December2020 Agri
December2020 Agri
December2020 Agri
SITUATION IN INDIA
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DECEMBER, 2020
In academic column’s first article, the authors Agro-economic research section brings out a
analyzed the growth and instability in area, production report on market analysis of bamboo products in Assam
and productivity of castor from 1976-77 to 2017-18 based prepared by Agro-Economic Research Centre for North-
on the secondary data collected from Directorate of East India, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat. The
Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture and prime objectives of the report inter-alia, include, study
Farmers Welfare. For this purpose, compound growth the potentialities of bamboo products in Assam; to
rates (CGRs) of area, production and productivity of study the National Bamboo Mission (NBM) programs
castor in India as well as across major castor producing in Assam; to find out the marketing channels and to
States were calculated using the exponential production identify the critical issues encountered by the producers in
function and agricultural instability was calculated using marketing of bamboo products and suggest ameliorative
the coefficient of variation (CV), dispersion, Cuddy policy measures, etc. For this purpose, both primary and
Della Valle Index (CDV), etc. The analysis reveals that secondary data were collected from two sample districts,
Gujarat and Rajasthan experienced higher growth in area, Jorhat and Sivasagar. Based on the findings of the study
production and productivity during the last four and and field observations, the report, inter-alia, suggest
half decades. This is mainly due to the release of hybrid promoting campaign to make the artisans educated
castor varieties like GAUCH-1 in 1973 and GCH-2 in and aware of various schemes & programmes launched
1985. However, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Odisha by the Government; to modernize product-process
could not explore the benefits of hybrid/HYV technology. and upgradation of techniques to meet the changing
Further, instability in overall study period revealed that, requirements of the customers; to exempt the bamboo
medium instability was found in area and productivity products from excise duty and other taxes to promote its
while high instability was found in production. Rajasthan export; training the artisans and help them create bamboo-
recorded the highest instability. Based on the findings, it based industries; developing adequate infrastructure and
has been suggested that Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and positive environment to attract younger generations, etc.
Odisha may focus on further refinement of castor hybrid
technology to increase castor cultivation. Since, the world Promodita Satish
Farm Sector News
The Ministry of Agriculture along with Central The Union Agriculture Minister further said
Institute of Horticulture, Nagaland, on 11 th that the entire nation is witness that Prime Minister
November, 2020, organized a virtual meeting on Shri Narendra Modi has focused on agriculture
‘Value Chain Creation for Kiwi fruit – Farm to Fork’ and allied sector right from the beginning and his
keeping in mind the popularity of the fruit due to leadership has guided all to look threadbare and
its tremendous commercial potential. The meeting in-depth into all aspects of agriculture especially the
was chaired by the Union Minister of Agriculture gaps which need to be filled in order to ensure that
and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar farmers can reap the benefits of their toil. He said that
in presence of Minister of State for Agriculture, a new chapter is being introduced in the agricultural
Shri Parshottam Rupala, Secretary, Department of history of Nagaland which will be highly beneficial
Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and other officials to the kiwi farmers of the State. He said that this
of the Ministry and State of Nagaland. programme of kiwi Production enhancement will
prove to be a milestone in the years to come.
Addressing the gathering, the Union Minister
of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Shri Tomar also elaborated the problems faced
Singh Tomar said that the entire north east due to by the farmers in the north-east region namely lack
difficult terrain is lagging behind and all ministries of good planting material, productivity issues, lack
including agriculture ministry are working towards of packaging facilities and marketing networks for
ensuring a progressive north east. He said that farmers. Considering the problems faced, he said
this lag needs to be removed and can only be that centre is working hand in hand with state
done through a comprehensive vision along with governments and especially the Central Institute
stable policy planning and balanced growth across of Horticulture, Nagaland and the Department of
the region as envisioned by Prime Minister Shri Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has taken key steps
Narendra Modi. to ensure proper training and capacity building of
farmers in production as well as packaging of kiwi
Shri Tomar stated that the Himalayan sub- products is done. The government is also ensuring
temperature climate is suitable for kiwi production that farmers are connected to the market so that they
and there is a need to introduce high yielding can reap a fair price for their produce. The institute in
cultivars. With extensive research and development Nagaland has also conducted training and exposure
support, the commercial cultivation of kiwi fruit has visit of farmers from Phek District of Nagaland for
been extended from the Sub-Himalayan regions of helping them understand how to reap good returns
India to the mid hills of Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, through kiwi production. Shri Tomar added that
Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and persistent efforts should be made by all to ensure
Nilgiri Hills. Presently, India is producing 13,000 Nagaland can emerge as the ‘Kiwi State’ of India.
MT of kiwi in an area of about 4,000 ha in Arunachal
Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh. Union Agriculture Minister and Minister of
Railways, Consumer affairs, Food and Public
India currently imports 4,000 tonnes of Distribution interact with representatives of
kiwis from New Zealand, Italy and Chile. Shri Farmers Organizations from Punjab in New Delhi
Tomar said that to strengthen Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi’s vision and mission of creating an The Agriculture Minister Shri Narendra Singh
Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Ministry of Agriculture Tomar, Minister of Railways Shri Piyush Goyal
is trying to provide handholding support to kiwi and Shri Som Prakash MoS Ministry of Commerce
farmers across the country. This is also in line & Industries interacted with the representatives of
*Source: www.pib.nic.in
farmers organizations of Punjab on 13th November, PMKSY-Per Drop More Crop to encourage farmers
2020 in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. to install micro irrigation systems.
At the outset, the Agriculture Minister Steering Committee of MIF has approved
cordially welcomed the representatives of farmers projects for loan of ` 3971.31 crore comprising
organizations of Punjab and briefed about the ` 764.13 crore for Gujarat, ` 1357.93 crore for Tamil
reforms made in the agriculture sector to empower Nadu, ` 616.13 crore for Andhra Pradesh, ` 276.55
the farmers. It was emphasized that agriculture crore for West Bengal, ` 790.94 crore for Haryana,
is always on the top priority for Government of ` 150.00 crore for Punjab and ` 15.63 crore for
India to boost rural economy. He mentioned that Uttarakhand.
the Government is taking several measures for
the welfare of farmers with a specific focus on NABARD released loan of ` 659.70 crore to
‘Aatmnirbhar Bharat’. The new farm acts would Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. Thereby a total
not only provide freedom of choice to the farmers amount of ` 1754.60 crore has been released so
to sell their produce at remunerative price but also far, comprising ` 616.13 crore to Andhra Pradesh,
safeguard the interest of farmers. ` 937.47 crore to Tamil Nadu, ` 21.57 crore to
Haryana and ` 179.43 crore to Gujarat.
During the interaction, the ministers also
informed the representatives of farmer organizations Shri Narendra Singh Tomar unveiled Sahakar
that procurement of farm produce on MSP and the Pragya
Mandi system will continue as before. The new farm
act will encourage Mandis to provide better services Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare,
to the farmers. Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Food
Processing Industries, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar,
The representatives of the farmers’ unions on 24th November, 2020, unveiled Sahakar Pragya.
expressed their views on new farm acts.The The 45 new training modules of Sahakar Pragya of
farmer’s representatives were also apprised with the National Cooperative Development Corporation
other initiatives taken by the Government such (NCDC) will impart training to primary cooperative
as Agriculture Infrastructure Fund and formation societies in rural areas of the country along with
of 10,000 farmer producer organizations aiming Lakshmanrao Inamdar National Cooperative
towards income enhancement of farmers and Research and Development Academy (LINAC).
creating employment opportunities for youth in rural Sahakar Pragya embodies enhancing NCDC’s
areas. training capacity by eighteen fold through an
elaborate network of 18 regional training centres
During the interaction various issues related across the country by the dedicated Laxmanrao
to farmer’s welfare were discussed at length. It was Inamdar National Academy for Cooperative Research
assured that the Government of India is always and Development (LINAC) set up and fully funded
committed to protect the interest of farmers and by NCDC.
