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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Open Access
Indebtedness of farmers: a study of farmer borrowers of primary agriculctural credit societies in Palakkad district of Kerala state
(Department of Rural Banking and Finance Management,College of Co-operation,Banking &Management, Vellanikkara, 2010) Sowmya, K C; KAU; Lizy, M A
The study entitled “Indebtedness of farmers: A study of farmers borrowers of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies in Palakkad District was conducted to examine the factors that contribute to the problems of indebtedness among the farmers in Palakkad District and to suggest the measures to be taken to solve the problems. The study was conducted among two PACS of Palakkad District viz., Peruvemba Service Co-operative Bank (PACS 1) and Polpully Service Co-operative Bank (PACS 2). The sample size included 90 respondents i.e., 45 borrowers from each PACS at random, of which 76.67 per cent were defaulters and rest were nondefaulters. Ten officials (including President and Secretary) from each PACS were also interviewed to collect information on the effectiveness of the loan operation system of the PACS. Secondary data on selected performance indicators of the PACS were also used for the study. Statistical tools like Average Annual Growth Rate (AAGR), simple averages, percentages, simple growth rate, simple correlation, efficiency index, priority index and bi-variate tables were used for the analysis. The analysis revealed that inadequacy of income, natural calamities and crop failures, non availability of labourers and high wages were the main reasons for indebtedness. Faith in loan waiver or write off policy, non institutional loan and high interest rate, defective loan policies, illness of borrower or family members, ceremonies, fixation of unrealistic due and lack of access to consumption loans and diversification of income have also been pointed out as reasons behind increasing indebtedness of farmers. The study revealed that procedural delays, lack of adequate securities to hypothecate, misutilisation of loans and inadequate income restricted the borrowers from getting timely loans. It was further observed that defective loaning policy, conspicuous consumption and illness of family members as well as hope for loan write-off policy were the other reasons behind non-repayment by borrowers. Majority of the defaulters opined that the loan amount provided by PACS were insufficient to meet the project cost there by forcing the borrowers to approach other sources for finance. This inturn puts an additional burden on farmers. From the interbank comparison on the effectiveness of the present loan operation system, it was found that the loan operation system of PACS (1) is least efficient and in the case of PACS (2) it is moderately efficient. The overall performance of PACS, commitment of BODs, management, member relations, intrabank relations were appreciable. But in the opinion of the bank officials, Presidents and Secretaries there was something more to be perfected in the existing loan operation system. According to the officials and employees of PACS, the reasons for indebtedness include natural calamities, high cost of cultivation, insufficient income from agriculture, non availability of labourers etc. The mounting overdues affecting the net profit position of PACS. Misutilisation of loan due to inadequate staff for field supervision and loan appraisal was yet another problem as far as the PACS were concerned. The effectiveness of any scheme to a greater extent is correlated to the number of visits made by the bank officials to the beneficiaries. There exist a drastic need for skilled personnel for field supervision and loan appraisal. It is obvious that co-operatives are still following traditional methods and techniques of management, which has to be replaced by modern measures of management and accounting.
