173 research outputs found
Supply Side Constrains in Production of Pulses in India: A Case Study of Lentil
No full textIn India, annual production of pulses ranges from 11 Mt to 15 Mt, with yield of about 600 kg/ha. Due to the wide gap between supply and demand, import of pulses has increased from 0.38 Mt in 1993 to 2.82 Mt in 2008. Lentil is an important rabi pulse crop with a production of 0.85-0.95 Mt in India, after gram. The study has used both secondary and primary data collected from on-farm demonstrations and farmers’ fields to examine the ways to enhance the domestic supply of lentil. The study has found that there is a scope of increasing area under lentil during the rabi season, as its cost per hectare is less with higher net returns than the competing crops like wheat, gram and mustard in water-deficit and resource-poor conditions. There are large returns for adoption of disease management (80 per cent increase in net return), and improved small-seeded varieties (about 40 per cent increase in net return) in lentil. The study has found that lentil-based cropping systems are profitable and also have high water productivity, hence are suitable for mostly un-exploited rice-fallows under water-deficit conditions. Even though marketed surplus ratios have increased in recent years, there is a post-harvest loss to the extent of 7 per cent of production which needs to be curtailed to increase overall supply for final consumption. There is a case for larger institutional and policy support for pulse crops, keeping visible effects of pulse crops in increasing yield of subsequent crops in crop rotations.Agricultural and Food Policy,
Food Security, Research Priorities and Resource Allocation in South Asia
No full textThe study conduced on South Asian countries is focused on three issues, viz. (a) research priorities in agriculture, (b) level of research investment, and (c) focus of research investments to attain food-secured South Asia. The results of this empirical exercise have suggested that (a) cereals, horticulture, livestock and fisheries in commodity groups and rice and milk as commodities should receive greater attention in resource allocation at South Asia level with certain minor variations across the countries, (b) prioritization exercises need to explicitly target poor as otherwise their needs will continue to remain under-funded, and at least 2-3 times increase (if the AgGDP growth is assumed at 2.1%) and 3-4 times increase (if the AgGDP growth is assumed at 4%) is needed in funding support to these countries in agricultural research and education to attain food and nutritional security.Agricultural and Food Policy,
Agricultural Growth Accounting and Total Factor Productivity in South Asia: A Review and Policy Implications
No full textProductivity growth in agriculture is essential for the development of the sector. This paper has reviewed the developments in agricultural productivity related to the South Asian countries, namely Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The TFP growth and its contribution in production growth have been summarised for South Asia over the past three decades. Crop-specific TFP growth figures have been updated for India by using more recent micro farm level data for three decades. A discussion and synthesis on changes in TFP and its sources of growth for the major crops, major crop systems, crops and livestock sectors for the countries of South Asia have also been presented. Methodological framework for computation of TFP and its growth has also been presented. Policies towards food-secure South Asia have been outlined under the sub-heads (i) Arresting deceleration in total factor productivity, (ii) Enhancing yield of major commodities, (iii) Accent on empowering the small farmers, (iv) Environment protection, and (v) Strengthening of national agricultural research system. This paper would provide useful information to the people interested in doing research on these issues. Some of the concerns raised in this paper on productivity would provide direction for future research in this area.Productivity Analysis,
Agricultural Productivity Trends in India: Sustainability Issues
No full textThe sustainability issue of the crop productivity is fast emerging. The post-Green Revolution phase is characterized by high input-use and decelerating total factor productivity growth (TFPG). The agricultural productivity attained during the 1980s has not been sustained during the 1990s and has posed a challenge for the researchers to shift the production function upward by improving the technology index. It calls for an examination of issues related to the trends in the agricultural productivity, particularly with reference to individual crops grown in the major states of India. Temporal and spatial variations of TFPG for major crops of India have also been examined.Agricultural and Food Policy,
Can Horticulture be a Success Story For India?
No full textIndia is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world after China. Since the 1980s, the international trade in fruits and vegetables has expanded rapidly. The number of commodities as well as the number of varieties produced and traded have increased manifold during the past 25 years. There is an overall increase in the demand for fruits and vegetables for consumption both in the fresh and the processed form. Also there is a wide diversification in production pattern globally. Income in this sector is increasing which is indeed driving the supply. In spite of being one of the largest producers of fruits and vegetables in the world, the export competitiveness among the Indian producers remains low. But with new marketing initiatives, the post-harvest losses and the wastage due to poor infrastructure facilities, such as storage and transportation, have been reduced to a considerable extent. Yet a lot needs to be done in this sector. In an effort to overcome some of the problems associated with this sector, the case study of the successful SAFAL Market is presented in the paper. The study has observed a shift in cropping pattern in favour of horticulture in India in the past one-and-a-half decades. Analysis of the economic feasibility of this shift away from cereals to fruits and vegetable shows that its economically viable and beneficial to shift towards horticulture production, but this diversification needs to be planned in a systematic manner. Certain strategies and policies are also suggested in this regards. The study confirms the changing consumption patterns and diversification, along with the outlook for the next 15-20 years in the light of shortage of supply to increased domestic demand. The major exports from India are mango, grapes, orange, apple, banana, mosambi, onion, potato, tomato and pumpkins. The major share of Indias exports of fresh fruits and vegetables go to Bangladesh, Nepal, UAE, UK and Malaysia. The supply constraints, yield gaps and huge logistic costs affect our competitive and comparative advantage in world trade market. In this study the nominal protection coefficient and revealed comparative advantage are computed to check on the existing status. Study also identifies the potential states for the fruits and vegetables, for which India is globally competitive and has comparative advantage in production. These states should be targeted for enhancing the export potential of the country. The potential competing countries are also identified. Lessons from other developing countries focus on the growth of the horticulture sector through increased participation of small and marginal farmers in an organized manner and farmers being trained with entrepreneurial skills.Horticulture, Cost Benefit Ratio, competitiveness, Comparative Advantage, SAFAL Market
An Application of Generalised Least Squares Estimation of Linear Regression Model with Random Coefficients to Paddy Production Function for Sambalpur District (Orissa)
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