1. KAUTIR (Kerala Agricultural University Theses Information and Retrieval)
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://localhost:4000/handle/123456789/1
Browse
9 results
Search Results
Item Economic analysis of sugarcane cultivation in Kerala(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture,Vellayani, 2024-04-05) Deepak Meena.; Thasnimol, FSugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) is one of the primary sources of sugar in the world and has a prominent position as a cash crop in the tropics. Sugarcane is a very important crop in India’s agriculture landscape as being the world’s second largest producer and largest consumer of sugar. The global area, production, and productivity of sugarcane were 26.08 million hectares, 19.22 million tonnes, and 65.5 tonnes, respectively. In India, sugarcane was cultivated in an area of 5.83 million hectares in 2022-23, with production of 494.22 million tonnes and productivity of 84.01 tonnes per hectare. The area, production and productivity of sugarcane in Kerala was 931 hectares, 1,01,240 tonnes and 108 tonnes per ha, respectively. In Kerala, Idukki district is the leading producer of sugarcane, accounting for 93 per cent of the state production (10,076.95 tonnes). The entire production in the Idukki district is used to prepare the Marayoor jaggery. As the demand for jaggery is increasing and likely to increase in the coming years, there is considerable scope for expansion of sugarcane cultivation. In this context, the current study entitled “Economic analysis of sugarcane cultivation in Kerala” aimed to suggest appropriate and specific recommendations on production and marketing-related aspects to the sugarcane growers and processing unit owners in Kerala to help them to improve their income from their produce. The research was conducted in Idukki district of Kerala using primary and secondary data. A multi-stage random sampling technique was adopted and the data was gathered from 120 farmers using a well-structured pre-tested interview schedule. Besides, information relating to the marketing was collected from 20 market intermediaries in the Devikulam block. The economics of Marayoor Jaggery production units was analysed by interviewing the unit owners of 15 Marayoor Jaggery Production units. The socioeconomic profile of the respondent farmers was analysed and found that the majority of the respondent farmers were in the age group of 45 to 60 years. Regarding educational status, most of the farmers in the study area had an education up to the primary level. About 60 per cent of the farmers had a family size of less than four members. Exactly 84.17 per cent of farmers were dependent on agriculture as their main source of income. Regarding the type of land holding, 48.33 per cent of the farmers in the i study area had a marginal land holding of less than one hectare. The majority of the farmers (61.70%) had an annual income between rupees one to five lakh. The total cost of sugarcane cultivation was estimated at Rs. 3, 74, 831 ha-1. In total cost, operational cost and fixed cost were Rs. 2,71,583 and Rs. 1,03,244 per hectare. The estimated value of cost A2 in the study area was Rs.3,18,115 ha-1. It is observed that 54.80 per cent of cost A2 is accounted for the cost of hired human labour and 9.89 per cent is accounted for the cost of fertilizers. The computed value of cost A2+FL was Rs. 3,31,875 ha-1. The return analysis further revealed that the average yield of sugarcane in the study area was 101 tonnes ha-1. The net returns based on cost C2 was Rs. 1,02,221 ha-1, with a computed BC ratio of 1.27. A BC ratio exceeding one indicates the profitability of sugarcane cultivation in Kerala. The study examined the input-output relationship and resource use efficiency of sugarcane production using the Cobb- Douglas production function. It was observed from the fitted regression that inputs viz., setts, fertilizers and human labour were positively and significantly contributing to sugarcane production. The marginal productivity analysis further revealed the over-utilisation of organic manures and human labourers and the under-utilisation of resources like setts, chemical fertilizers and hired machine labour. The economic analysis of Marayoor jaggery processing units revealed that an average investment of Rs. 10,98,073 is needed to establish the Marayoor jaggery processing unit. The operational cost needed for the jaggery processing unit was Rs. 37,21,439. In operational cost, the cost of raw material (sugarcane) was the prime cost and accounted for about 65.87 per cent of the total cost. The financial feasibility analysis of Marayoor jaggery production units further revealed that Net Present Worth (NPW), BC ratio and IRR were Rs. 21,71,775, 1.07 and 59 per cent, at a 12 per cent discount rate. The values indicated the viability of the production unit. Among the two identified marketing channels of sugarcane, the producer’s share in the consumer rupee was high in channel II (Producer (jaggery) – Village trader – Wholesaler – Retailer – Consumer). Those farmers who marketed the produce as jaggery realised good profits compared to other farmers and marketing efficiency was also found to be higher in this channel. Despite this fact, the majority of the farmers marketed their ii produce through channel I (Producer – Processor – Wholesaler – Retailer – Consumer) due to the lack of adequate