Open Access
Prediction of futures prices of rubber
(Department of Rural Banking and Finance Management, College of Co-operation, Banking and Management, Vellanikkara, 2009) Anjaly, K N; KAU; Molly Joseph
The present study entitled “PREDICTION OF FUTURES PRICES OF RUBBER” was conducted with the following objectives i) to examine the price movements of rubber futures through NMCE; ii) to predict the rubber futures prices and iii) to compare the forecasting performance of univariate and multivariate models. Futures trading perform two important functions - price discovery and hedging of price risk, hence an effort to predict the futures prices of rubber, a predominant crop of Kerala, is of contemporary significance to the rubber growers and traders. The study was based on secondary data. Futures prices of daily open, low, high, close and spot and volume traded of rubber were collected for a period from April 2003 to August 2008 from National Multi Commodity Exchange. The daily data were converted into monthly averages for the analysis. The price movements of rubber futures have been examined using ordinary line graph, correlation, candlestick chart, Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) and ANOVA. Correlation has been found inorder to measure the relation between the domestic rubber prices and the crude oil prices. ANOVA was used to find the significance in the growth rate of rubber prices over different time periods. Prediction of futures prices of rubber has been done using the Multiple Linear Regression, Principal Component Analysis and ARIMA and the results of these models were compared to measure the forecasting performance of these models. The price movements of rubber futures using the line graph showed that both the spot and futures prices were highly related and hence prediction of one with the other is possible. Rubber is an internationally traded commodity and the hike in the rubber prices globally influence the domestic the rubber pries. Moreover the rise in the crude oil prices influenced the natural rubber prices, since the movements of domestic rubber prices and the crude oil prices showed a positive correlation. The volumes traded were also fluctuating over the years. The ban on futures trading in rubber drastically reduced the volume traded due to loss of investors’ confidence. Candlestick chart showed that the prices were fluctuating with bullish, bearish and neutral trend. Even though the rubber prices increased, the growth rate of rubber prices and volume traded over the years revealed a lower annualized gain making it clear that there was no abnormal hike in the rubber prices. Hence the rise in rubber prices cannot be attributed to futures trading. The prediction of futures prices of rubber were done by different forecasting models, viz., ARIMA, MLR and PCA. MLR got R square and adjusted R square of 92.1 per cent and 91.5 per cent both values showing the significance of the model for predicting the futures prices. Even though the value of R square is very high none of the regression coefficients were significant in the multiple linear regression model. This might be due to the multicollinearity of the independent variables viz; open, high, low and volume traded which are highly correlated. Hence the principal component analysis was done. The R square and Adjusted R square for the regression equation fitted using the Principal components as regressor are 91.7 per cent and 91.6 per cent respectively. So with P1 ie., the first component generated using open price, it was able to predict 91.7 per cent of the variation in the close price of rubber futures. The ARIMA results got R square of 99 per cent wth MAPE 1.97 per cent indicating that the forecasting inaccuracy was very low and the Normalized Bayesian Criteria (BIC) of 10.478 indicated goodness of fit of the model and the accuracy of the prediction. While comparing the results of MLR, PCA and ARIMA, it was found ARIMA performed better in prediction. Also the forecasting errors of ARIMA were negligible indicating the forecasting efficiency of the model. Hence the study concluded that the univariate model outperforms the multivariate model with better accuracy in prediction.
Open Access
Impact of institutional interventions for promotion of rice farming in Thrissur district
(Department of rural banking and finance management, College of cooperation, banking and management, Vellanikkara, 2014) Sreelakshmi, C C; KAU; Molly Joseph
Institution is an effective instrument for economic development. Rice being the staple food of Kerala and rice farming as the livelihood of sizeable number of people, deteriorating rice cultivation demands immediate state intervention. Institutional support system for input supply, production process and marketing can positively promote and protect rice farming. The study entitled ‗Impact of institutional interventions for promotion of rice farming in Thrissur District‘ was conducted with the objectives of (a) examining the developmental programmes/ schemes of various governmental and other institutions for the promotion of rice farming in Kerala, (b) analysing the impact of developmental schemes of various institutions on the net income of the farmers and (c) analysing the constraints of rice farmers so as to suggest policy measures for the promotion of rice farming. Ninety respondents consisting of 30 each from three panchayats of Thrissur district viz., Pazhayannur, Adat and Mundathikode were selected as the sample size through multi stage random sampling method. Data were collected through pre-tested structured interview schedule. The critical variables of the study were the institutions and their schemes, various assistance to rice farmers, demographic details of respondents, volume and cost of cultivation, net income, sources and uses of credit, marketing agencies for rice procurement and constraints of rice farming. The major statistical tools used for the study were Chi-square test, Paired t-test, ANOVA test, Post-hoc test for multiple comparison, Cobb-Douglas production function and Mann-Whitney U test. Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), New York coordinate and cooperate with various countries to promote rice farming at the international level. International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the most important rice development institution under CGIAR. Department of Agriculture under Government of India is the pivotal, around which the whole national programmes for rice farming revolves especially Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) with components of High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds, fertilisers and other assistance to paddy development. Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, has contributed remarkably to HYV seeds in rice in the country. Commercial banks have immensely supported the voluminous credit needs of rice farming in the country, especially through Kisan Credit Cards and Interest Subvention Schemes. At the state level, institutions working for rice farming are State Department of Agriculture, Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (SUPPLYCO), Co-operative banks and Kerala Agricultural University (KAU). The Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy is operated through SUPPLYCO. Cooperatives, in addition to the programmes of State/ local governments, have their own schemes for rice farmers. KAU is a premier institution for rice farmers in the State. Krishi Vigyan Kendras, and Krishi Bhavans are also important institutions engaged in rice development. Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) is a major non - governmental agency involved in promoting rice farming. Second objective of the study is to measure the impact of institutional interventions on net income of farmers by supporting production, credit and marketing activities. All the respondents availed assistance under RKVY and Sustainable Development of Rice (SDR) schemes for seeds, fertiliser, training and information. It is found that seed component of SDR and RKVY made positive shift among rice farmers to HYVs in cultivation. Paired t-test was employed to analyse the impact of seed subsidy, which is statistically significant at five per cent level. Cobb-Douglas production function used for analysis with gross income as dependent variable and seed, labour, fertiliser and herbicide as independent variables, observed that labour and seeds are important determinants of income. It implies that seed subsidy has promoted rice production. Private agencies like money lenders are also prominent among rice farmers. Commercial banks are found to be providing higher per capita credit to farmers in all the three study areas. Cobb-Douglas production model was fitted by taking total production as a function of Gross Cropped Area and credit. It was noted that credit is a highly significant determinant in production. With respect to marketing, MSP gave confidence to farmers to produce by ensured procurement price and also by stabilising the open market prices. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare farmers marketing to SUPPLYCO for MSP and to private agencies. Significant difference was found between income of farmers who are supplying their produce to SUPPLYCO and that of supplying to private agencies. Open ended questions were administered to respondents to analyse the third objective of constraints in rice farming. The responses were classified into four categories, viz., (a) production, (b) finance, (c) marketing and (d) institutional constraints. . Lack of availability of skilled labourers, high wage levels and attack of pests and diseases are the most important production problems. Inclusion of rice farming operations under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) can reduce the problem of availability of labour and high wage levels. Adoption and practice of IPM techniques can reduce the major production problems of pests, diseases and weed. Lack of availability of timely and adequate credit is the major financial constraint faced by the farmers. Provision of timely interest free loans and interest subsidies, in adequate amounts will attract more farmers to rice farming. In marketing, delay in realisation of cash from sale proceeds to SUPPLYCO is the important problem, which leads to delayed repayment of credit from private agencies at exhorbitant rate of interest. If the system of ‗linking of credit with marketing‘ followed by Adat Service Co-operative Bank is replicated to the other areas, this problem can be solved to a large extent. The convergence of all subsidies for rice cultivation and strengthening of existing paddy development agencies can reduce the institutional constraints. The study reveals that higher positive institutional interventions has led to increase in productivity, reduction in cost of cultivation, increase in net income and easy accessibility to subsidies, interest free loans and marketing facilities, as evident in the case of Adat Service Co-operative Bank. Institutions are instruments of growth. Institutional interventions to support farmers by ways of seed subsidy, MSP and interest subvention have been found to be influencing the net income of farmers positively. The support system has also protected and promoted not only the production and product price but instilled confidence in the minds of farmers and insulated the market against uncertainty. Hence institutions are inalienable input to inspire and insulate the economy. But existing constraints in rice farming showed there are miles to go to provide economic independence to rice farmers.
