JECET; March - May 2013; Vol.2.No.2, 285-298.
Journal of Environmental Science, Computer Science and Engineering & Technology
An International Peer Review E-3 Journal of Sciences and Technology
Available online at www.jecet.org Engineering & Technology
Research Article
JECET; March- May 2013; Vol.2.No.2, 285-298 285
Input Expenditure, Productivity and Rate of Return
Jagdeep Singh and H.S. Yadav
Department of Regional Planning and Economic Growth, Barkatullah University Bhopal, M. P., India.
Received: 18 March 2013; Revised: 2 April 2013; Accepted: 18 April 2013
Abstract: The present paper analyzes the farm size, productivity and profitability in districts of Mansa and Jalandhar. The main reason behind wheat and paddy being major crops is less risk involved in production as well as sale due to minimize support prices.
Cotton though less popular is cultivated in Mansa mainly due to non-suitability of soil for paddy cultivation and low water availability. The result of survey show that the cost of cultivation is higher for marginal and small farmers compare to medium and large.
Potato and maize are labour intensive crops, which render these crops suitable for marginal and small farmer. The higher return on potato provide an extra incentive to marginal and small farmers however it may not attract medium and large farmers as they are already getting similar level due to their cost advantage in cultivation of wheat.
Keywords: farm size, productivity,mansa and profitability
INTRODUCTION
The analysis of secondary data of farm size, cropping pattern and productivity variation in two districts Jalandhar and Mansa have provided the general conditions and basis of agriculture, which were representing developed and underdeveloped districts. The analysis was based on secondary data taking as the unit of study tehsil for both districts, but this does not provide the detailed information about input use, agricultural expenditure (on irrigation, pesticides, manual labour, machinery, seeds etc) and profitability among the farmers and cannot help to know about the actual condition of farmers in different size class that earns better profits at the micro level.
Though a large number of studies have discussed the problem but most of them are that of post green revolution period. Farm management survey data are used, which were collected from Punjab, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai and Madras, where inverse relationship was established as the small
JECET; March- May 2013; Vol.2.No.2, 285-298 286 farmers were mostly depended on family labour for cultivation and large size class used wage labour based capitalist cultivation1,2.
The issue of inverse relationship is highly debated among economists. Studies, which were conduct during post green revolution to measure relationship between farm size and productivity, confirm inverse relation of farm size and productivity1, 3-9. Contrary to the above advanced technologies are mostly used by large size classes to get more productivity which was not possible earlier due to labour intensive techniques(Whereas some studies did not find inverse relationship)10-18. But some of the economist has argued on the basis of their findings that because productivity of small size class, which mostly use their family labour, is higher than the large size class.
The farmers of Punjab in general took the best advantage of green revolution and as a result the farm productivity increased many fold with high rate of return per unit of land, labour and capital, which lead to the status of agriculturally developed states and agriculture sector in Punjab behaved like an industry.
After achieving high growth rates in agriculture, it was observed during 1980’s that there was a gradual decline in rate of return and productivity per unit. This may be attributed to poor farm management practices and poor infrastructure including marketing. The concern is that once the agricultural productivity was reached to diminishing rate of return the challenge remains to enhance further to a higher level. In this regard during post globalization period large numbers of studies have been carried out to analyze the agriculture production and productivity with reference to farm sizes, regional variation and farm income and distribution of gains. However there is no agreement on conclusions.
There is a clear cut conclusion that Punjab agriculture has grown at a fast pace than the other states of the country, which has slowed down gradually after1980s. By and large the fact remains that there is inverse relation in farm size productivity and rate of return on factors of production in Punjab also. General impression comes out to be that though the relationship has remained unchanged, yet there is emerging stagnation condition in the farm productivity leading to lower rate of returns. This makes the present researcher to look into the phenomena with the changed economic environment so as to investigate and establish the relationship between the farm size, productivity and the rate of return for the present. The relationship between the farm sizes, productivity is the basic question continues and divergent opinions are put forward by different economists in this area. In other words, the relationship between farm size and productivity in India has become a subject of controversy among the economists.
Following are the main objective
• To compare cost of cultivation of major crops.
• To estimate profitability of major crops among various size class.
To understand the phenomena of production and returns with reference to size class needs further investigation to fill the gaps in research. Present study compares tehsils of two districts of Mansa and Jalandhar. Mansa is comparatively backward district, whereas Jalandhar is among developed districts. To study the relationship and changes primary survey has conducted and household data are collected from both the districts. A sample of 200 farmer houses holds were selected from each district to analysis agricultural productivity and profitability.
The paper is divided into three sections. First section deals with general information, distribution of farmers by holding and distribution of agricultural machinery by farmers with their holding size. The second part of the paper provide the choice of crops by the farmers of different size of holding and the average area assigned to different crops. The third section of the paper gives the details of input expenditure per acre in machinery, labour, fertilizer, high yield verities seed, pesticides and irrigation.