is always open for discussions for the welfare of
farmers. The talks were held in a cordial atmosphere On this occasion, Mr. Tomar called upon the
and both sides agreed to continue to hold further cooperative sector to play a role in making the
discussions. village-poor-farmers AtmaNirbhar. Shri Tomar said
that today India boasts a huge network of over 8.50
Release of Interest Sub-vented Loan from Micro- lakh cooperative societies with about 290 million
Irrigation Fund (MIF) members and around 94% of the farmers in India are
member of at least one cooperative society. He said
Micro Irrigation Fund with a corpus of ` 5000 crore that cooperatives have a major role in AtmaNirbhar
created with NABARD was operationalised in 2019- Bharat and it lends strength to farmers to minimize
20. The objective of the Fund is to facilitate the states risks in agriculture and allied sectors and act as
in availing an interest subvented loan for expanding shield against exploitation by unscrupulous traders.
coverage of micro irrigation by taking up special and
innovative projects and also for incentivising micro Shri Tomar further added that there are more
irrigation beyond the provisions available under than 2.53 lakh gram panchayats in the country,
through which the Government is working to ensure life and dedication in the realm of cooperative
that every household has access to basic amenities movement. NCDC’s guidance videos in different
like toilets, electricity, water, cooking gas, etc. He languages covering local requirements of 18 States
further said that there are 86 percent small farmers on Sahakar Cooptube strengthens the major initiative
in the country, who cannot invest in farming on of Government of India to promote and form 10,000
their own, the government is focusing on developing FPOs.
facilities like cold storage at village level for them,
so that farmers are not forced to sell their produce Working with the ideals mooted by Prime
at low prices. Minister Shri Narendra Modi for doubling the
farmers’ income, Stand Up India and Skilling India,
Shri Tomar said that NCDC has emerged as a NCDC has earlier launched various initiatives
financial powerhouse giving the client cooperatives and programmes like SAHAKAR-22 to develop
a wide range of products and services. So far it has cooperatives in Focus 222 districts, including
advanced loans to the tunes of ` 1.58 lakh crores to aspirational districts, nurturing primary level
cooperative societies of various categories across the cooperatives, SAHAKAR MITRA–scheme on
country. Sahakar Pragya is the latest in the series of internship programme, YUVA SAHAKAR-Start-
farmer focused steps by NCDC. up scheme in cooperatives and AYUSHMAN
SAHAKAR- for creation of healthcare infrastructure
These 45 training modules of Sahakar Pragya and services.
to be delivered at LINAC and its countrywide
network of regional training centres will address Union Agriculture Minister inaugurated Honey
the need for training of primary cooperatives, Farmer Producer Organizations by NAFED
FPO-cooperatives and self-help groups federating.
The training programmes will be supported under The Honey FPO Programme of National Agricultural
NCDC schemes, 10000 FPO formation scheme of Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited
Government of India, Agri Infra Fund scheme of (NAFED) was inaugurated by Minister of Agriculture
Government of India, PM-FME scheme of Ministry and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar on
of Food Processing Industry, Dairy Infrastructure 26th November, 2020. The inauguration programme
Development Fund scheme of Government of India, was hosted online and attended by the new Honey
Fisheries Infrastructure Development Fund scheme FPOs, farmers and FPOs from various parts of the
of Government of India, PM Matsya Sampada country.
Yojana of Government of India, Ministry of Rural
Development schemes State/UT schemes, other Inaugurating the programme, the Minister stated
organizations’ schemes. that “Beekeeping in India is highly predominant in
the unorganized sector among the rural and tribal
NCDC has been created for the purpose population. Despite having a huge potential of
of planning and promoting programmes for the honey production in the country, the beekeeping
production, processing, marketing, storage, export industry is still underdeveloped. The adoption
and import of agricultural produce, foodstuffs, level of beekeeping is also quite less due to various
industrial goods, livestock, certain other commodities constraints. NAFED will address these issues by
and services like hospital & healthcare and education, acting as an intermediary and filling up the gaps
etc., on cooperative principles. It extends financial between the elements of the beekeeping supply
assistance to cooperatives at all the three tiers, chain and also ensure price remuneration to the
Primary, District and Apex/Multi-State. beekeeping farmers. Through these Honey FPOs,
NAFED will also work for promotion of beekeeping
Known for hand-holding cooperatives across as an occupation for unemployed women and tribal
the country with funding and project ideas, NCDC populations and uplift their livelihood”. Shri Tomar
has been proactive in delivering innovative solutions also said that honey beekeeping will change the
for the cooperative sector. In the series of initiatives lifestyle of small and marginal farmers and help in
by NCDC had earlier launched the Sahakar Cooptube achieving the goal of increasing farmer’s income.
NCDC Channel with the aim to involve youth
in the cooperative movement. Formation of new Government of India is promoting the creation
cooperatives is a prerequisite for bringing new of FPOs in view of their significant role in fulfilling
the mission of implementing agricultural reforms in covered under the programme are Sundarbans in
the country. Promotion & formation of FPOs is the West Bengal, East Champaran in Bihar, Mathura
first step for converting Krishi into Atma Nirbhar in Uttar Pradesh, Morena in Madhya Pradesh and
Krishi. For this purpose new central sector scheme Bharatpur in Rajasthan. The First Honey FPO,
for formation & promotion of new 10,000 FPOs was Chambal FED Shahad Utpadak Sahakari Samiti,
launched. in the state of Madhya Pradesh under National
Beekeeping & Honey Mission was registered on
Under the new FPO scheme, so far National 11.11.2020 under the Cooperatives Act. The FPO
Level Project Management Advisory and Fund will cover 5 blocks consisting of about 68 villages
Sanctioning Committee (N-PMAFSC) had allocated in Morena District of the state. The other four FPOs
2200 FPO clusters for 2020-21 to all implementing in the state of Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and
agencies (IAs). N-PMAFSC allocated 500 FPOs to West Bengal shall cover 340 villages in these states.
SFAC, 600 FPOs to NABARD & 500 FPOs to NCDC, Through these 5 FPOs, 4000–5000 beekeepers/honey
100 FPOs to Watershed Development Department collectors would be benefitted directly.
of Karnataka, 50 FPOs to SFAC-Haryana, 50 FPOs
to Tamil Nadu SFAC, 50 FPOs to North Eastern The Honey FPOs made by ISAP under the aegis
Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd of National Bee Board (NBB) and NAFED will help
(NERAMAC), 100 FPOs to NRLM Division of MoRD its members in not only upgrading their skills in
for the current FY (2020-21). Additionally, specialized scientific bee keeping but will also help in making
FPOs to be formed, 100 Organic FPOs by INM, its members set up state of the art infrastructural
DAC&FW, 100 Oilseed FPOs by DAC&FW and 50 facilities for processing honey and allied beekeeping
commodity specific FPOs by NAFED with value products like bee’s wax, propolis, royal jelly, bee
chain development. venom, etc., quality control laboratories, collection,
storage, bottling and marketing centres. These
Implementing agencies had also identified FPOs will benefit by the schemes of Mini Mission–1
the block wise clusters. FPOs will be developed by and Mini Mission–2 of National Beekeeping and
specialist ’Cluster Based Business Organizations Honey Mission (NBHM) of National Bee Board. The
(CBBOs)’ engaged by implementing agencies. beekeepers/honey collectors of all the 5 states would
NAFED had already empanelled the CBBOs and be helped in branding and collective marketing of
other IAs is in the process of empanelment of CBBOs. their honey and other allied products of bee keeping
through the marketing channels of NAFED. Efforts
National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing will also be made to explore the overseas market for
Federation of India Limited (NAFED) has been improving the returns to the bee keepers and honey
appointed as the 4th National Implementing Agency collectors.
other than SFAC, NABARD and NCDC for the
creation of 10,000 FPOs by the Department of MSP Operations during Kharif Marketing Season
Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare 2020-21
(DAC&FW). NAFED has recently taken over the
national level Federation of Indian FPOs and In the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2020-
Aggregators (FIFA) with the aim of creating 21, Government continues to procure kharif 2020-21
sustainable small holder institutions to enhance crops at its MSP from farmers as per its existing MSP
collective capacities, shortening of agri produce value Schemes.
chains for equitable returns to all stakeholders and
leveraging technology for enhanced transparency, Paddy procurement for kharif 2020-21 is
scale and seamless agri produce trading. Creation continuing smoothly in the procuring States & UTs
of Honey FPOs is one of the thrust areas of FIFA’s of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana,
business plan. Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Jammu &
Kashmir, Kerala, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha
NAFED, through its empanelled Cluster Based and Maharashtra with purchase of over 316.93
Business Organisation (CBBO) Indian Society of LMTs of paddy up to 29.11.2020 against the last year
Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP) has initiated the corresponding purchase of 267.22 LMT showing an
formation and promotion of FPOs of beekeepers increase of 18.60 percent over last year. Out of the
and honey collectors in 5 states of India. The areas total purchase of 316.93 LMT, Punjab alone has
contributed 202.74 LMT which is 63.97 % of total Upto 29.11.2020, the Government through its
procurement. nodal agencies has procured 100429.81 MT of moong,
urad, groundnut pods and soyabean having MSP
Paddy Proc. during KMS 2020-21 value of ` 540.92 crores benefitting 57956 farmers
upto 29.11.20 and corresponding in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana and
Proc. during KMS 2019-20 (in LMT) Rajasthan.