Open Access
Commodity futures - A study of online trading in rubber
(Department of Rural Banking and Finance Management, College of Co operation and Management, Vellanikkara, 2007) Anu, S Nair; KAU; Padmini, E V K
The present study entitled “COMMODITY FUTURES A STUDY OF ONLINE TRADING IN RUBBER” was conducted with the following objectives. 1) To examine the price movements of rubber futures through National Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (NMCE). 2) To assess the impact of futures trading on farming decisions of rubber farmers; and 3) To identify the determinants of online trading by rubber farmers. Primary and secondary data have been used for the study. Daily data of rubber futures in NMCE and the corresponding spot prices were collected from the website of NMCE. The data regarding the area production, yield, export, import, major producing countries and major consuming countries were collected from the souvenir of publications of Rubber Board, Economic Survey and website of tire review. Primary data to analyse the impact of futures trading and to identify the determinants were collected using a structured interview schedule. The sample respondents constituted 33 trading farmers from the districts of Kottayam, Palakkad and Thrissur and another group of 33 non-trading farmers from the district of Kottayam. The trend in area production, and yield were analysed using compound growth rate and percentage change over the previous year. The compound growth rate of area under rubber is found to be 8.2 per cent during the period 1950-51 to 2004-05. Although in absolute terms production has been increasing, there has been a decreasing trend since 1999-2000 till 2001-02. The compound growth rate of production comes to 16.36 per cent. The productivity of natural rubber recorded a continuous growth over the period except in 1999-2000 to 2001-02. The compound growth rate for yield works out to 7.47 per cent. A look into the global natural rubber scenario revealed that Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia are the leading producers and they together constitute about 77 per cent of the global production. India is the fourth largest producer and consumer of natural rubber. China tops the list of consuming countries. The major exporters are Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia and the major importers are China, USA and Japan. The analysis of the commodity derivatives market in India revealed that out of the three National Commodity Exchanges, National Multi Commodity exchange is the first exchange. All these three exchanges are multi commodity exchanges. The commodity exchanges are regulated by forward markets commission which is coming under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, food and nutrition. To analyse the objective of examining the price movements of rubber futures through NMCE the co-integration technique is used. The results revealed that the futures prices of two months prior to delivery (F2) one month prior to delivery (F1) and delivery month (F0) are efficient in predicting the spot prices of rubber and prediction using futures price three months prior to delivery (F3) is not effective. The impact of futures trading on the farm management practices of the rubber farmers were analysed using simple percentages and averages. The study revealed that there is no change in any of the activity undertaken by the rubber farmers before and after commencement of futures trading. The non-trading farmers are enjoying the economics of large scale operations. Also the only positive change of the futures trading is their awareness about the storing facilities available at Central Warehousing Corporation eventhough they are not using that facility. The influence of private traders in marketing the product is as high as Rubber co-operative Marketing Society and Rubber Producers Society. No exploitation was faced by any of the farmers as they are educated farming community having better bargaining power. The futures trading could not make a considerable impact on the farming decisions of rubber farmers because they are not at all interested in delivery and so they are least bothered about the underlying asset. They consider futures trading as an avenue for speculation where they can bet on the price movements. For identifying the determinants of online trading by rubber farmers, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was applied. Accessibility to trading terminal, awareness creation and computer literacy were found the most important determinants of futures trading. There are some differences in the ranks assigned by trading and non-trading members. Availability of warehousing facility, procedure formalities and speculative nature were found least important determinants. Starting of terminal outlets in remote areas, extensive campaign for awareness creation about futures trading and computer education to remove the aversion towards screen based trading will attract move number of participants to futures trading. Compulsory delivery of the underlying asset is to be enforced by the regulatory authorities to make the real farmers the beneficiaries of futures trading and thereby ensuring a remunerative price.
Open Access
Loan recovery management in primary co-operative agricultural and rural development banks in Kerala
(Department of Rural Banking and Finance Management, College of Co-operation Banking and Management, Vellanikkara, 2004) Renjitha, N T; KAU; Lizy, M A