The input expenditure is uniform in the production of crops there for the input expenditure on different
JECET; March- May 2013; Vol.2.No.2, 285-298 287 inputs is also analysed for wheat, paddy and cotton. The level of productivity (yield per acre) is also provided in this section of the paper. And examination of variation the total revenue generated by different crops among the various category of farmers is discussed in the last part of the paper. The total expenditure on inputs and revenue generated by different crops provided the profit per acre. The profit level of the crops in different size of holdings are analysed at the end of the paper.
1. General Information
Table 5.1 Size Class wise Distribution of surveyed household in Mansa and Jalandhar Districts (in percentage)
Size Class Mansa Jalandhar
Marginal 19 12.5
Small 27 22
Medium 38.5 49.5
Large 15.5 16
All Classes 100 100
Table 5.1 shows size class wise distribution of surveyed house hold in Mansa and Jalandhar district. A sample of 400 farmer house hold has been surveyed in both districts, taking 200 from each district. The distribution shows that the districts have highest number as medium farmers with 38 percent surveyed farmer households are medium size class in Mansa district and 49.5 percent in Jalandhar district. The small and marginal farmer’s together show that the majority of farmers in the two districts fall in the category having less than five acres of land. Mansa district has 46 percent and Jalandhar has 34 percent farmers in this category. In Jalandhar district about 12.5 percent farmers are marginal size class which is less than the Mansa district with 19 percent. Both the districts have only 15 percent farmers with large holdings.
Punjab state being highly populated and has agriculture as the main component, majority of population is engaged in agricultural activities. By and large the farm size is small and the extreme large holdings are rare.
Despite the small size of holding in general Punjab state agriculture is highly mechanized, but the general distribution of agricultural machinery show that like other parts of the country, the small and marginal farmer hardly own these costly equipment. The said common machinery is absent among these farmers in both the districts. It is only the medium and large farmers who own these agricultural machineries.
Table 5.2 Per Household Agricultural Machinery (in percent)
Size Tractor Combine Plough Leveler Thrasher Taviea Rotavater
Jalandhar
Marginal - - - -
Small - - - -
Medium 21.21 3.23 21.21 21.21 - 21.21 -
Large 62.5 9.38 62.5 62.5 - 62.5 -
All Classes 20.5 2.5 20.5 20.5 - 20.5 -
Mansa
Marginal 7.89 - - - -
Small 16.67 - - - -
Medium 38.98 5.19 38.98 38.98 7.79 38.98 9.09
Large 64.52 12.9 64.52 64.52 - 64.52 6.45
JECET; March- May 2013; Vol.2.No.2, 285-298 288
All Classes 31 4 31 31 3 31 4.5
As per survey results number of tractors are more in Mansa district as compare to Jalandhar district. Marginal and small class have no agricultural assets in Jalandhar district, because farmers are well aware that agricultural assets are costly and cannot be used efficiently. However, small and marginal farmers of Mansa own tractors. Counterparts in Jalandhar do not buy. Some of them also use it in other rental like ploughing the fields of other farmers. It is also due to demonstration effect that leads them to over invest. In Mansa district medium size class farmers have 17 percent more tractors than Jalandhar district in the same size class farmers. There is not much difference in large size class. The large size class farmer needs tractors for their large size farms, the rental of tractor may cause delay in sowing, or harvesting, which ultimately decreases production. They can also afford tractor compare to small or marginal farmers. Percentage of combine in both districts is less and only large and medium size class owns combine. Combine is also used as source of income by farmers. Harvesting season starts earlier in Madhya Pradesh, Gujrat, etc, so farmers mostly travel towards these states for extra income. During the field survey farmers with combine told that they use the combine firstly in other states and later in Punjab. Plugh, leveler, taviea are less costly and more frequently needed in agriculture, so all farmers buy them. Percentage of thrasher holder is less because they are not that much essential now. Thrasher was used by the farmers to obtain byproduct of wheat. For this purpose farmers do harvesting of their crop with the help of labour which was more expensive than the use of combine. Only 7.79 percent farmers of medium size class own thrasher, no other class owns them as per the survey data. Most of farmers who owns thrasher they rent to marginal and small farmers. Only 9.09 percent of medium farmers and 6.45 percent of large class farmers owns rotavater. Farmers of Mansa district owned more agricultural machinery then the Jalandhar district. Reason behind may be the subsidy and less rate of interest.
Table 5.3 Ownership of Pump Sets (in percent)
More than 90 percent cultivated area of Punjab is irrigated. Diesel pumps, electric pumps, canal and rain are main source of irrigation. As per data electric pumps are used more in Jalandhar district and diesel pumps are mostly used by farmers of Mansa district. Primary survey too shows the same trend.