processing facilities. The Marayoor jaggery production units mainly used three channels for disposing of the jaggery. As there was no marketing intermediary, the producer share in consumers’ rupee and marketing efficiency was higher in channel III (Processor– consumer). The major production constraints reported by the sugarcane farmers were the attack of wild animals and rodents, shortage of labour and high labour costs and high cost of inputs. In the case of marketing, price fluctuation in sugarcane and the absence of regulated markets were the main constraints faced by the farmers. Shortage of raw materials and high cost of production were the major production constraints confronted by the processing unit owners. Additionally, they encountered marketing constraints like low price of Marayoor jaggery and the cheap import of jaggery from neighbouring states. Based on the findings the study recommended the following policy suggestions • As the support price is fixed based on cost A2+FL, the government may take into account the large variation in the cost before fixing the state advisory prices to promote the cultivation of sugarcane. • The cultivation of sugarcane is found profitable, hence the government may take suitable measures to bring more land under sugarcane cultivation through area expansion programmes. • The government may take suitable initiatives to promote mechanisation in sugarcane cultivation by providing necessary machinery on hire basis through Krishi Bhavan. • Promoting awareness about the optimal utilisation of inputs and implementing suitable policy measures, such as alertness and training programs on adopting recommended agricultural practices to maximize profits, could be encouraged. • The government can take initiatives to establish farmer producer organisations and strengthen the capacity of farmer collectives by providing suitable infrastructural facilities for the processing of Marayoor jaggery. • The government may provide subsidy for the installation of electric fences around the sugarcane fields. iii • To safeguard the interests of farmers and processing unit owners and uphold the quality standards of Marayoor jaggery, it is imperative for the government to implement measures aimed at regulating the influx of inferior quality jaggery from neighbouring states through rigorous inspection protocols at border checkpoints.Item Economic analysis of non-timber forest products in Kerala(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture , Vellayani, 2021-12-20) Jerin, V A; Paul Lazarus, TThe present study entitled “Economic analysis of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) in Kerala” was carried out in the Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Vellayani during the period 2019-21 to study the types and quantities of NTFPs collected in Kerala and to study the price behaviour of selected NTFPs. Analysis of factors influencing income from NTFP collection and identification of the marketing channels for major NTFPs in Kerala were also envisaged in the study. The study was mainly done in Kerala using secondary data collected from KSFSDCL and from Kerala Forest Headquarters while the primary data collection was from Wayanad district as it was the district having the largest NTFP collection in Kerala. Wayanad district comprised of two forest divisions namely North Wayanad forest division and South Wayanad forest division. NTFP collection was more from South Wayanad forest division. From the South Wayanad forest division all the three forest ranges were selected for the study namely Kalpetta, Meppady and Chedalath. It was observed from the survey that young people (upto 35 years) were more involved in NTFP collection than other age groups. Among the NTFP collectors, 96.67 per cent of the family heads were males while only a few (3.33 %) were females. Many of the NTFP collectors (47 %) had only lower and upper primary education (upto seventh standard). The average family size of the collectors was less than four. Nearly 56.67 per cent of NTFP collectors were daily wage earners. Out of the total 140 NTFPs collected in Kerala, 97 (69.28 %) were mainly used for medicinal purpose. On an average 39.24 lakh kilograms of NTFPs yielded a revenue of ₹ 3.33 crores each year. Of the total NTFP collection, highest revenue of ₹ 63.57 lakh/ year was obtained from honey, while the major quantity of production was from Sida cordifolia (2.43 lakh kg/ year). Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) analysis was employed to analyse the price behaviour of NTFPs in Kerala from 2000-01 to 2019-20. The result indicated that 136 the NTFP collection showed a declining trend of -11.6 per cent annually over the years in Kerala. On the contrary, the revenue from NTFP sales showed an increasing trend of 4.55 per cent annually during the same period. This reflected increasing prices of NTFPs over the years from 2000-01 to 2019-20. Multiple linear regression and factor analysis were employed to identify the factors influencing income from NTFP collection. It was revealed that annual income from agriculture, man days per year spent for agricultural activity and man days per year spent for other income earning activities were the factors found to be significantly influencing income from NTFP collection. The results from factor analysis revealed that factor 1, factor 2 and factor 3 were the important factors affecting NTFP collection