The study entitled "Loan Recovery Management in Primary Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Banks in Kerala" was conducted to examine the effectiveness of the existing loan recovery management of Primary Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Banks in Kerala and to identify the factors influencing recovery. The study was conducted among four PCARDBs of Ernakulam and Thrissur district viz., Kanayannur CARDB (B 1), Ernakulam CARDB (B2), Cochin CARDB (B3) and Irinjalakuda CARDB (B4). The sample size included 80 respondents i.e., 20 borrowers from each bank at random, of which 15 were defaulters and five were non-defaulters or prompt repayers. Ten officials (including secretaries and BODs) from each bank were also interviewed to collect information on the effectiveness of the loan recovery system of the banks. Secondary data on selected performance indicators of the banks were also used for the study. Statistical tools like AAGR, simple averages, percentages, simple growth rate, simple correlation, efficiency index, priority index and bi-variate tables were used for the analysis. The analysis on the overdue amount of the selected PCARDBs, revealed that Cochin CARDB (B3) had the highest amount of overdues among all the banks, , during the reference period. Profits of all banks have eroded due to provisronmg for accumulated overdues. B4 has shown the best performance in terms of lower overdues and higher profitswhen compared to the other banks. An increase in the demand for nOI1- agricultural loans, particularly RHLs was found, which indicates a shift in the lending pattern. Overdues above four years were growing tremendously in all the banks. Most of the females were found to be prompt repayers. Inspite of having better education, the borrowers were creating huge overdues. This indicates the existence of wilful defaulters. The study found that the defaulters of all t11:;: banks except B4, having annual income above the subsistence level had higher am aunt of overdues, This highlights the fact that, even after having sufficient income, they were deliberately making dues as a result of the inefficient loan recovery management of the bank. The study revealed that procedural delays, lack of adequate securities to hypothecate, misutilisation of loans and inadequate income restricted the borrowers from getting timely loans. It was further observed that defective loaning policy, conspicuous consumption, and illness of family members as well as hope for 10a11 write-off policy were the other reasons behind non-repayment by borrowers. Misutilisation of loan amount was least in B4, which indicates the presence of effective supervision and monitoring mechanism in the bank. Loan amount was mainly diverted for meeting ceremonial expenses, consumption needs and educational expenses of children. The most serious problem in obtaining loam was revealed to be the procedural delay. From the inter-bank comparison on the effectiveness of the present loan recovery management system, it was found that B4 showed an outstanding performance in this regard, whereas B3 revealed to be the least efficient bank. According to the officials and employees of the banks, the reasons for poor recovery included lack of modern management techniques, lack of adequate staff training programmes, lack of infrastructural facilities and inefficiency of the legal machinery for recovering dues from borrowers. As a remedial measure to minimise overdues, coercive action against wilful defaulters and incentives for proper repayment must come into effect. For checking the rising trend of over dues in future, an effective loan appraisal as well as loan monitoring cell managed by professionals has to be established in each bank. The banks must put into effect the SARF AESI Ad, 2002 in order to bring a solution to the problem of overdues. The banks must therefore perceive that prolonged existence of this disease is not beneficial to the organisation and a strong mechanism to check this menace has to be created.
Open Access
Comparative analysis of the performance of Kerala based banks
(Department of Rural Banking and Finance Management, College of Co-operation, Banking and Management, Vellanikkara, 2002) Devika Mangsatabam; KAU; Molly Joseph
The study entitled "A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE PERFORMANCE OF KERALA BASED BANKS" was conducted with the following objectives . . i) To analyse the performance of Kerala based public, private and co-operative sector banks. ii) To compare the relative efficiency of these banks and iii) To examine the role of these banks in agricultural lending. The study was conducted in six out of the 10 Kerala based banks comprising of the State Bank of Tranvancore (SBT) and South Malabar Gramin Bank (SMBG) in the public sector, South Indian Bank (SIB), Dhanalakshmi Bank (DB) and Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) in the private sector, and Kerala State Co- operative Bank (KSCB) in the co-operative sector. The study was conducted for a period of six years from 1994-95 to 1999-00 using mainly secondary data made available from the Annual Reports of the banks concerned. The first and second objectives of analysing the performance of Kerala based public private and co-operative sector banks and comparison of the relative efficiency of these banks have been done by using three models viz., Return On Equity (ROE) Decomposition Analysis, Weighted Productivity Index and Market Share Concept. For -- assessing the efficiency of each bank using the Market Share Concept, data were collected from all the 10 banks. Data pertaining to agricultural lending were also collected from the concerned banks' head office for analysing the third objective. Based on the above indicators, individual performance of the banks were assessed and a Composite Index was developed to rank these banks. The study has revealed that CD ratio has been declining for all the Kerala based banks except SMGB. For all these banks, the rate of increase in advances has not been as high as that of deposits which might be due to diversion of deposits by banks like investment in government and other approved securities, shares and debentures. The analysis of the profitability and productivity of Kerala based banks