316.93
Similarly, 5089 MT of copra (the perennial
crop) having MSP value of ` 52.40 crore has been
procured benefitting 3961 farmers in Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu upto 29.11.2020 as against the last year
267.22 Up by corresponding purchase of 293.34 MT of copra. In
18.60% respect of copra and urad, rates are ruling above MSP
in most of the major producing states. The respective
State/UTs governments are making necessary
KMS 2019-20 KMS 2020-21
arrangements for commencement of procurement
from the date as decided by the respective states
About 29.53 lac farmers have already been based on the arrivals in respect of kharif pulses and
benefitted from the ongoing KMS procurement oilseeds.
Operations with MSP value of ` 59837.31 crore.
Moong, Urad and Groundnut Pods and Copra (Upto 29.11.20)
Major Paddy Procuring States in KMS Soyabean (Upto 29.11.20)
Paddy MSP and Farmer Benefitted 5240
2020-21 5089
(Upto 29.11.20)
3% 5% 2% 100429
5983731 1%
3961
7% Punjab
54092 57956
Haryana
2953000 UP
Tamil Nadu
64%
18% Uttrakhand
Telangana
Others PROC. QUAN. MSP VALUE NO. OF FARMERS Proc. Quan. MSP Value No. of Farmers
MSP VALUE NO. OF FARMERS
(IN MT) (RS. IN LAKH) BENEFITTED (In MT) (Rs. in Lakh) Benefitted
(RS. IN LAKH) BENEFITTED
Further, based on the proposal from the states, Procurement operations of seed cotton (kapas)
approval was accorded for procurement of 45.24 under MSP are going on smoothly in the States
LMT of pulse and oilseeds of Kharif Marketing of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh,
Season 2020 for the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Odisha and Karnataka. Till 29.11.2020 a quantity of
Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh 2816255 cotton bales valuing ` 8286.91 crore has been
under Price Support Scheme (PSS). Further, sanction procured benefitting 565591 farmers.
for procurement of 1.23 LMT of copra (the perennial
crop) for the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kapas (Upto 29.11.20)
Tamil Nadu and Kerala was also given. For other 2816255
States/UTs, approval will also be accorded on receipt
of proposals for procurement of pulses, oilseeds and
copra under PSS so that procurement of FAQ grade
of these crops can be made at notified MSP for the 828691
565591
year 2020-21 directly from the registered farmers, if
the market rate goes below MSP during the notified
Procured MSP Value No. of Farmers
harvesting period in the respective States/UTs by Quantity (Rs. in Lakh) Benefitted
the central nodal agencies through state nominated (In Bales)
procuring agencies.
Articles
Dynamics of Castor Production and Instability in major States of India
Abstract
The significance of the Indian castor crop in recent years has increased, as it brings sizeable amount of foreign
exchange to the country. In the present study, the dynamics of castor production and instability has been analyzed
for different periods ranging from 1976-77 to 2017-18. India achieved high growth rate in area, production and
yield of castor during 1986-87 to 1995-96 at the remarkable rate of 3.89, 15.42 and 11.10 percent per annum,
respectively, mainly due to the notable performance of Gujarat and Rajasthan. The major reason behind this
performance was the release of hybrid castor varieties like GAUCH-1 in 1973 and GCH-2 in 1985. Besides, the
release of castor varieties, viz., GCH-6 in 2000 and GCH-7 in 2006 in Gujarat contributed largely in recent
production of castor. It is found that during overall study period (1976-77 to 2017-18) at all India level also the
growth rate of area, production and yield increased considerably. Moreover, Andhra Pradesh recorded significant
growth in production and productivity of castor, but its area declined significantly in recent period. While,
Karnataka and Odisha had witnessed deterioration in growth rates both in area and production. Rajasthan
recorded the highest instability of 56.90 percent in area, 74.21 percent in production and 33.24 percent in yield
during the study period. It is suggested that instability observed in various states during the study period
needs to be reduced and yield should be improved by developing wilt resistant, short duration, location specific
high yielding varieties of castor. The existence of wide variation in castor yield across growing states due to
differences in climatic conditions, infrastructural developments and utilization patterns need to be focused for
further improvement in yields.
there exists wide variation in castor yield across The value of log b in equation (2) was computed
castor-growing states due to differences in climatic using the formula,
conditions, infrastructural developments and input
utilization patterns. These variations underline the
importance of studying the growth performance and
instability in castor production at the state as well
as at country level. Therefore, the present study was Where,
undertaken to analyse the growth and instability in
castor area, production and productivity from 1976- N = Number of years.
77 to 2017-18.
Subsequently, the compound growth rate (%)
2. Methodology was computed using the formulation,
The present study is based on the secondary Compound growth rate (r) = [(Antilog of log b)-1]*100 ............ (4)
data collected from Directorate of Economics and
Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Student ‘t’ test was used to determine the
Welfare. The time series data on area, production and significance of the growth rates obtained for which,
productivity of castor for five major castor growing the following formulation was employed,
states was collected for a period from 1976- 77 to
2017-18. The analysis of growth and instability in t = log b/SE (log b) ………………….. (5)
area, production and productivity were carried out
from year 1976-77 to 2017-18, which further, split
into five periods, viz., Period-I (1976-77 to 1985-86),
Period-II (1986-87 to 1995-96), Period-III (1996-97 The calculated ‘t’ values, from equation (6),
to 2005-06) and Period-IV (2006-07 to 2017-18), and was compared with the table ‘t’ values and the
overall Period-V (1976-77 to 2017-18). significance was tested for 1, 5 and 10 percent
probability levels.
Compound growth rate
Instability indices
The compound growth rates (CGRs) of area,
production and productivity of castor in India as In order to study variability in export trade of
well as across the major castor producing states castor, the instability index was used as a measure
were calculated using the exponential function of of variability. The coefficient of variation (CV) was
the following specification, calculated by using the following formula:
In the log form, the above function (1) was The trend coefficient was tested for its
formulated as, significance. Whenever, the trend coefficient was
found to be significant, the variation around the
log Yt = log a + t log b …………….................. (2) trend rather than variation around mean was used
as an index of instability. The formula suggested by
Where, Cuddy and Della (1978) was used to compute the
degree of variation around the trend.