43.5 percent farmer’s uses electric pumps in Jalandhar district and only 14 percent farmers of Mansa
Size Class Irrigation Source
Diesel Electric Total
Jalandhar
Marginal 20 - 20
Small 22.73 - 22.73
Medium 34.35 65.65 100
Large 31.25 68.75 100
All Classes 29.5 43.5 73
Mansa
Marginal 21.05 - 21.05
Small 33.33 - 33.33
Medium 51.95 20.78 73.73
Large 61.3 38.7 100
All Classes 42.5 14 56.5
JECET; March- May 2013; Vol.2.No.2, 285-298 289 district uses electric pumps (Table 5.3). Diesel pumps are used more by large and medium size classes of Mansa district. But in Jalandhar these two size classes have more electric pumps. As the size class increases percentage of electric pumps increases. Electric pumps are used because their expenditure on irrigation is less as electricity in Punjab is free by the Government for electric pumps.
Table 5.4 Distribution of Net Sown Area among Different Crops in Mansa and Jalandhar Districts (in percentage)
Kharif Rabi
Mansa District
Size/Crops Paddy Cotton Maize Potato Wheat
Marginal 42.11 57.89 - - 100
Small 74.07 25.93 - - 100
Medium 77.92 22.08 - - 100
Large 61.29 38.71 - - 100
All Classes 67.5 32.5 - - 100
Jalandhar District
Marginal 100 - 60 40
Small 100 - 22.73 34.09 65.91
Medium 100 - - - 100
Large 100 - - - 100
All Classes 100 - 5 15 85
Usually a farmer sows two crops in year. In Rabi season all size classes in Mansa district sows wheat crop that meet their food requirements and ensure income. In Kharif season paddy crop and cotton crop are sown by all class farmers in Mansa district. Mansa, Sangrur and Bathinda are known as cotton districts. Marginal size class grow cotton crop more than other size classes, this is because price of cotton crop is higher than the paddy crop and its byproducts can also be used in their households. Also, cotton crop needs more manual labour than paddy and marginal farmers use family labour. But small and medium size class grows less cotton crop as compare to marginal and large class size. Reason behind this can be more use of manual labour for this crop.78 percent of medium size class sows paddy crop which is highest among all the classes. Machinery expenditure is higher for the paddy crop which also increases total expenditure on inputs. So this can be the reason, 58 percent marginal size class grow cotton crop and only 38 percent large size class sow cotton crop. Reason behind this is lack of irrigation facilities in some area. Paddy crop requires a lot of water which increases farmer’s expenditure. So to reduce their expenditure and for higher prices also they sows cotton crop. Large size class has more capital resources and they retain cotton crop for long time in their houses and sell this when prices are higher, but small and medium farmer cannot do the same. As a result, small and medium size farmers choose to cultivate paddy, which is relatively risk free. On the other hand, marginal and large farmers go for cotton crop, though marginal farmers cultivate cotton crop due to less resources, large farmers do it to maximizing their returns.
Table 5.5 Size Class wise Average Area operated under various Crops in Jalandhar and Mansa (in acres)
Size/Crops Paddy Cotton Wheat Potato Maize
Jalandhar Marginal 1.6 - 0.7 0.9 -
Small 3.35 - 2.14 1.21 0.818
Medium 7.22 - 7.22 - -
Large 12.81 - 12.81 - -
All Classes 6.56 - 6.19 0.37 0.18
JECET; March- May 2013; Vol.2.No.2, 285-298 290
Mansa Marginal 0.65 0.97 1.62 - -
Small 2.74 0.88 3.62 - -
Medium 5.33 1.51 6.85 - -
Large 7.58 5.96 12.9 - -
All Classes 4.09 1.93 6.02 - -
Table 5.5 shows different trend in cropping patterns in two districts. In Rabi season only wheat crop is sown by the all size class farmers in Mansa district, but in Kharif season paddy and cotton crops are sown by the farmers of all size. Jalandhar district’s farmer sow wheat and potato crops in Rabi season and only paddy crop in Kharif season. Average operated area under paddy crop is more in Jalandhar district than Mansa district. But under wheat covers the same average operated area. Area under potato is high in marginal size class in Jalandhar district. So in both districts farmers are more interested in cash crops to increase their income.
Expenditure on inputs:
Expenditure on inputs on production of crops by farmers is important and determines not only the productivity also the income and profit of farmers under different crops. The main operational cost of agricultural production is on machinery, labour, irrigation, fertilizers, seeds and pesticides. The following section analyzes the expenditure on various inputs by different size class of farmers for different crops.
Expenditure on machinery:
Punjab agriculture is highly mechanized and almost all operations are carried out with the help of machinery. This may include the operation cost and the rents they pay for it.