on the basis of ROE Decomposition Analysis has revealed that KSCB'is the only bank which could not achieve the 16-20 per cent internationally accepted ROE and one per cent ROA. SMGB has performed well showing a continuous increase in ROE and ROA except in 1996-97 when these values were negative due to implementation of NPA norms. When compared to the national average, it was found that the performance of all the Kerala based banks except KSCB was better with respect to the three indicators viz., ROE, ROA and Equity Multiplier (EM). The Profit Margin (PM) of the Kerala based banks except for SMGB has been lower than the industry average which might be due to the fact that their income has been adversely affected by the high interest expended on deposits. The study has also revealed that interest expended on deposits for SMGB has been very low when compared to the other Kerala. based banks since the Bank had other sources of funds like refinance from sponsoring bank and other institutions. The percentage share of Provisions and Contingencies (P&C) to the total revenue has been found to be very low in the case of KSCB and S.rvlGB pointing to the lower NPAs in these two banks. Among the Kerala based banks, only SMGB could achieve the internationally accepted criteria of having a Net Interest Margin (NIM) of three per cent and above. However, the burden of this particular bank has been observed to be very high since its non-interest income is negligible. Analysis based on the Weighted Productivity Index (WPi) has revealed that KSCB achieved the highest performance in Employee Productivity (EPi), while SMGB had the lowest I Employee Productivity (EPi). The low staff productivity of SMGB might be due to drastic increase in wage bill as the implementation of the Award of the National Industrial Tribunal (NIT) gave pay parity in RRBs. The high Capital Productivity (CPi) of SMGB may be attributed to an increase in interest income and reduction in NPAs. The~e has been a general decline in CPi of the private sector banks - DB, SIB and CSB due to the higher provisioning for NP As. The market share of the branches, staff, non-deposit working funds and advances of the six Kerala based banks to the total of 10 banks has declined during the period of study. This may be attributed to the increase in the share of other Kerala based banks not included in the study like Federal Bank, Lord Krishna Bank and N edungadi Bank. The market share of SBT in branches, deposits, non- wage operating expenses and interest spread has declined consistently during the study period reflecting its declining prominence as the premier bank in the State. In the estimation of the efficiency level of Kerala based banks on Market Share Concept, it has been found that KSCB obtained the highest score followed by SBT and DB. SMGB, which had performed well in the other two models, performed the lowest as per this model. This may be attributed to the high share of branches and staff among its inputs factors. Besides fluctuation in output factors like non-interest income and the negative net profits in the 1996-97 have adversely affected its performance. Although the introduction of financial sector reforms has led to decline in priority sector lending in general, the liberalisation of the term 'priority sector' since 1997 has enabled banks to achieve the target of 40 per cent. The actual disbursement of credit to priority by Kerala based banks has never crossed the target of 40 per cent except in the case of SMGB. SMGB is the only bank, which has been increasing its percentage share of lending to the priority sector and agriculture in spite of its increased lending to the Non-Target Group over the years. The computation of the Composite Index to assess the overall performance of Kerala based banks has revealed that SMGB obtained the highest score followed by KSCB. The lower performance of SBT and private sector banks may be attributed to lower ROE, EPi, CPi, and ultimately WPi, lower efficiency based on market share and low share of agricultural advances to total advances. ~
Open Access
Futures trading in pepper
(College of Co-operation Banking Management, 2008) Sapna, K Rani; KAU; Molly, Joseph
The study on “Futures trading in Pepper” has been conducted with the main objectives of analyzing price discovery mechanism of pepper futures in NMCE and examining the benefits of futures trading in pepper to farmers and traders. Both primary and secondary data were used for the study. The first objective of analyzing the price discovery mechanism of pepper futures was done using secondary data on daily futures and spot prices from May 2003 to March 2008 of NMCE. For examining the benefits of futures trading in pepper to farmers and traders, primary data were collected from sample farmers and traders by means of a structured interview schedule. Two districts of Kerala, namely, Ernakulam and Wayanad were selected to identify the farmers and traders respectively, for collecting information regarding the benefits derived from futures trading. From each of the two districts of Ernakulam and Wayanad, 30 respondents were selected to analyze the benefits of futures trading in pepper to farmers and traders. These respondents were classified as trading farmer, non - trading farmers and non- farmer traders. The data collected have been processed using MS – Excel sheets. Co-integration technique, Kendall’s Co-efficient of Concordance, Mann Whitney U Test, Student’s t – Test, Compound Annual Growth Rate and annual growth rate were used to analyse the data. An analysis of trend of futures and spot prices of pepper has revealed the efficiency of the price discovery mechanism of pepper futures. The spot and futures prices under the study period showed an increasing trend. As spot price is always below the futures price there is opportunity for hedging. Both the spot and futures prices