Yt = Area/production/productivity of castor in the
year ‘t’;
t = Time variable in years taking the value of 1, 2,
3, ...n; Where,
a = Intercept; Ix = Instability index;
b = Regression coefficient (1+r); and CV = Coefficient of variation;
– 2
r = Compound growth rate. R = Adjusted coefficient of multiple determination;
(in '000'tonnes)
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Andhra Gujarat Karnataka Odisha Rajasthan Tamil Nadu All India
Pradesh +
Telangana
Av. TE 1972-73 Av. TE 1982-83 Av. TE 1992-93
Av. TE 2002-03 Av. TE 2012-13 Av. TE 2017-18
TABLE 2: Period-wise Growth Rates of Area, Production and Productivity of Castor in major
States of India
Area 2.48 0.166 -2.13 0.121 4.69 0.214 -9.52** 0.327 -2.09*** 0.334
Andhra
Pradesh & Production 5.73** 0.244 3.05 0.184 12.09*** 0.286 -8.79** 0.379 1.11** 0.402
Telangana
Yield 3.17 0.265 5.29*** 0.103 7.06*** 0.136 0.79 0.325 3.27*** 0.231
Area 13.22*** 0.070 13.30*** 0.369 -2.16 0.162 6.58** 0.252 4.29*** 0.210
Gujarat Production 11.71*** 0.202 22.61*** 0.429 -3.68 0.273 7.64** 0.252 6.14*** 0.382
Yield -1.33 0.161 8.22*** 0.223 -1.56 0.185 0.97*** 0.029 1.77*** 0.186
Area 0.54 0.095 -3.26*** 0.052 -2.08 0.190 -9.76*** 0.118 -2.30*** 0.222
Karnataka Production 6.60* 0.263 -4.93** 0.172 -3.25 0.298 -12.80*** 0.228 -1.91** 0.440
Yield 6.03** 0.205 -1.72 0.148 -1.20 0.201 -3.51** 0.162 0.39 0.264
Area 4.77** 0.156 -3.30*** 0.063 -7.27*** 0.138 -8.65*** 0.162 -3.73*** 0.215
Odisha Production 7.19*** 0.187 -3.63** 0.114 -1.79 0.173 -8.65*** 0.182 -3.19*** 0.264
Yield 2.30* 0.121 -0.33 0.073 5.91** 0.207 0.21 0.016 0.58*** 0.163
Area 20.69*** 0.296 24.68*** 0.596 9.04 0.485 5.92 0.312 11.91*** 0.480
Rajasthan Production 14.83** 0.437 46.62** 0.992 9.14** 0.456 7.22 0.420 17.72*** 0.708
Yield -4.85 0.290 17.60* 0.532 0.09 0.502 1.22 0.197 5.19*** 0.470
Area 4.22 0.206 6.07*** 0.158 -14.59*** 0.297 -3.72 0.269 -3.22** 0.621
Tamil
Production 0.43 0.216 5.76*** 0.161 -14.36*** 0.323 -2.08 0.169 -3.38*** 0.583
Nadu
Yield -3.63*** 0.010 -0.30** 0.010 0.27 0.095 -0.01 0.012 -0.31*** 0.086
Area 5.50*** 0.094 3.89*** 0.117 0.84 0.176 2.49 0.233 1.85*** 0.170
All India Production 9.38*** 0.175 15.42*** 0.262 -1.07 0.246 6.06** 0.253 5.44*** 0.278
Yield 3.67* 0.177 11.10*** 0.164 -1.90 0.189 3.49*** 0.036 3.52*** 0.188
Source: Author’s calculation from DES (2019) data.
Note: *, **and *** indicates significance at 10, 5 and 1 percent levels, respectively.
Sonnad et al. (2011) also found that growth rates of and Rajasthan. The growth rates in area, production
area, production and productivity of major oilseed and productivity were 4.29%, 6.14% and 1.77%,
crops in the post-WTO period was less compared to respectively, in Gujarat while, the same in Rajasthan
pre-WTO period in India. were 11.91%, 17.72%, 5.19%, respectively. At all
India level, positive and significant growth rates in
In the overall period, i.e., Period V, among area (1.85%), production (5.44%) and productivity
all castor growing states in India, positive and (3.52%) were found during the study period. During
significant growth rates of castor area, production the overall study period, a significant increase in
and productivity were recorded only in Gujarat productivity of castor is found in Andhra Pradesh,
Figure 2: Period-wise Growth Rates of Castor Production in major States of India (CGR %)
50
40
30
20
10
0
-10
-20
During the Period III from 1996-97 to 2005-06 there was severe drought condition in most parts of
Odisha, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Whereas, Karnataka ranges of instability are as follows:
IndiaOdisha
and including
had Gujarat
witnessed and Rajasthan during
significantly negative1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2002-03. Castor being long duration
growth rates in both area and production. Odisha Low instability = between 0 to 15
crop required
recorded multiple
significantly irrigations
positive growth after withdrawal
rate only in of monsoon.
Medium instability = between 15 to 30
productivity (0.58%). Tamil Nadu had significantly
negative Tamil
growthNadurates recorded the highest
in area (-3.22%), growth rates
production in High
Period II in area
instability (6.07%)than
= greater and30production (5.76%)
(-3.38%) and productivity (-0.31%).
compared to all other periods of study, while, in Period III, Tamil Nadu showed drastic reduction in growth
During Period I, castor area in Gujarat (9.16%),
rates Improved
in area (-14.59%) and production (-14.36%). In overall(9.35%),
technologies coupled with favourable Karnataka study Odisha
period (13.62%) and atNadu
also, Tamil all India
showed
weather and low insect-pest pressure in major castor level (8.61%) had shown low instability (Table
significant
growing decrease
tracts in growth
has enabled thisrates of area (-3.22%),
transformation in production
3). Whereas,(-3.38%)
Andhra and yield (-0.31%).
Pradesh (15.76%) and Tamil
production and productivity. Similar results were Nadu (22.71%)
Besides, uneven distribution of rainfall also affected sowing operations and showed medium instability
causedinreduction
castor in
obtained by Kachroo et al. (2010) reported that in area. During Period I, Rajasthan had recorded high
India
yield. castor
Solankiand coconut
et al. oilseeds were
(2007) reported similartheresults
only stated
instability in area
that castor area (48.73%) and highest
and production instabilityduring
was unstable
oilseeds which were showing positive growth trends in production (57.87%) and productivity (30.74%).
1985-86past
during to 2003-04 in Rajasthan. Besides, Sonnad et al. All
four decades. (2011) also
other found
states that study
under growth andrates of area,
India production
as a whole
and productivity of major oilseed crops in the post-WTO showed medium
period instability
was less compared in production
to pre-WTO and period in
3.3. Instability in castor area, production and productivity in Period I.
India.productivity
During Period II, very low instability in
In the overall
The agricultural period,can
instability i.e., be
Period V, among
measured by all castor
castor growing
area wasstates in India,
recorded positive and
in Karnataka significant
(5.18%)
different methods,
growth rates such as
of castor the coefficient
area, production of and
variation and were
productivity Odisha (5.99%).only
recorded Medium instability
in Gujarat in area The
and Rajasthan.
(CV), dispersion, Cuddy Della Valle Index (CDV), was recorded in Andhra Pradesh (13.04%), Gujarat
growth
etc. rates instudy
The present area, applies
productionthe CDV and Index
productivity
and were4.29%,
(20.22%), Tamil6.14%
Naduand1.77% , respectively,
(12.5%) and in Gujarat
at all India level
CV for measuring the instability. The present study (10.89%). Rajasthan also showed high instability
while, the
divides samevalues
the CDV in Rajasthan
into threewere 11.91%,
categories, 17.72%,in5.19%,
which respectively.
area (47.71) during At all India
Period level, positive
II. In production of and
represent
significanta growth
range ofratesinstability
in area(Sihmar,
(1.85%),2014). The
production castor Andhra
(5.44%) Pradesh (17.14%),
and productivity (3.52%) wereGujarat (20.97%),
found during the
study period. During the overall study period, a significant increase in productivity of castor is found in
December, 2020 | Agricultural Situation in India | 13
Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Whereas, Karnataka and Odisha had witnessed
significantly negative growth rates in both area and production. Odisha recorded significantly positive
Articles
Karnataka (16.26%), Odisha (11.74%), Tamil Nadu Whereas, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan
(13%) and all India (17.71%) showed medium and Tamil Nadu experienced high instability.
instability. The highest instability in production was Odisha and Rajasthan showed high instability
seen in Rajasthan (74.01%). During Period II highest in case of production too. Rajasthan and Andhra
instability in productivity was also seen in Rajasthan Pradesh during Period IV showed high instability
(44.16%). Whereas, Odisha and Tamil Nadu revealed in production. While, during the same period low
low instability in productivity during Period II. instability was recorded in productivity in Gujarat
(3.01%), Odisha (1.58%), Tamil Nadu (1.2%) and at
During Period-III, production of castor in all India level (3.47%).
Gujarat and Odisha shown medium instability.