Table 5.6 Crop wise per Acre expenditure on Machinery (in rupees)
Size/Crops Paddy Cotton Wheat Potato Maize
Jalandhar
Marginal 3161.25 - 3222.9 3984.44 -
Small 2928.48 - 3094.24 3692.52 2530.56
Medium 2285.67 - 2386.44 - -
Large 2366.1 - 2438.5 - -
All Classes 2409.67 - 2470.93 3778.95 2530.56
Mansa
Marginal 3520 2193.24 3384.62 - -
Small 3295.27 1763.54 3200.51 - -
Medium 2818.73 1473.5 2668.18 - -
Large 2390.64 1455.68 2625.75 - -
All Classes 2803.2 1569.77 2823.7 - -
Expenditure on machinery for paddy and wheat crops is less in Jalandhar district as compare to Mansa district (Table 5.6). Expenditure on machinery decreases as size class shifts upwards from marginal to large farmers in both districts. Marginal and small farmers are not able to buy machinery of their own so these two classes hire machinery from others. This increases their expenditure on machinery, for sowing, harvesting and ploughing. In the present study, the expenditure on machinery for the farmers who own machinery is calculated by adding expenditure on diesel and depreciation of machinery. In Jalandhar district machinery expenditure on paddy crop by marginal size class is Rs 3161 and Rs 2366 by large size class. There is 800 rupees difference between expenditure on machinery by these classes. Expenditure on machinery by large size class in both districts does not vary much. The operational cost on machinery declines because of scale economies. This trend is seen in almost all crops.
JECET; March- May 2013; Vol.2.No.2, 285-298 291 The difference is also wheat, cotton, potato and maize. Expenditure difference is quit visible in all other classes. Machinery expenditure is lowest on cotton crop in Mansa district.
Expenditure on Labour:
Manual labour is required for agriculture. To know the manual labour expenditure current market wages are considered for those farmer households also who used their family labour. Similar pattern is seen in on labour expenditure in both districts to that in machinery expenditure. Per acre expenditure on manual labour is Rs 900 higher in Mansa district on paddy crop as compare to Jalandhar district (Table 5.7). But expenditure on wheat has lesser difference. Difference between different size classes for expenditure on labour is less in Jalandhar as compare to Mansa district. Per acre expenditure on manual labour by large size class in paddy crop is Rs 3215.12 which is Rs 2000 less than the expenditure of marginal class, but this difference is high in Mansa district. Marginal class spends almost double on labour for paddy crop as compare to large size class.
Potato has much higher labour cost than any other crop. After potato it is paddy which uses more labour. In case of cotton the labour cost is very higher for marginal and small farmer, but relatively low for others. It is because cotton crop require labour many times more during the cultivation period.
However that labour is often remain under utilize for marginal and small farmers though they pay the same price. As a result per acre cost of labour, increases substantially for marginal and small farmers.
Table 5.7 Crop wise per Acre expenditure on Manual Labour (in rupees)
Size/Crops Paddy Cotton Wheat Potato Maize
Jalandhar
Marginal 5385 - 2994.3 9066.7 -
Small 4096.27 - 2620.94 6704.7 4744.44
Medium 3101.89 - 2407.83 - -
Large 3215.12 - 2185.85 - -
All Classes 3318.51 - 2360.02 7403.9 4744.4
Mansa
Marginal 7717.17 8313.51 4225.1 - -
Small 5137.16 5483.33 2983.16 - -
Medium 3872.02 2567.52 2534.09 - -
Large 3860.43 2674.05 1914.3 - -
All Classes 4213.62 3529.46 2487.29 - -
Expenditure on Irrigation:
Irrigation expenditure is higher in Mansa district as compare to Jalandhar district for all crops.
Irrigation expenditure on paddy crop is Rs 2168.5 per acre in Jalandhar but it is higher (Rs 3278) in Mansa district. Irrigation expenditure is higher too for wheat crop in Mansa district. Reason for the higher expenditure can be the use of diesel pumps.
In Jalandhar district, the cost of irrigation shifts upward as the size of holdings rises (Table 5.8).
Marginal and small farmers dig new tube well with each other’s contribution, means a single tube well is used by a group of farmers which minimizes there expenditure. However, the difference among various size classes is much less in Jalandhar compared to Mansa. But in Mansa district irrigation expenditure decreases as the size of farm increases. Large farmers have more capital resources so they can afford electric tube well which decreases there expenditure, but marginal and small farmer’s uses diesel pumps, so there expenditure is higher.