as these three factors could explain about nearly 90 per cent of variance of the data. Marketing of NTFPs was done in Wayanad district mainly through four channels. Out of 21 NTFPs collected from Wayanad, 17 NTFPs were marketed through channel I, while rest of the NTFPs were marketed through channel II, III and channel IV. The analysis of price spread revealed that marketing cost and marketing margin were more in Channel-II. The KSFSDCL facilitated auction of the NTFP products and the major buyer was Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Company, Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal. It could be concluded from the study that marketing of honey was vibrant through Vana Samrakshana Samithi (VSS) in Kalpetta range only. So revitalizing the functioning of VSS in Meppady and Chedalath ranges would enhance marketing of honey which is the major facilitator of revenue through NTFPs in Kerala. Introduction of incentives to collectors would help them in increasing the NTFP collection, thereby increasing income of households. It was found from the study area that selling of NTFPs is vested with Government agencies only. So inclusion of private parties would enhance the competition in marketing of NTFPs. It was also observed that NTFP collectors were trained only for collection and primary level processing of NTFPs. So capacity building training programs can be given for the value addition of NTFPs to reduce the damages and to improve the quality of these products.Item Economic analysis of rice based integrated farming system models in Kuttanad(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, 2021) Nanda Baiju; Prema AIn any developing economy, in order to attain pro-poor growth and economic development, it is necessary that the agriculture sector flourishes, along with improvement in farmers’ income. According to Agricultural Census of 2015-16, the average operational land holding in Kerala was found to be 0.18 ha. Hence, the scope of horizontal expansion is limited and the only possible alternative is vertical expansion. Integrated Farming System (IFS) is a resource management strategy that ensures year round income to the farm families with the integration of appropriate subsidiary enterprises. It helps in meeting the diverse requirements of the farm household, ensures employment generation and sustainable livelihood of small and marginal farmers along with minimizing the risk associated with monocropping. Rice farmers in Kuttanad have taken up subsidiary enterprises like duckery, fish, dairy and poultry to ensure additional returns. The different IFS models identified among the 100 sample farmers from the study area were Rice+ Duckery, Rice+ Fish, Rice+ Dairy, Rice- Fish sequential farming, Rice+ Fish+ Poultry, Rice+ Fish+ Duckery, Rice+ Fish+ Dairy, Rice+ Fish+ Poultry+ Duckery, Rice+ Dairy+ Poultry, Rice+ Dairy+ Fodder and Rice+ Banana+ Dairy+ Duckery. The predominant models in the study area were Rice+ Duckery which was followed by Rice+ Fish and Rice+ Fish+ Poultry+ Duckery. The economic analysis of the rice based IFS models were carried out to identify the most profitable models. It was observed that fish and duckery enterprises were profitably integrated with rice among the farmers in Kuttanad. The model Rice+ Fish and Rice+ Fish+ Duckery showed a high B-C ratio of 2.52 at Cost A1. Rice+ Duckery was the next most profitable model at a B-C ratio of 2.42. At Cost C, Rice+ Fish showed the highest B-C ratio of 1.45 followed by Rice+ Duckery and Rice+ Fish+ Duckery at B-C ratios 1.32 and 1.26 respectively. The models involving dairy showed significantly lower B-C ratios attributing to the labour intensive nature of the enterprise and high cost of dairy concentrates. Rice–Fish sequential farming showed highest employment generation of 348 Person Days/yr. Economic sustainability of the IFS models were analysed using Sustainable Value Index (SVI) and System Economic Efficiency (SEE). The highest economic sustainability was obtained for the model i Rice+ Banana+ Dairy+ Duckery at an SVI of 0.73 and SEE of ₹1133/day and the lowest was observed for the model Rice+ Dairy+ Poultry at SVI and SEE of -0.14 and ₹147/day respectively. Analysing the resource use efficiency of rice under IFS in Kuttanad revealed that the wetland area was underutilized, and hired human labour was over utilized. The rice based IFS model developed by The Integrated Farming System Research Station, Karamana was analysed for its profitability. The model included dairy, duckery, fish, vegetable cultivation on the dykes and allied activities like vermicomposting. The model was found to be profitable at a discounted B-C ratio of 1.03, NPW of ₹47,617 and IRR of 20 percent. Components of the model like cultivation of vegetables on dykes and construction of duck shelter over the fish pond could be well adopted by farmers in Kuttanad. Constraints in adoption of the IFS models by the farmers were studied using the Garrett ranking technique and the agreement between the respondents in ranking the constraints was studied using Kendall’s coefficient of concordance. The most important constraint that prevents farmers from adoption of the IFS models was unfavourable weather conditions. This corresponded to the fact that the farmers in Kuttanad face severe hardships as the area gets flooded during the monsoon making it difficult for them to raise cattle, poultry and