TABLE 3: Instability Analysis of Castor Area, Production and Productivity in major States of India
Figure 3: Instability of Castor Area, Production and Yield in major States of India during 1976-77 to
2017-18 (CDV%)
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Andhra Gujarat Karnataka Odisha Rajasthan Tamil Nadu All India
Pradesh +
Telangana
Area Production Yield
Instability in productivity was least in Tamil of 1.85%, 5.4% and 3.52% per annum, respectively,
Instability
Nadu (9.38%) and in productivity
highest was least
in Rajasthan in Tamil Nadu
(33.24%), during(9.38%) anddecades.
last four highestHowever,
in Rajasthan (33.24%),
Andhra in
Pradesh,
in overall period under study. Thus, the Rajasthan Karnataka and Odisha could not
overall period under study. Thus, the Rajasthan indicated higher instability in case of area, production and explore the benefits
indicated higher instability in case of area, production of hybrid/HYV technology.
productivity
and in allinperiods
productivity underunder
all periods study. This might
study. This be due to the fact that Rajasthan has short monsoon
might be due to the fact that Rajasthan has short In India, instability in overall study period
period and less availability of irrigation facilities. These results are in line with findings of Mahendradev
monsoon period and less availability of irrigation revealed that, medium instability was found in area
facilities.
(1987). These results are in line with findings of and productivity and high instability was found in
Mahendradev (1987). production. Rajasthan recorded the highest instability
of 56.90 percent in area, 74.21 percent in production
4. Conclusion and Suggestions
4. Conclusion and Suggestions during the study period and the highest instability
in productivity in 1986-87 to 1995-96. Besides, the
The analysis of the growth rate in castor area, higher production instability was observed in all the
production and productivity revealed that Gujarat
The analysis of the growth rate in castor area, production states and
during all the period
productivity underthat
revealed study.
Gujarat and
and Rajasthan experienced higher growth in area,
Rajasthan experienced
production and productivityhigher growth
during in area,
the last production
four and and productivity
Based during
on research done,the last four
following and half
suggestions
half decades.
decades. The The remarkable
remarkable growth
growth rate rate in Gujarat
in Gujarat may be
and Rajasthan given: in remarkable increase in the growth
resulted
and Rajasthan resulted in remarkable increase in the
rate of castor
growth rate ofarea, production
castor and yieldand
area, production at the
yieldrate
at of 3.89,
i. 15.42 and 11.10
Andhra percent
Pradesh, per annum,
Karnataka andrespectively,
Odisha may
the rate of 3.89, 15.42 and 11.10 percent per annum, focus on further refinement
at all India level during 1986-87 to 1995-96. This is mainly due to the release of hybrid castor varieties of castor hybrid
like
respectively, at all India level during 1986-87 to technology to increase castor cultivation.
GAUCH-1
1995-96. in is
This 1973 and due
mainly GCH-2 in 1985.
to the releaseAtofallhybrid
India level also, the growth rate of area, production and yield
castor varieties like GAUCH-1 in 1973 and GCH-2 in ii. Instability needs to be reduced and yield may
1985. At all India level also, the growth rate of area, be improved by developing wilt resistant,
production and yield increased notably at the rate short duration, location specific, high yielding 11
Cuddy, J. D. A. & Della, V. P. A. (1978). Measuring Solanki, S. S., Singh, I. & Rao, D. S. (2007). Growth
the instability of time series data. Oxford analysis of production technology in castor.
Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 40(1), pp. Journal of Oilseeds Research, 24(2), pp. 295-298.
79-85.
Sonnad, J. S., Raveendran, N., Ajjan, N. & Selvaraj,
DES, (2019). Directorate of Economics and Statistics. K. N.(2011). Growth analysis of oilseeds crops
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, in India during pre and post WTO periods.
Government of India. Data rretrieved from Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Sciences,
website: www.eands.dacnet.nic.in (accessed on 24(2), pp. 184-187.
20 April, 2019).
Tewari, D. D. (2012). A historical policy review of
Kachroo, J., Kachroo, D. & Sharma, A. (2010). Growth success of castor revolution in Gujarat, India.
and instability of major oilseeds of India based
on Logistic and Coppock’s model. Agricultural J Hum Ecol, 38(3), pp.213-222.
Situation in India, 16(10), pp. 589-600.
Tewari, D. D. & Rao, V. M. (1991). Castor economy: A
Mahendradev, S. (1987). Growth and instability in profile and analysis of Indian and International
food grains production: An inter-state analysis. market. New Delhi: Oxford and IBH,
Economic and Political Weekly, 22(39), pp. Publication.
82-85.
Abstract
Ashwagandha is an important medicinal plant used in the traditional system of medicine from ancient time.
Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research) (CSIR-CIMAP)
introduced and promoted the Ashwagandha cultivation on large-scale through bio-village mission mode approach
in semi-arid tropics of Deccan Plateau. The present study was conducted in Kurnool and Anantapur districts of
Andhra Pradesh. The study is based on primary data. The primary information was obtained from 100 farmers
through pre-structured interview schedule in order to estimate the socio-economic status of farmers and their
resource use structure. About one third of cost of cultivation was accorded to harvesting (31.70%) followed by
cost incurred in intercultural operations (19.46%). The Benefit Cost ratio of Ashwagandha crop cultivation
was observed as 3.08:1. The resource use efficiency of Ashwagandha crop was also calculated by using multiple
linear regression method. R2 value was found to be very high. The yield of Ashwagandha was positively and
significantly influenced by all the independent variables except the plant protection. The correlation between
the yield and input use in Ashwagandha shows that cultivation of Ashwagandha is highly correlated with all
the variables except irrigation and plant protection due to cultivation in the rainfed area.
Project Assistants, 3 Research Associate, 4 Technical Assistant, 5 & 6 Senior Scientist, 7 Principal Scientist at CSIR- Central Institute of
1 &2
Centre situated at Hyderabad. size, occupation, caste, and family size, literacy
rate, cropping pattern and farm assets. The
The two high-yielding varieties of Ashwagandha simple summation, percentage and average
namely Poshita and NIMTLI-118 were introduced for of the values were calculated and have
cultivation at farmer’s field in Kurnool and Anantpur been presented in tabular form for better
districts of Andhra Pradesh. Later it spread in to understanding.
other adjoining districts of Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana. Kurnool and Anantapur districts lie in ii. Casts and returns analysis
arid and semi-arid regions of Andhra Pradesh. At
present, this crop is being cultivated by 6000 farmers The cost and returns for Ashwagandha
on an area of about 4000 hectares in Deccan plateau. cultivation was worked out based on
The buyers from Neemuch (Madhya Pradesh) Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices
and other parts of the country are purchasing the (CACP) cost concept by using following various
Ashwagandha roots from farmers through local cost such as cost A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2 and C3.
traders and directly from farmers group.
Cost A1: It is usually considered as the cost
1.1. Objectives for landowner farmer’s and generally it includes the
following items as wages of hired human labours
i) To study the socio-economic status and profile
of resources used by Ashwagandha growers. i. Imputed value of owned machinery
ii) To estimate the costs and returns of ii. Charges of hired machinery
Ashwagandha cultivation iii. Imputed value of owned seeds
The present study was carried out in Kurnool and vii. Market value of plant protection chemicals
Anantapur districts of Andhra Pradesh. The study viii. Irrigation charges
is based on primary data; collected with regard to
the objectives formulated for the research work. ix. Interest on working capital
Researchers deployed a pre-structured interview
schedule. From selected districts, three villages x. Depreciation charges on farm building,
namely Kottala, Belagallu and Lingampally were machinery, implements, etc.
selected purposively on the basis that CSIR-CIMAP xi. Land revenue
introduced Ashwagandha cultivation in these
villages. A pooled list of all Ashwagandha growers xii. Miscellaneous charges
was prepared for all three selected villages and thus,
the numbers of 100 Ashwagandha growers were Cost A2: The cost A2 is defined for tenant farmer.