JECET; March- May 2013; Vol.2.No.2, 285-298 292 Table 5.8 Crop wise per Acre Expenditure on Irrigation (in rupees)
Size/Crops Paddy Cotton Wheat Potato Maize
Jalandhar
Marginal 1973.75 - 682.86 551.11 -
Small 2054.24 - 600.52 614.02 1265.28
Medium 2145.49 - 584.14 - -
Large 2268.78 - 683.66 - -
All Classes 2168.5 - 619.99 595.39 1265.28
Mansa
Marginal 5078.79 2217.03 1177.33 - -
Small 4744.59 2057.29 1316.58 - -
Medium 3029.68 872.65 1118.47 - -
Large 2599.15 582.7 757.25 - -
All Classes 3278.05 1009.5 1032.43 - -
Expenditure on Seed, Fertilizer and Pesticide:
Table 5.9 shows crop wise per acre expenditure on seeds, fertilizer and pesticides. In Jalandhar district expenditure on seed, fertilizer and pesticides is highest for potato crop (Rs 25652.6) and lowest for wheat (Rs 4033.98). Seed of potato crop is very expensive that is why this expenditure increases. The expenditure is similar in both districts on other crops. As size increases per acre expenditure also increases for the paddy crop in both districts. In Mansa district expenditure on wheat and cotton decrease as the farm size increases. Nonetheless, the difference among different size classes is less in both the districts.
Table 5.9 Crop wise per Acre expenditure on seeds, Fertilizer and Pesticides (in rupees)
Size/Crops Paddy Cotton Wheat Potato Maize
Jalandhar
Marginal 4724 - 3977.17 24751.11 -
Small 4731.19 - 3999.48 26031.8 5065.28
Medium 4953.88 - 4064.03 - -
Large 5168.17 - 3987.07 - -
All Classes 4988.77 - 4033.98 25652.6 5065.28
Mansa
Marginal 4823.03 5293.24 4145.75 - -
Small 4900.34 4803.13 4113.2 - -
Medium 5098.91 4567.09 4005.87 - -
Large 5176.17 4667.57 3900.29 - -
All Classes 5076.85 4713.82 4005.04 - -
Crop wise Total Expenditure:
Table 5.10 shows crop wise per acre total expenditure by different size classes in both districts.
Total expenditure on paddy crop is higher in Mansa district than the Jalandhar district, but for wheat crop total expenditure is almost same. Total expenditure on paddy crop varies between Rs 14858 to Rs 22100 in Mansa district, and it lies between Rs 13382 to Rs 16300 in Jalandhar district. Per acre total expenditure decreases in every crop as the size of farm increases because of scale economies. Among all the crops, potato has highest per acre expenditure on cultivation which is about 4 times the expenditure on wheat crop and about two times the expenditure on paddy.
JECET; March- May 2013; Vol.2.No.2, 285-298 293 Table 5.10 Crop wise per Acre Total Expenditure (in rupees)
Size/Crops Paddy Cotton Wheat Potato Maize
Jalandhar
Marginal 16300.25 - 11688.6 41562.22 -
Small 14726.78 - 11127.23 39590.65 14445.83
Medium 13382.1 - 10131.26 - -
Large 13740.12 - 9935.85 - -
All Classes 13710.98 - 10169.48 40174.34 14445.8
Mansa Marginal 22100.2 19018.92 13893.12 - -
Small 18966.55 14793.8 12297.6 - -
Medium 15636.38 10220.09 11191.67 - -
Large 14858.9 10097.3 10039.8 - -
All Classes 16210.6 11569.9 11126.57 - -
Input Share of Expenditure:
The crop wise cost of cultivation under different sub heads and in total provides us a picture of the present situation. However, it does not show the size class wise impotence of different factors in cultivation. There for table 5.11, 5.12 and 5.13 provide the share of different inputs in total cost of cultivation of crops. Nonetheless the share is not calculated for maize and potato due to less number of observations.
Expenditure on Wheat:
Marginal and small farmers have high expenditure on machinery as compare to remaining two classes in Jalandhar district. This is because they have to hire the machinery from market. Expenditure on machinery is lowest in medium class in Jalandhar district. In Mansa district, small and large class spends 26 percent of their expenditure on machinery which is more than the other classes. Machinery expenditure of marginal class is 24 percent of their expenditure because they use labour for harvesting so they can produce byproduct of wheat too. Data shows as size of holding increases expenditure on labour decreases in both districts. Large size classes uses machinery for harvesting, which reduces their expenditure on labour. Expenditure on seeds, fertilizer and pesticides increases as size class of farm increases to have more yields. Irrigation expenditure is less in Jalandhar district as compare to Mansa district because they uses more electric pumps for irrigation. Irrigation expenditure of small farmers is 10.70 percent; this is because they have to pay more to other classes for their irrigation needs.