are moving more or less in the same direction. Since the trend lines are very closely moving, it implies that the two prices are highly related and prediction of one using the other is possible. To analyse price discovery mechanism of pepper futures Co-integration technique was used. Futures prices prior to three months (F3), four months (F4) and five months (F5) prior to delivery are closer to the spot price. This also brought to light the efficiency of the co integration technique in identifying the movement of two variables in the same direction. The advantages of online trading to different group of traders in the pepper futures by means of Kendall’s co-efficient of concordance outlined increased trade volume, increasing liquidity in trading and better terminal facility as the most preferred advantages for the farmer traders of Wayanad. For the non farmer traders, easy settlement, increased number of participants and time saving are of importance, while increased liquidity is of least advantage to them. As far as the traders of Ernakulam are concerned, increase in liquidity in trading, increased trade volume and time saving are the most available advantages to the non farmer traders, while price discovery seemed to be the least available advantage for them. Pair wise comparison of benefits of futures trading to various groups of respondents by means Mann-Whitney U test revealed that there is significant difference between the traders and farmers with respect to the extent of benefits of futures trading enjoyed by them. It is also proved that there is no significant difference between the different categories of traders, irrespective of whether they are farmers or hill produce merchants or exporters or speculators. The criterion for enjoying the benefits is not whether the trader is a farmer or a non farmer, but whether he trades in futures or not. Starting of terminal outlets in remote areas, extensive campaign for awareness creation about futures trading and computer education to remove the aversion towards screen based trading will attract more number of participants to futures trading. Compulsory delivery of the underlying asset is to be enforced by the regulatory authorities to make the real farmers the beneficiaries of futures trading and thereby ensuring a remunerative price. Also co-operative marketing societies in the field of spice market should be strengthened to give farmers benefits of remunerative prices through large scale marketing and processing.
Open Access
Impact of institutional credit on agricultural production in Kerala
(College of Co - operation Banking and Management, Vellanikkara, 2012) Karthika, Venugopal; KAU; Molly, Joseph
The study on ‘Impact of institutional credit on agricultural production in Kerala’ has been undertaken with the objectives of assessing the source-wise and purpose-wise credit flow to agriculture; comparing the performance of various institutions in the provision of agricultural credit; examining the impact of institutional credit on agricultural production, and analysing the pattern of utilisation and impact of credit on farmers with respect to Pananchery Panchayat of Thrissur district. The study was based on both primary and secondary data. Major sources of data were, www.rbi.org.in, Agricultural Statistics at a Glance, Economic Review, and www.indiastat.com for the period 1984-85 to 2010-11 for India, and 1990-91 to 2010-11 for Kerala. Percentages, annual growth rates, compound annual growth rates (CAGR), ordinary line graphs, pie diagrams, Mann-Whitney U Test, correlation, simple and multiple linear regression, Cobb-Douglas model, Cochrane-Orcutt Regression model and Durbin-Watson d- Test were employed to analyse the data. Primary data have been collected from 60 farmers selected through stratified random sampling from Pananchery Panchayat of Thrissur district. The study has revealed that co-operatives are the major source of IC in India, and SCBs in Kerala, Thrissur and Pananchery Panchayat. Co-operatives are more interested to provide indirect loans in recent years. IC is mainly disbursed by way of short-term and production credit in India, Kerala and Pananchery. Simple and Multiple Linear Regression, Cobb-Douglas and Cochrane-Orcutt Regression models revealed that IC has significant and positive impact on agricultural production in India and Kerala. Cobb-Douglas model for the Pananchery Panchayat also pointed out the significant contribution of IC in agricultural production. As far as the problems of farmers of Pananchery Panchayat are concerned, availability of credit is not an important one. This might be one of the reasons for the high productivity compared to State average, in many of the crops cultivated in Pananchery, given the significance of institutional credit in agricultural production. The major problem related to IC as pointed out by them is the absence of initiatives and technically qualified staff for providing consultancy, bank related and marketing services to farmers from Krishibhavan, Panchayat and commodity boards. The farmers, especially illiterate are in dire need of qualified staff at Panchayat level for filling up of various forms and preparation of documents and proposals to be submitted to banks for financing, providing market intelligence services and making them competent to trade in futures markets in agricultural commodities so as to fetch reasonable prices for their products. The agricultural officers, according to the farmers are preoccupied with their routine functions. Hence it is suggested that the services of additional personnel competent to provide technical consultancy and guidance with respect to the financing and commodity market intelligence services may be provided to the farmers at the Panchayat level.

Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur

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