selected through Probability Proportionate Method. Mathematically cost A2 can be expressed as
The data were tabulated, analyzed and interpreted
in the light of the objectives by employing statistical Cost A2 = Cost A1 + Rent paid for leased land
tools. The analytical tools of data discussed in the
following sections. Cost B1= A2 + interest on amount of owned capital
invested in cultivation of Ashwagandha excluding
i. Descriptive analysis the value of land
To meet the first objective, descriptive analysis Cost B2 = Cost B1 + rental value of owned land- (land
was applied to the study the socio-economic revenue +rent paid for leased in land)
status of Ashwagandha growers and profile of
their farm with respect to average landholding Cost C1 = Cost B1 + imputed value of family labour
Cost C2 =Cost B2 + imputed value of family labour maximum numbers of Ashwagandha growers were
belonged to the schedules caste (51.52%) followed by
Cost C3 = Cost C2 +10% Cost of C2 as a managerial Other Backward Class (41.41%) and tribal farmers
service (7.07%). The average family comprises of five family
members, which may be considered as a small
Cost C3 – Value of by product family. The literacy rate among the Ashwagandha
Cost of production = ——————————————
Yield growers was quite high at 84.94%, which indicated
that year of schooling of grower’s positive influence
iii. Cobb-Douglas production function the adoption of Ashwagandha cultivation as a
medicinal crop. In the study area maximum numbers
The resource-use efficiency of the inputs used of (57.49%) were cultivating Ashwagandha as
by the Ashwagandha growers was estimated medicinal crop followed by traditional crops (42.51%)
using Cobb-Douglas production function in like cotton, castor, etc. The sampled farmers in the
following form region had average assets of ` 1, 52,015.
infestation of insect-pest and diseases. It is revealed obtained by growers was 6.91 quintal/ha. and seeds
that only 0.28 % cost incurred in irrigation and plant 201.80 kg./ha. By conducting the market survey, the
protection. average market price per quintal of dried roots was
observed ` 14,165 and seed ` 96/kg. The net return
The earlier study conducted by (Rao BRR et al.)6 over total variable cost was found ` 88,436 and
on Ashwagandha cultivation and results revealed benefit-cost ratio found to be 3.08:1. It is revealed
that the crop produces 400-1200 kg/ha dried roots that the profitability of Ashwagandha cultivation is
and 200-500 kg seeds/ha. The growers sell good almost three times the investment. It implies, growers
quality roots at the price of ` 100-150/kg and seeds investing ` 100 rupees in Ashwagandha cultivation
at ` 40-100/kg. The cost of cultivation works out and will earn profit ` 308 within 6-7 months.
to ` 15,000-25,000/ha. The net profit ranges from
` 25,000-1,55,000/ha. The growers also earned the TABLE 3: Yield and Profitability of Ashwagandha
additional by selling seeds and leaves. Cultivation
over cost A1 was found highest Rs.71, 222/ha; followed by net returns over cost B1, (Rs.
TABLE 4: Costs and Returns of Cultivation based on CACP Cost Concept (`/ha)
68390/ha), C1, (Rs. 67830/ha) B2, (Rs. 55890) C2 (Rs. 68390/ha) and C3 (Rs. 49144/ha).
Costs Amount Net returns over costs
(`/ha) A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2 & C3 (`/ha)
Table 4: Costs and returns of cultivation based on CACP cost concept (Rs./ha)
A1 45,963 71,222
Rent paid for leased in- land 0
Amount Net returns over - costs
Costs
A2 (Rs./ha)
45,963 A1,A2,B1,B2,C71,222
1,C2 &C3 (Rs./ha)
A1 45,963 71,222
Interest on fixed capital @ 7% per annum 2,832 -
Rent paid for leased in- land 0 -
B1 48,795 68,390
A2 45,963 71,222
Rental value of land 12,500 -
Interest on fixed capital @ 7% per annum 2,832 -
B2 61,295 55,890
B1 48,795 68,390
Imputed value of
Rental value of family
land labour 56012,500 --
C1
B2(Cost B1 + Imputed value of family labour) 49,355
61,295 67,830
55,890
Imputed
C2 (Cost B2value of family
+ Imputed valuelabour
of family labour) 61,855 560 -
55,330
C1(Cost
C3 (CostC2B1 + Imputed
+ 10% value
managerial costofoffamily
cost C2)labour) 49,355
68,041 67,830
49,144
C2 (Cost
Value B2 produced
of seed + Imputed value of family labour) 61,855
19,378 55,330
-
C3 (Cost
Yield C2 + 10% managerial cost of cost C2)
(Quintal) 68,041
6.91 49,144
-
Value of seed produced 19,378 -
Cost of Production (`/per quintal) 7,042 -
Yield (Quintal) 6.91 -
Source: Primary data collected from farmer’s field survey
Cost of Production (Rs./per quintal) 7,042 -
Source: Primary data collected from farmer’s field survey
Figure 1: Costs and Returns of Ashwagandha Cultivation based on CACP Cost Concept
Figure1: Costs and returns of Ashwagandha cultivation based on CACP cost concept
80000
70000
Costs (Rs./ha)
A1,A2,B1,B2,C1,C2 &C3
60000
50000
20000
10000
0
A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 C3
on land preparation resulted in an increase of 1.3 condition and infestation of insect-pest and diseases
percent returns. Regression coefficients of investment prevalence in Ashwagandha is low.
on planting material, seed sowing, irrigation,
intercultural operation, plant protection was also TABLE 6: Degree/Strength Relationship
positive and significant at 5% probability level. between Yield and Deployed Inputs
However, application of manures and fertilizer,
harvesting charge and miscellaneous expenditure Variables Coefficient
incurred during production period are negatively
Land preparation (X1) 0.905**
related. The remaining inputs used in production
process of Ashwagandha are insignificant. Planting material (X2) 0.934**
introduction of medicinal plants in the country. of India. Prime Lane, Chronica Botanica, New
Delhi, 670.
5. Conclusions
Dymock W, Warden CJH and Hooper D (1976).
It can be concluded from present study that Pharmacographia Indica. Vol. II, M/s Bishen
cultivation of Ashwagandha is a profitable venture Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun & M/s
for the farmers of the study area. The profit earned Periodical Experts, New Delhi, 566-572.
by farmers from Ashwagandha cultivation is
much higher than traditional crop varieties. The Kirtikar KR and Basu B (1980) D. Indian Medicinal
cultivation may also open up new avenue for agri- Plants. 2nd ed. Vol. III, Lalit Mohan Basu,
entrepreneurship by promoting the processing of Allahabad, India, 1774-1777.
Ashwagandha roots in to powder and extraction of
chemical alkaloids for export market. The cultivation Nadkarni, A.K. (1954) Indian Materia Medica. 3rd
of Ashwagandha also promotes conservation of Ed., Vol. 1, Popular Book Depot, Bombay,
natural resources, as it can be easily cultivated l292–1294.
in rain-fed condition with limited use of plant
protection chemicals. Rajeshwara Rao B R, Rajput D K, Nagaraju
G and Adinarayana G. (2012) Journal of
References Pharmacognosy, Vol. 3.( 2), 88-91.
Chopra RN, Nayar SL and Chopra IC (1980). Singh S and Kumar S (1998) Withania Somnifera: The
Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council Indian Ginseng Ashwagandha, pp.293.
of Scientific & Industrial Research, New Delhi,
191-258. Singh S, SPS Khanuja, Aparbal Singh, Man Singh and
U B Singh (2003) Journal of Spices and Aromatic
Dey KL and Bahadur R (1973). Indigenous Drugs Crops, Vol. 12 (2), 101-103.