Table 5.11 Share of different factors in Total Expenditure on Wheat cultivation (in percentage)
Size/Crops Machinery Labour SFP Irrigation
Other
Expenditure Total
Jalandhar
Marginal 27.57 25.61 34.02 5.84 6.94 100
Small 27.80 23.55 35.94 5.39 7.29 100
Medium 23.55 23.76 40.11 5.76 6.79 100
Large 24.54 21.99 40.12 6.88 6.44 100
All Classes 24.30 23.21 39.67 6.10 6.73 100
a
Marginal 24.36 30.41 29.84 8.47 6.91 100
Small 26.025 24.25 33.44 10.70 5.56 100
JECET; March- May 2013; Vol.2.No.2, 285-298 294
Medium 23.84 22.64 35.79 9.99 7.72 100
Large 26.15 19.06 38.84 7.54 8.38 100
All Classes 25.38 22.35 35.99 9.28 6.99 100
Input Expenditure on Paddy:
Share of different inputs to total expenditure on paddy crop has been shown in table 5.12. Paddy crop needs more water then wheat. Electric pumps are more used by farmers of Jalandhar district as compare to Mansa district. As government provides free electricity to farmers therefore, expenditure on irrigation decreases. Since the number of electric pumps is higher in Jalandhar and many marginal and small farmers share these tube wells, the cost of irrigation for them is low in Jalandhar. In Mansa district farmers depends more upon diesel pumps for their irrigation purpose, so their expenditure is comparatively high to farmers of Jalandhar district.
Paddy crop is capital intensive crop as manual labour is mostly used by the farmers. Sowing machinery is available but their efficiency is not much higher, so farmers use manual labour. Expenditure on manual labour by the marginal and small size class in both districts is highest as compare to other size classes. These classes hire labour at the higher prices due to competition.
Expenditure on seeds, fertilizer and pesticides in paddy crop increases as the farm size increases in both districts. Expenditure on seeds, fertilizer and pesticides is less in Mansa district as compare to Jalandhar district. Expenditure on machinery is higher in Jalandhar district for all classes except medium size class as compare to Mansa district. Agricultural assets are less in Jalandhar district as compare to Mansa district. In Jalandhar district farmers hire agriculture assets from market so their expenditure on these is high. Percentage of machinery expenditure is less in Mansa district compare to Jalandhar district for the marginal and small classes.
Table 5.12 Share of different factors in Total Expenditure on Paddy cultivation (in percent)
Size Machinery Labour SFP Irrigation
Other
Expenditure Total
Jalandhar
Marginal 19.39 33.03 28.98 12.10 6.47 100
Small 19.88 27.81 32.12 13.94 6.22 100
Medium 17.08 23.17 37.01 16.03 6.68 100
Large 17.22 23.39 37.61 16.51 5.25 100
All Classes 17.57 24.20 36.38 15.82 6.02 100
Mansa
Marginal 15.92 34.91 21.82 22.98 4.34 100
Small 17.37 27.08 25.83 25.01 4.68 100
Medium 18.02 24.76 32.60 19.37 5.25 100
Large 16.08 25.98 34.83 17.49 5.60 100
All Classes 17.29 25.99 31.32 20.22 5.17 100
Inputs Expenditure on Cotton:
Share of different inputs to total expenditure on cotton crop is given in table 5.13. Cotton is labour intensive crop, so use of machinery is less. Marginal and small size class spends nearly equal percentage of their total expenditure on machinery. Medium and large classes spend more on machinery than the other two classes. Marginal class spends 43.7 percent of total expenditure on manual labour which is highest among all classes. Table shows that as the size class increases expenditure on manual labour decreases. But expenditure on seeds, fertilizer and pesticides is higher of medium and large
JECET; March- May 2013; Vol.2.No.2, 285-298 295 classes among all classes. Farmers use mostly B.T. cotton seeds, which is not easily available in Punjab because of a ban on this seed by Punjab Government. Therefore, the farmers buy this seed from black market, and they have to pay more than the actual price. In some cases lower quality seeds are blended in B.T. cotton seeds, which lower the production.
Table 5.13 Share of different factors in Total Expenditure on Cotton cultivation (in Percent)
Size Machinery Labour SFP Irrigation
Other
Expenditure Total
Mansa
Marginal 11.53 43.7 27.83 11.65 5.26 100
Small 11.92 37.06 32.46 13.90 4.64 100
Medium 14.41 25.12 44.68 8.53 7.23 100
Large 14.41 26.48 46.2 5.7 7.1 100
All Classes 13.57 30.50 40.74 8.72 6.46 100
Use of fertilizer and pesticides is more in medium and large class, but marginal and small classes use fertilizer and pesticides more efficiently. Irrigation expenditure is less for this crop and it is lowest for large operational holdings because they have their own irrigation resources. Major portion of total expenditure in different crops goes to labour, seed, fertilizer and pesticides which make about 60 percent of total expenditure in wheat and paddy and about 70 percent in cotton.