duckery. Although farmers have come up with coping strategies like constructing cattle shed on raised platforms, these have not received widespread acceptance. The other important constraints were labour scarcity, avian diseases, soil acidity and salinity, high input cost, crop pests and diseases, lack of technical knowledge, lack of proper extension support, lack of improved variety/breeds and poor storage facilities. The Kendall’s W statistic of 0.63 indicated that there was general agreement between the farmers in ranking the constraints. Increasing the awareness of the farmers regarding the benefits of IFS through trainings, capacity building programmes for a more skilled labour force, localised weather forecasting and warning systems, strengthening of risk minimising strategies like insuring the crops and livestock and support for taking up allied activities like mushroom cultivation have been suggested.Item Assessment and management of risk at farmer's level in rice and banana cultivation(Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2018) Anjana Vijayan; Indira Devi, PItem Effect of different types of fertilizers as influenced by adjuvants on fue and yield of upland rice(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2016) Sheeba, S S; Sajitha Rani, TItem Agronamic resource inventary of a homestead in the southern zone of Kerala(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1993) Happy Mathew, K; Achudan Nair, MAn investigation was undertaken on the agronomic resources inventory of a homestead of 0.2 ha area in the southern zone of Kerala for a period of one year from June 1991 to May 1992. The study revealed that crop diversification was achieved in the homestead through intercropping in the interspaces of the tree species. The crop diversification helped to meet the multiple demands of the home and minimized the risk of monoculture. The homestead was mainly a coconut based multiple farming system. The agroforestry components consisted of jack, mango, breadfruit and Portia in addition to coconut. A multitude of crops including elephant foot yam, cassava, dioscorea, ginger and fodder grass were grown as intercrops. This resulted in a cropping intensity of 1.56. Crop livestock integration was a special feature of the homestead which helped to achieve sustainability. The nutrient cycling processes like litter fall, through fall and stem flow were studied. The annual litter addition by the major tree components in the homestead amounted to 936.35 kg and the nutrient input was to be tune of 8.5, 2.0 and 6.4 kg of N, P and K respectively. Through fall accounted for an annual nutrient return of 2.1, 0.2 and 3.2 kg of N, P and K respectively. The nutrient addition by stem flow was comparatively less. The organic manure addition was to the tune of 10.1 tonnes. This resulted in an addition of 49.1, 19.1 and 21.2 kg of N, P and K respectively. The moisture content and bulk density in the top soil layer was found to have a lower value in the home stead than in the open system. The maximum water holding capacity was always higher in home stead soils. The nutrient (available N, P and K) status and organic matter content, observed a higher value in the home stead. The population of fungi, bacteria and actinomycetes were much higher in home stead soils. The soil temperature in the homestead was found to record a lower value while the values of relative humidity was higher in the ecoclimate of tree crops. The tree species were found to intercept the solar radiation. Maximum light interception was by jack canopies (90-92 per cent) and the least by coconut (74-78 per cent). The maximum net return was obtained from poultry farm while the maximum benefit: cost ratio was for coconut cultivation. The family labour provided a saving of Rs. 5625/- to the home stead. The net benefit from the home stead system was Rs. 28095/-. The benefit: cost ratio of the farming activities as a whole was 1.60.Item Modification and performance evaluation of six row rice transplanter for conventional seedlings(Department of Farm Power Machinery and Energy, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1990) Bainu T Kuzhively; Sivaswami, MThe work was carried out at the Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur. The six – row rice transplanter was originally designed for mat type seedlings. Considering the importance of a transplanter using conventional type seedlings, the above transplanter was modified. The modifications were completed in three stages. The performance evaluation of the modified six row rice transplanter was conducted after each stage of modification. The average number of seedlings per hill could be reduced from the average value of six seedlings per hill before modification to 2.27 seedlings per hill after the modifications. The missing hills percentage was brought down from 20.83 per cent to 5.55 per cent and the floating hills percentage was reduced from 10 to 5.55. Percentage of damaged hills was reduced from 23.3 to 8.8. The field capacity of the machine was improved from 0.0139 ha/hr to 0.0162 ha/hr and field efficiency from 48.26 percent to 56.87 per cent. The use of the modified transplanter is profitable if it is operated beyond one hectare per annum. It gives a saving of Rs. 618.00 per hectare compared to the conventional hand transplanting giving a 2. 