Agro-Economic Research
Market Analysis of Bamboo Products in Assam*
1.1. Importance of the study iv. To identify the critical issues encountered by
the producers in marketing of bamboo products
The importance of bamboo products in Assam’s and suggest ameliorative policy measures
economy is very vital and its contribution is
increasing steadily day by day. Today, bamboo sector 2. Data and Methodology
is considered as the second biggest employment-
creating sector after agriculture with abundant The present study is based on both primary and
artisans engaged in craft work on a part-time basis. secondary level data. The primary data have been
Bamboo occupies a predominant position in the collected from the respondents by using specially
state’s handicraft industry and a sizable section of designed interview schedules and questionnaires for
the population is associated with it. The potential of the study. The study was conducted in two districts
bamboo handicrafts has not been properly tapped; of Assam, viz., Jorhat and Sivasagar considering the
for instance, ongoing export of some of bamboo highest number of artisans commercially involved
products to other countries and its marketing within in bamboo products marketing in consultation with
the country has not received adequate attention. Role the office of the Commissioner of Handloom and
of intermediaries in this section has a debilitating Handicraft, Guwahati. Accordingly, the artisans’ lists
effect on the industry. Technological progress is were collected from the Development Commissioner
also inadequate because of structural and financial (Handicraft) office, Jorhat.
constraints. Thus, the future of this industry largely
depends on the resolution of all those vexed issues. In the second stage, from each selected
*Agro-Economic Research Centre for North-East India, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat (Assam)
Note: Detailed report is available on the website of respective Agro-Economic Research Centres
district, two blocks were selected randomly. Then NBM and Restructured NBM scheme annually
from each selected block, 40 numbers of bamboo since the inception of the scheme (2006-07).
artisans involved in bamboo products marketing
were interviewed to collect the primary level iv. It was observed that the highest percentage of
information. Moreover, 10 numbers of bamboo respondents (32.50%) was found in ` 1-2 lakh
products wholesalers from each district were also income groups followed by below ` 1 lakh
taken to better know the marketing aspects of the (28.12%), ` 3 lakh & above (24.38%) and ` 2-3
bamboo products. Thus, total 160 numbers of sample lakh income group (15.00%).
artisans and 20 bamboo products wholesaler were
covered under the study. For collecting secondary v. Of the total sample respondents, 43.13 percent
level information, the relevant data were collected were found to live in Kutcha houses, 38.74
from the Department of Commerce and Industry, percent in Semi-pucca houses and 18.13 percent
Government of India and Government of Assam, in Pucca houses. The Kutcha houses were found
Department of Natural Resource Management, to be more common among the lower income
Government of India, National Bamboo Mission Cell, groups.
Economic Survey(s) of Assam, Statistical Handbook,
Government of Assam and from various published vi. Of the total 160 sample respondents, 15.37
and unpublished sources, research journals, news percent population was below 15 years and
articles, research articles, etc., and related websites. 15.88 percent belonged to age group of over
60 years of age. Rest 68.75 percent population
The sample artisans have been classified in to was between the age group of 15-60 years.
four groups based on their annual turnover from
the bamboo products marketing. The groups were vii. The total owned land holding was recorded
categorized as below ` 1 lakh, ` 1 lakh – 2 lakh, 65.94 hectares with an average size of holding
` 2 lakh to 3 lakh and ` 3 lakh and above income being 0.41 hectare per respondent. The
group. maximum area of land was possessed by ` 1-2
income group (21.60 hectares) closely followed
3. Summary of Major Finding of the Study by below ` 1 lakh (21.58 hectares), ` 2-3 lakh
(13.26 hectares) and ` 3 lakh and above income
i. Bamboo is one of the most abundant, group (9.50 hectares).
environment-friendly and sustainable resource
in North Eastern Region (NER). More than 50% viii. Of the total gross cropped area of 122.61
of the bamboo species in India are found in hectares, the highest area was occupied by the
this region. The NER states harbour nearly 90 income group of ` 1-2 lakh, closely followed
species of bamboos, of which 41 are endemic by below ` 1 lakh, ` 2-3 lakh and ` 3 lakh and
to thisregion. above income group. The overall cropping
intensity was recorded at 161.90 percent.
ii. Total bamboo area in Assam is about 2.23
million hectares as against India’s total area ix. The sample respondents used to grow different
of 15.70 million hectares. Out of 130 bamboo crops in both kharif and rabi seasons. Krarif
species available in India, 51 species are grown crops grown were paddy, pulses and vegetables
in Assam and they are being used for different while rabi crops included paddy, pulses and
purposes, mainly for buildings, furniture and vegetables andoilseeds.
diverseitems.
x. In the kharif season, the highest performance
iii. The importance of bamboo in the NER has of HYV paddy with 34.25 quintal per hectare
been widely recognized by the Government of was recorded against the income group of
India through numerous policies and programs. ` 1-2 lakh and in case of local paddy the highest
The central government through the National yield was found at 24.85 quintal against the
Bamboo Mission (NBM) scheme, is focusing income group of below ` 1 lakh. The average
on the development of the complete value yield of HYV paddy stood at 33.75 quintal
chain of bamboo sector. For this purpose the per hectare and that of local paddy was 24.13
Government of India releasing fund under quintal perhectare.
xi. In the rabi paddy, the highest yield of 35.86 xvi. Per household gross return from the bamboo
quintal per hectare was found against the products was found highest against the income
income group of ` 1-2 lakh with an overall group of ` 3 lakh & above (` 3,05,419) followed
average of 35.23 quintal per hectare across the by ` 2-3 lakh (` 2,29,509), ` 1-2 lakh (` 1,20,913)
incomegroups. and below ` 1 lakh (` 97,053).
xii. In kharif vegetables, the highest yield rate of xvii. The benefit cost ratio (BCR) were found to be
16.80 quintal per hectare was found against positive in all the income size groups. The BCR
the highest income group of ` 3 lakh & above were worked out at 1.32:1 for below ` 1 lakh
and the lowest yield of 15.62 quintal was found income group, 1.45:1 for 1-2 lakh income group,
against the income group ` 2-3 lakh. In rabi 1.51:1 for 2-3 lakh income group and 1.95:1 for
vegetables, the highest yield of 18.90 quintal 3 lakh and above income group. The overall
per hectare was recorded against ` 1-2 lakh BCR was estimated at 1.61:1.
income group and the lowest yield of 16.87
quintal was found in highest income group xviii. In the study area, the sample artisans disposed-
(` 3 lakh & above) with an overall average of off their produce through a number of marketing
17.98 quintal. channels. The common and popular marketing
channels prevailed in the study area are- (i)
xiii. The overall average income per household from Producer – Retailer – Consumer, (ii) Producer
agricultural source was found at ` 38,526.88 and – Wholesaler - Retailer – Consumer and (iii)
from subsidiary occupation, it was found at Producer -Commission Agent/Middleman –
` 74,320.25. Out of the total income, the share Wholesaler–Retailer – Consumer.
of agricultural income was 31.14 percent for
income group below ` 1 lakh, 33.26 percent xix. It was found that maximum volume of bamboo
for income group of ` 1-2 lakh, 49.00 percent products was traded through channel- III
against the income group of ` 2-3 lakh and (63.59 %) followed by channel-II (28.24%) and
26.56 percent for the income group of ` 3 lakh Channel-I (8.17%).
and above, with an overall average of 34.14
percent. In case of subsidiary source of income, xx. Although the maximum amount of transaction
the highest percentage of income was earned took place through channel-III, yet, channel-I
by the large income group (73.44 %) and lowest could be the most efficient one because of the
amount of income was obtained by the income fact that the number of market intermediaries
group of ` 2-3 lakh (51.00%), with an average was less in channel-I as compared to the other
of 65.56 percent. channels and thus producers could earn higher
margin in channel-I in the study area.
xiv. The total material costs was found at ` 55,79,885
and average per household material costs 3.1. Problem areas
was estimated at ` 34,874. The per household
expenditure was found to be highest in the Based on the field level observations, the pressing
income group of ` 3 lakh & above (` 47,034), problems as perceived by the sample artisans can
followed by ` 2-3 lakh income group (` 42,490), be enumerated as follows:
` 1-2 lakh income group (` 29,820) and below
` 1 lakh income group (` 26,115) i. Low level of education was perceived to the one
of the most important issues, as pointed out by
xv. Per household cost incurred on different the artisans. Lack of proper education makes it
bamboo products by the sample artisans of difficult for the artisans to manage inventory,
below ` 1 lakh income group was ` 73,597, access the opportunities of Government
for income group ` 1-2 lakh was ` 83,496, for schemes and gain market information and to
` 2-3 lakh income group, it was estimated at bargain with traders and middlemen.