Table 5.14 Size class wise Per acre Production of various crops (in Qt)
Size/Crops Paddy Cotton Wheat Potato Maize
Jalandhar
Marginal 33.21 - 21.39 185.38 -
Small 33.68 - 22.55 162.34 32.97
Medium 34.54 - 23.16 - -
Large 35.39 - 24.1 - -
All Classes 34.67 - 23.21 169.16 32.97
Mansa
Marginal 33.1 11.7 20.06 - -
Small 32.85 11.63 21.94 - -
Medium 35.98 9.94 21.7 - -
Large 36.27 9.86 20.34 - -
All Classes 35.41 10.28 21.20 - -
PRODUCTION PER ACRE:
Holding Size wise per acre production of various crops is shown in table 5.14. As the size class increases from marginal to large size class production of paddy also increase in Jalandhar district, except small class the same trend is visible in Mansa district. Production of paddy in Mansa district among medium and large size class is higher as compare to Jalandhar. Reason behind this can be more use of machinery in Mansa district, as paddy crop requires more machinery for better production. Table shows per acre production of cotton decreases as the size class of farm increases. It might be because cotton crop is labour intensive, it requires more labour than machinery. Marginal and small farmer uses their family labour for cotton crop. Large size class farmers are more interested in paddy rather than cotton because they have to hire labour for cotton production. Arrangement of sufficient labour is quite difficult process and production decrease due to delay in availability of labour. Same reason applies for potato
JECET; March- May 2013; Vol.2.No.2, 285-298 296 crop; it is labour intensive crop. Per acre production increases as the size class increases from marginal to large size class in Jalandhar district, per acre production increase as the size class increase in Mansa district too, except large size class. Production per acre is comparatively high from other states. The average paddy production is 34-35 quintal in both districts. The wheat production though lower than paddy but is quite high ranging between 20 to 24 quintals per acre in both the districts.
Total Revenue by Crops:
Table 5.15 shows class wise per acre revenue from different crops. Revenue per acre is calculated by multiplying production with market price of the crops. Prices of byproduct of wheat and cotton are also included. Per acre revenue of paddy crop in Mansa is Rs 38246.5 and it is Rs 37116 in Jalandhar. This is due to higher per acre production of paddy crop in Mansa district. Revenue trend is opposite in wheat crop to that of paddy. Revenue of wheat crop in Jalandhar district varies between Rs 30539 to Rs 34640; and it varies between Rs 29443 to Rs 31676 in Mansa district. In Mansa district difference between revenue of different size class is less but it is more in Jalandhar district. Revenue of cotton and potato crops decreases as the size of farm increases. Potato crop has highest revenue per acre from the sale of its outputs. The input output ratio is also higher for the cash crops.
Table 5.15 Size class wise per Acre Revenue from different Crops (in rupees)
Size/Crops Paddy Cotton Wheat Potato Maize
Jalandhar Marginal 35866.8 - 30539 76151.11 -
Small 36375.86 - 31876 64934.9 32972.2
Medium 37307.77 - 33229.5 - -
Large 38223.57 - 34640.6 - -
All Classes 37116.2 - 33567.8 69662.65 32972.2
Mansa Marginal 35746.9 43048.6 29159.74 - -
Small 35476.57 42648.9 31676.02 - -
Medium 38865.28 36869.2 31123.46 - -
Large 39172.3 36365.1 29443.86 - -
All Classes 38246.5 36463.2 30545.94 - -
The choice of crops grown is not random rather the farmers keep the price of the product and the choice depends on the profit level they receive from the crop production. The profitability of the crops is calculated by subtracting the total inputs from the total output per acre in money terms.
Table 5.16 shows profit from different crops in both districts. There is not much difference in profit of both districts earned from paddy crop. In Jalandhar district profit from paddy crop varies between Rs 19566 to Rs 24483, and it varies between Rs 13646 to Rs 24313 in Mansa district. Marginal size class earned less profit in Mansa district compare to Jalandhar district. This is because marginal class spends more on irrigation. Total profit from wheat is higher in Jalandhar district; it is nearly Rs 4000 more as compare to Mansa district. In Jalandhar district potato crop earns maximum profit Rs 32588.9.
There is not much difference in wheat and paddy crop profit among the districts. Data shows per acre profit of wheat and paddy crop is much less in Mansa district as compare to Jalandhar district. Marginal size class earns less per acre profit as compare to other size classes from wheat and paddy crop in Mansa district, but this size wise difference is less for cotton crop. In Mansa district per acre profit is higher for cotton crop. Paddy crop earns second highest profit.
JECET; March- May 2013; Vol.2.No.2, 285-298 297 Table 5.16 Size class wise per Acre Profit from different Crops (in rupees)
Size/Crops Paddy Cotton Wheat Potato Maize
Jalandhar
Marginal 19566.55 - 18850.4 32588.9 -
Small 21649.01 - 20749.3 25343.9 18526.39
Medium 23925.72 - 23098.2 - -
Large 24483.45 - 24704.72 - -
All Classes 23406.68 - 23398.3 29488.8 18526.4
Mansa
Marginal 13646.71 24029.73 15266.62 - -
Small 16509.99 27885.2 19378.4 - -
Medium 23228.91 26649.15 19931.8 - -
Large 24313.4 26268.11 19404.1 - -
All Classes 22035.97 26366.15 19419.3 - -
Conclusion
The main crops in Mansa and Jalandhar are wheat and paddy separately during Rabi and Kharif season. In addition potato and maize also grown during Rabi season in Jalandhar, whereas the second most popular crop of Kharif season in Mansa is cotton. The main reason behind wheat and paddy being major crops is less risk involved in production observed sale due on minimize support prices. Cotton, though less popular, is cultivated in Mansa mainly due to nonsuitability of soil for paddy cultivation and low water availability. This is the reason that cotton is popular in this season despite destruction of cotton crop buy bollworm, for many consecutively years and price fluctuation which lead most of other reason to shift to paddy. However in recent year the availability of B.T. cotton, though not allowed by the Punjab government, has lowered the risk of losing crop substantially and has proved profitable.