4 times reduction in total cost. The pay back period of the modified transplanter is 2.24 years when the annual utilization is 2 hectares per annum and 1.13 years when the annual utilization is 3 hectares per annum.Item Sturcture analysis and system dynamics of agroforestry home gardens of southern Kerala(Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 1997) Jacob John; Achuthan Nair, MA study entitled "Structure analysis and system dynamics of agroforestry home gardens of southern Kerala" was undertaken during the period from 1994 - 1997 in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala State. The study comprised of a detailed agroforestry systems inventory description survey of the home gardens in the district, investigations on the system dynamics of two home gardens of the district, laboratory experiments to assess the allelopathic tendencies of some commonly grown multipurpose tree species and linear programming to develop integrated homestead models. The results of the survey revealed that the size of an overwhelming number of holdings was small. The species diversity and average number of plants per home garden was considerably high. Tuber crops ranked first among the crops, followed by fruits, oilseeds, rubber, spices, vegetables, timber and fuel trees and fodder crops. The tree intensity was found to increase as the size of the holding decreased. The frequency of occurrence was highest for coconut, followed by jack, mango, moringa, guava, wild jack and tamarind and lowest for the nitrogen fixing trees. Differences between the agroecological zones of the district with respect to the predominance of crop categories and tree species were also observed. The home gardens presented a multi-tier canopy configuration. There was no specific planting pattern or arrangement. The system, as a whole, was found to be profitable. The two year long field investigation on the dynamics of home gardens revealed that the tree components contributed considerable amounts of nutrients by way of litterfall, stemflow and throughfall. Nutrient addition took place mainly through organic manures at both locations. Harvested biomass accounted for removal of large quantities of nutrients from the systems. Coconut accounted for maximum biomass production and nutrient removal at both sites. The physical, chemical and microbiological properties of the homestead soil were better than that of the control. The soil in the homestead had a lower bulk density, high water holding. capacity, porosity and moisture "Content. An enhanced soil organic carbon content, available N, P and K status were also observed in the home garden. The soil microbial population (bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes and phosphorus solubilizing bacteria) was comparatively higher in the home garden. Nutrient cycling, recycling of crop residues and addition of organic manures helped in improving and maintaining the soil physico-chemical and biological properties of the system in a sustainable manner. The presence of trees lowered the soil temperature in the homestead, whereas relative humidity was maintained at an optimum level when compared to open condition. The light intensities at the floor of all the trees studied were invariably less than that in the open. Both the home gardens were found to be profitable. The tree-crop-livestock integration was a special feature which increased income considerably. Allelopathic inhibition of germination and growth of rice was caused by leaf extracts of all the tree species. Germination of cowpea was inhibited by the leaf extracts of acacia, eucalyptus, casuarina, ailanthus, tamarind, portia and cashew. Growth of cowpea was suppressed by leaf extracts of all the tree species except jack. The powdered leaf litter of all the trees inhibited rice germination and growth. However, jack did not suppress radicle growth. Cowpea germination was inhibited by the powdered litter of all the trees except jack and mange. Cashew, casuarina and jack did not suppress plumule growth of cowpea. Radicle growth of cowpea was inhibited all tree species. The integrated model for the 0.50 ha home garden with 23 enterprises was found to generate a profit of Rs. 10354.21 with an investment of Rs. 3262.30. The coconut-based mixed fanning model developed for the 0.40 ha home garden with 35 enterprises provided a net profit of Rs. 32464.32 on investing Rs. 45000/-.Item Development and performance evaluation of a rotary tillage attachment to the KAU garden tractor(Department of Farm Power Machinery and Energy, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, 1990) Jose, C M; Sivaswami, MConsidering the advantages of rotary tillers over non-powered tillage tools, and in order to make the KAU garden tractor a versatile farm power unit, a rotary tillage attachment for the garden tractor was developed and tested. The main components of the rotary tillage attachment are mainframe, power transmission system, blade assembly, hitching mechanism and protective cover. The depth of tillage obtained is 10 to 15 cm and the effective width of field coverage is 30 to 32 cm. The actual field capacity of the machine is 0.054 ha per hr and the quantity of fuel required to operate the machine is 0.860 1 per hr. Operator can easily walk behind the rotary tiller and turn the garden tractor to either side. The cost of production of the rotary tillage attachment is Rs. 1500.00 and the total cost of ploughing per hectare using the machine is Rs. 450.00.