Economics of commercial production and utilisation of medicinal rice (Oryza sativa L.) Njavara

Abstract

The present study on the economics of commercial production and utilization of medicinal rice, njavara was conducted ill Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram and Wayanad districts, with the objective of assessing the economics of production and .. marketing prospects of njavara and documenting the Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) associated with its cultivation and use. The required information was collected from a sample of 60 njavara farmers from the above four districts by personal interview method using well structured, pre- tested questionnaire. The marketing aspects were studied by contacting producers, market intermediaries and end users, by personal in.erview method. The Indigenous Technical Knowledge were gathered from the producers, traditional vaidyas, ayurvedic medical practitioners and elderly people in the locality. The data collection was conducted during April- July 2003 . The cost of cultivation of njavara (Cost C3) was estimated as Rs.14059/hectare.The district wise analysis revealed that it was the highest for Malappuram and lowest for Palakkad, whereas in class wise analysis it was higher for • class I than class II The cost incurred on seeds was Rs.1860.87/hectare. Human labour was the highest single item of expenditure. The average labour use per hectare of njavara . cultivation was 72.50 man days/hectare. Female labour constituted a major share of total labour use. On an average it was 56.55 days/hectare during a crop cycle. Except land preparation all major activities are carried out by wemen. Post harvest operations demand the highest labour use. But, land preparation is the most expensive activity, as the wage rate for men was higher than that of the women. Nearly one fourth of the total cost was for this. Average yield from njavara crop was found to be much less than other rice varieties (1528.25 kg/hectare). It is only 70 percentage of the average yield of rice in the state. The yield in Palakkad and Malappuram districts were higher than the other two. Large farms enjoyed better yield The grain to straw yield was in the ratio of 1 :2.5. The Gross income from the crop was found to be RS.28928/ha. Farm business income, the most relevant from the farmer's' point of view was more in PaIakkad district (Rs.30416/hectare) compared to other districts. The same applies to all other income estimates. The farmers of Palakkad enjoy a net income of RS.23487/hectare while the average was Rs. 14849/hectare. The cost of production was Rs.7.68/kg.• Despite the lowest cost of cultivation, the cost of production was (at Cost Ci) highest in Wayanad (Rs.9.92/kg). The average benefit cost ratio based on cost C3was 2.03.1t was the highest for Palakkad (2.72) The marketable surplus accounted for 90.33 per cent (1380.50 kg/hectare) of the total produce and it increased with the increase in the size of holding. In the study area six major marketing channels were identified. Among this the most witlely adopted channel was I producer-s ayurvedic drug manufacturing unit (around 28 per cent). The Indigenous Technical Knowledge associated with the cultivation and use of the crop is compiled and listed.