The result of survey show that the cost cultivation is higher for marginal and small farmers compare to medium and large. Large farmers not only have higher access to machinery, they also have lower per acre expenditure on machinery. It has been observed that small and marginal farmer likely to cultivate cotton crop in Mansa and potato as well as maize in Jalandhar. The main reason for more cultivation of cotton crop by marginal and small famers in Mansa is less availability of resources of irrigation to them.
On the other hand the cultivation of potato and maize by small and marginal farmers in Jalandhar may be due to larger requirement of labour for their cultivation, which render these crops suitable for marginal and small farmer. The higher return on potato provide an extra incentive to marginal and small farmers however it may not attract medium and large farmers as they are already getting similar level due to their cost advantage in cultivation of wheat.
JECET; March- May 2013; Vol.2.No.2, 285-298 298 AKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are thankful to Assistant Prof. Indervir singh, Central university of Himachal Pradesh, Dharmshala for completion of the research work.
REFERENCES
1. A. K. Sen, “An Aspect of Indian Agriculture”, Economic Weekly, 1962, 14, pp. 243-246.
2. A. K. Sen, “Size of Holding and Productivity”, Economic Weekly, 1964, Annual Number, February.
3. Dipak Mazumdar, “Size of Farm and Productivity: A Problem of Indian Peasant Agriculture”, Economica, 1965, Vol. 32, May.
4. C. H. Hanumantha Rao, “Alternative Explanations of the Inverse Relationship between Farm Size and Output per Acre in India”, Indian Economic Review, 1966, October.
5. G. R. Saini, “Holding Size, Productivity and Some Related Aspects of Indian Agriculture”, Economic and Political Weekly, 1971, 26, pp.A79-A85.
6. Krishna Bharadwaj, “Production Conditions in Indian Agriculture - A study based on farm Management Surveys”, Cambridge University Press 1974.
7. G. K. Chadha, “Farm Size and Productivity Re-visited: Some Notes from Recent Experience of Punjab”, Economic and Politic Weekly, Review of Agriculture, 1978, Vol.30,
8. A. K. Ghose, “Farm Size and Land Productivity in Indian Agriculture: A Reappraisal. The Journal of Development Studies, 1979, 16, pp. 27-49.
9. S. Bhalla, “Farm Size Productivity and Technical Change in Indian Agriculture. In R. A. Berry, and W. R.
Cline (eds) Agrarian Structure and Productivity in Developing Countries, Baltimore: John Hopkins Press.
1979, pp. 141-193.
10. A. P. Rao, “Size of Holding and yield Per Acre” Economic and Political Weekly, 1967, November.
11. N. Bhattacharya, and G.R. Sani, “Farm Size and Productivity – A Fresh Look”, Economic and Political Weekly, 1972, June.
12. W. Khan, and R. N. Tripathy, “Intensive Agriculture and Modern Inputs: Prospects of Small Farmers--A Study in West Godavari District”. Hyderabad: National Institute of Community Development, 1972.
13. C.H. Hanumantha Rao, “Technological Change and the Distribution of Gains in Indian Agriculture”, Delhi: Macmillan, 1975.
14. B. Dasgupta, “Agrarian Change and the New Technology in India”, Geneva: United Nations Research Institute, 1977.
15. M. Chattopadhyay, and A. Rudra, “Size-Productivity Revisited”, Economic and Political Weekly, 1976, 11:39.
16. G. R. Saini, “Farm Size Productivity and Some Related Issues in India's Agriculture: A Review”, Agricultural Situation in India, 1980, 34:11 pp. 777-783.
17. F. S. Bagi, “Farm- Level Technical Efficiency of Individual Crops.” Unpublished Paper, Department of Rural Development, Tennessee State University, USA, 1987.
18. A. B. Deolalikar, “The Inverse Relationship between Productivity and Size: A Test Using Regional Data From India” American Journal of Agriculture Economics, 1981, pp. 275-279.
* Corresponding author: Mr. Jagdeep Singh, Department of RPEG, Barkatullah University, Bhopal (M.P.) India
e-mail: [email protected] Mobile : 09876452299
