertilizers in India is based on the Direct Benefit Transfer system. All subsidised fertilizers are sold to farmers/buyers through Point of Sale (PoS) devices installed in each retailer shop. Dealers must sell fertilizers through PoS devices under the Aadhaar enabled Fertilizers Distribution System (AeFDS). The web-based Integrated Fertilizer Management System keeps track of fertilizer sales (iFMS). The marketing channels in the two states were studied and it revealed that fertilizers in Kerala are mostly distributed to the farmers via the co-operative banks (PACS) to Padashekara samithis. The farmers in Telangana mostly purchased fertilizers from retail shops. There also exists another channel wherein the TS MARKFED supplies fertilizers to various institutes through which farmers avail fertilizers. The fertilizer industry in India is dominated by the co-operative and private companies. IFFCO is one of the largest fertilizer co-operatives as well as producers of fertilizers in India. SWOC analysis of IFFCO showed that the cooperative nature and new venture and businesses of IFFCO are few of its major strengths. Rigid organizational sector and slow feedback are some of its weaknesses. Opportunities include increasing the installation capacity and energy efficient plants. High competition from other private and public companies and government regulations are the major challenges. Chemical fertilizers have made a substantial contribution to India's food grain self-sufficiency. Only by studying individual farm usage can a clearer picture of the country's fertilizer consumption pattern be identified. In order to increase agricultural growth and encourage balanced nutrient application, fertilizers must be made available to farmers at reasonable prices which in turn lead to enhancement of agricultural productivity.
