Cropping Pattern Diversification Across Assam:
Variations and Causes
-- Raju Mandal
Diversification of crops may prove to be an important source of augmenting agricultural growth
in India, when the scope for area expansion and technological breakthrough (at least in the near
future) has become largely limited. Diversification into crops as well as seasons has a special significance
in the state of Assam with a view to providing a boost to agricultural production and reducing
its instability, mostly caused by floods every year.
The paper examines the nature of cropping pattern
and extent of crop diversification in the plain districts of Assam. It investigates the possible influences
of irrigation, agricultural workforce, average size of landholdings and flood on the choice of
cropping pattern, and level of crop diversification in the said areas. A multiple linear regression model has
been used after conducting a logit transformation of the diversification index. The study reveals
that irrigation through shallow tube wells and the availability of agricultural workforce have positive
and significant role in the diversification of crops in Assam. However, flood proneness limits the same
by restricting the cropping season, thereby forcing the farmers to confine to staple crops rather
than diversifying into high value crops.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Resource Use Efficiency of Dryland Ragi
Cultivators in DPAP-Watershed and
Non-Watershed Areas: A Comparative Analysis
-- Sangameshwara Kademani B K
This paper focuses on access to resources and resource use efficiency and productivity of ragi
cultivators in the Drought-Prone Area Program (DPAP)-watershed and non-watershed areas in Chitradurga
District of Karnataka. The results reveal that the production elasticity of expenditure on seed, Farmyard
Manure (FYM), chemical fertilizer, human labor and bullock labor is higher in the DPAP-watershed areas
than in non-watershed areas. The gross return of ragi cultivators in the DPAP-watershed areas
is comparatively higher than those in the non-watershed areas. The geometric mean level of gross
return is higher in the case of beneficiaries (
4,295.61) as compared to the non-beneficiaries (
3,867.86). The gross return of the beneficiaries through the technical efficiency is 6.06% higher than that of
non-beneficiaries. The ratios of value of marginal product to marginal fixed cost of seed, FYM,
chemical fertilizer, human labor and bullock labor are higher in the DPAP-watershed areas than in the
non-watershed areas.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
A Study on the Price Behavior of Cocoon
and Raw Silk in Tamil Nadu
-- A Selvaraj and K R Vijaysanthi
The success of sericulture industry is mainly based on proper and highly efficient marketing
which assures good prices to the farmers. Efficient marketing helps in minimizing wide fluctuations in
cocoon prices. It is found that fluctuations are due to variations in cocoon quality, absence of quality
control, intervention of middlemen and poor marketing facilities. The prices paid to the cocoons continue
to hover around within a narrow range, despite the award of prices to different grades of cocoons
through bidding in an open auction. Women are preferred because of their nature, patience and hard work
and hence they are employed in mulberry garden or silkworm rearing in a grainage or weaving center,
etc. However, their work has not always been recognized or rewarded. Though sericulture is lucrative
by nature, it faces various problems in aspects of cultivation and marketing. The problems faced
by sericulturists mainly relate to insufficient financial support from government agencies, climatic
hazards, wide fluctuations in cocoon prices and also, to some extent, inadequacy of extension services. This
study reveals problems like rearing sheds, lack of awareness, low literacy level, poor infrastructure, etc.
The availability of cocoon throughout the year can ensure the extension agency and the rearer of
regular buyers in the market a better price. The better price received by the silk worm farmers is the major
reason for the high profitability of the enterprise. On the basis of the findings of the present study,
various recommendations have been offered. If these recommendations are followed properly, it will pave
the way for increased production of mulberry cocoons, leading to an increase in foreign exchange
earnings, besides giving a larger employment opportunity to the farm families, silk yarn reeling silk weavers
and the like in the silk industry.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
The Role of Dairy Cooperatives
in Women Empowerment
-- Jigna Trivedi, P K Priyan and Vinay Bhinde
People of rural India face a lot of hardships to earn livelihood. A majority of them are engaged
in agriculture, animal husbandry and other ancillary activities. Income from agricultural activity has
been as erratic as the monsoon. Hence, rural people are forced to think of generating additional
revenues. Since these people are less literate and posses limited skills, the hunt for alternate source of income
is constrained to a few occupations. A majority of them choose rearing of milch cattle and selling the
milk as a source of secondary income. Cattle rearing is a diversification from existing agricultural
activity. Largely, rural women are engaged in this activity. These rural women, besides doing hard
household chores, also undertake the taxing job of cattle rearing. They supply the milk to the
well-established district cooperative dairies working successfully on the Anand model. The present paper is an effort
to study the role of district cooperative dairies in helping the women to be
self-reliant, self-employed, self-diligent, and empowered.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Houses, Household Amenities
and Living Standard in Nagaland
-- Sanjoy Das
The present study examines the status of availability of the type of houses and some important
household amenities in Nagaland. The study also undertakes a comparative analysis of various issues with
respect to the country as a whole, for a better understanding of the problems. The study shows that only
16.3% of total households in Nagaland have permanent houses, while almost
one-third of total households has temporary houses, based on the Census 2001 data. Among the
rural households in Nagaland, only 9.4% have permanent houses. However, as per the latest report
of National Family Health Survey (2005-06), 20.6% of total households in the state have permanent houses.
As far as, the availability of electricity, toilet and bathroom facilities is concerned, the state
showed an impressive performance relative to the country, whereas the position of the state with regard to
the availability of drinking water and LPG connection was not good relative to that of the country.
Overall, in the case of rural households, the access to most of the basic amenities was extensively limited
in comparison to the urban households.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
