ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF Pandanus spp. AS AN INTERCROP IN COCONUT GARDENS OF KERALA
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Date
2001-08-07
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UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES GKVK BANGALORE
Abstract
The coconut palm plays an important role in the economic, social
and cultural activities of the people of India. In Kerala, about 5 million
families depend on coconut for livelihood. With the spread of debilitating
root (wilt) disease, both production and productivity are drastically
affected which has resulted in taking up intercrops in coconut gardens.
In the coastal areas where there is no feasibility of raising other
intercrops, Pandanus is taken up as an intercrop in coconut gardens,
the leaves of which are used by farm women for weaving mats.
The study was conducted on two economically important species
viz., Pandanus amaryllifolius and Pandanus veitchii, the leaves of which
are used for single layer and double layer mat making, respectively. A
multistage sampling procedure was adopted for the selection of samples.
Both financial and tabular analvses were used to arrive at the results.
An analysis of financial feasibilities of investment in coconut
(monocropping) and coconut + Pandanus (intercropping) favoured the
intercropping in general and coconut + P. amaryllifolius in particular.
The study revealed that a producer engaged in single layer mat
making produced 115 mats per year. The net returns worked out to be
Rs.2116 per year for a producer.A producer engaged in double layer mat making produced 50 pairs
of unfinished mats in a year realising a net return of Rs.2650 annually.
The study revealed the extraordinary influence and influx of
middlemen in the marketing of single layer and double layer mats which
reduced the producer's share in consumer rupee (varied from 33.33% to
41,67% in single layer mat marketing and 42.07% to 43.47% in double
layer mat marketing).
The opinion survey revealed problems like scarcity of thazha.
drudgery of production technology, poor quality of mats, shifting of
consumer preference etc. which required immediate attention from
policy makers.
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