` 1,51,796 and for ` 3 lakh & above income
group, it was recorded at ` 1,56,834. The overall ii. Exploitation by the intermediaries was yet
average cost was found at ` 1,08,833. another crucial problem faced by the bamboo
artisans in Assam. The middleman/commission Forty percent respondents started the business
agents collected the bamboo products from due to the reason of low investment and 56
the producers at a very low price and they percent sample respondents motivated to get
usually sold those items at a high price to the involved in the business because of rising
consumers. Thus, the producers get very low demand for bamboo products.
price for their products & were deprived of
their due share. ii. Although the Central and the State Government
had taken various measures to develop the
iii. In the absence of a price mechanism the bamboo bamboo sector with timely initiatives to
artisans were affected adversely. Due to uplift the bamboo artisans under different
unorganized nature of markets, same products components of NBM, hardly 40 percent of the
were sold at different prices and it varied from sample respondents were found to aware of the
place to place and some of the artisans were NBM programme and its benefits.
compelled to sell their produce at very low
price. iii. Only 10 percent sample artisans possessed
Pehchan Card (Artisan Identity Card) with
iv. Large scale inflows of machine-made items which they can get some incentives from the
at relatively lower prices competing with the Ministry of Textile, Government of India. But,
handmade product with higher price tag put 90 percent of the total respondents were not
the bamboo artisans at a great disadvantageous aware about the benefits of the card. Seventy
position. Due to durability and appealing five percent of the respondents wanted to
designs, the consumers usually preferred those improve the quality and design of their
items to high cost and short durable bamboo products while 25 percent were satisfied with
products which dampened the spirit of the the design and quality of their products.
bamboo artisans.
iv. Among the sample artisans, 82 percent took
v. The study revealed that the local artisans part in national and international exhibition
are still using simple traditional tools and organized by various Government organizations
techniques of production which were very and NGOs and 50 percent of them considered
laborious and time-consuming. Availability it to be very useful.
of modern machines is either not known to
them, or they might not have sufficient means v. Nearly 92 percent of the bamboo artisans wanted
to acquire those. to continue producing bamboo products to
make a good living through commercialization
vi. Due to high cost of labour and materials, it while only 8 percent of the respondents were
became very difficult on the part of the artisans averse to expansion of their business.
to run their family with this venture alone.
Eighty percent of the sample artisans did not 4. Suggestions and Policy implications
get any opportunity for skill development
training in order to develop the quality of their Based on the findings of the study and field
products. Only 20 percent of the sample artisans observations, the following suggestions can be put
had some short- term exposure training, which forward for growth and development of bamboo
they considered to be beneficial. sector and bamboo product marketing in Assam:
vi. State Government may arrange for display Acharya, S.S. & Agarwal, N.L. (2011). Agricultural
of the bamboo craft items in various airports, Marketing in India.New Delhi: Oxford & IBH
railway stations, bus stands, commercial centers Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., pp. 460-466.
and prominent places to promote the artisans
and their products. Das, P. (2019). Problems associated with local
Artisans involved in Cane and Bamboo Craft
vii. Government may promote opening of raw in Dibrugarh District of Assam. International
material shop in the vicinity of rural areas Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences,
whereby the artisans can retrieve the raw 8(2),pp.19-24. ISSN: 2319-393X
materials at reasonable price on time.
Dhurga, S. (2017). Problems and Prospects of Bamboo
viii. Rural artisans should be provided with Market in India. Aayvagam an International
adequate, timely and cheaper loan facilities Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 5(2), pp.
for establishment of bamboo-based industries. 86-89. ISSN: 2321-5739
Benefits of the subsidy policy, if any, also be
made known to them. Dutta, K. (2016). Natural Fibre Mission and the
Current Status of Bamboo Handicrafts Industry
ix. A d e q u a t e i n f r a s t r u c t u r e f a c i l i t i e s a r e – A Case Study of Jalphaguri district of West
prerequisite for any development process. As Bengal. International Journal of Management
such, facilities like transport, communication & and Social Science Research Review, 1(3), pp.
power supply can give a boost to the livelihood 302-306.
of bamboo artisans as well.
Forest Survey of India. (2019). Forest Report of
x. Dedicated effort should be made to create a India.
positive environment to attract the younger
generation to adopt the traditional handicraft Gopalkrishna, R.(2000). Assam: land and people.
practice as an additional alternative venture New Delhi: Omsons Publications
for livelihood. For that matter, effective
measures may be taken to educate this lot on Gopish. G. (2019). Production and Marketing
potentialities and profitability of bamboo & Challenges of Handicraft Products with Special
bamboo products. reference to Wood Craft. International Journal
**Complete references can be seen in the detailed report available at the website of respective AERC.
Commodity Reviews
Foodgrains
1 2 3 4 5
Figure 1: State-wise
Figure State-wise Procurement
Procurement of
of Rice
Rice
(In thousand tonnes)
Figure 1: State-wise Procurement of Rice (In thousand tonnes)
Source:Department
Source: DepartmentofofFood
Food&&Public
PublicDistribution.
Distribution.
Procurement of Wheat details are given in Table 2. The figure 3 depicts the
comparison of procurement of wheat during the
The total procurement of wheat during rabi marketing season 2020-21 (up to 29.09.2020) with the
marketing season 2020-21 up to 29.09.2020 is 38.99 corresponding period of last year. The percentage
million tonnes as against 34.79 million tonnes share of different states in procurement of wheat has
during the corresponding period of last year. The been given in figure 4.
1 2 3 4 5
Commercial Crops
Figure 5: WPI
Figure
Figure 5: ofof
5: WPI
WPI commercial
of crops
commercial
commercial during
crops
crops October,
during
during 2020
October,
October, 2020and
2020 andSeptember,
and September,2020
September, 2020
2020
450
450
400
400 October,
October, 2020
2020 September,
September, 2020
2020
350
350
300
300
250
250
200
200
150
150
100
100
50
50
00
Safflower (Kardi Seed)
Sunflower Oil
Mustard Oil
Tea
Oilseeds
Soyabean
Chillies (Dry)
Sugarcane
Condiments & Spices
Potato
Turmeric
Copra oil
Onion
Raw Jute
Soyabean Oil
Groundnut Oil
Rapeseed Oil
Groundnut Seed
Copra (Coconut)
Niger Seed
*Manufacture of veg.
Castor Oil
Coffee
Cotton seed Oil
Raw Cotton
Sunflower
Cotton Seed
Black Pepper
Gingelly Seed (Sesamum)
Rape & Mustard Seed
*Manufacture of of
*Manufacture
*Manufacture Vegetable,
of Animal
Vegetable,
Vegetable, Oils
Animal
Animal and
Oils
Oils Fats
and
and Fats
Fats
Figure
Figure 6:
Figure6: WPI
6:WPI of commercial
WPI of commercial crops
crops during
during October,
October, 2020
2020and
2020 andOctober,
and October,2019
October, 2019
2019
450
450
400
400
October,
October, 2020
2020 October,
October, 2019
2019
350
350
300
300
250
250
200
200
150
150
100
100
50
50
00
Oilseeds
Copra (Coconut)
*Manufacture of veg.
Soyabean Oil
Niger Seed
Sunflower
Castor Oil
Copra oil
Potato
Onion
Turmeric
Tea
Mustard Oil
Soyabean
Sunflower Oil
Groundnut Oil
Rapeseed Oil
Coffee
Raw Jute
Black Pepper
Sugarcane
Raw Cotton
Groundnut Seed
Chillies (Dry)
Cotton Seed
*Manufacture
*Manufacture of
of Vegetable,
Vegetable, Animal
Animal Oils
Oils and
and Fats
Fats
Statistical Tables
Wages
Skilled Labour
Field Labour
Other Agri.
Herdsman
Working Hours
Month & Year
Daily Normal
Labour
Carpenter
Cobbler
Smith
Black
State District Centre
M W M W M W M M M
Karnataka Bangalore Harisandra Dec, 19 8 360 340 300 300 340 330 500 400 NA
Tumkur Gidlahali Dec, 19 8 350 320 350 350 350 320 400 360 NA
Maharashtra Bhandara Adyal June, 20 8 300 200 275 200 275 200 400 350 350
Chandrapur Ballarpur June, 20 8 300 200 300 200 300 NA 350 300 200
Jharkhand Ranchi Gaitalsood June, 19 8 239 239 239 239 239 239 330 330 NA
Skilled Labour
Field Labour
Other Agri.
Herdsman
Working Hours
Month & Year
Daily Normal
Labour
Carpenter
Cobbler
Smith
Black
M W M W M W M M M
Andhra Pradesh Krishna Ghantasala Sep,20 8 550 300 800 500 400 NA NA NA NA
Karnataka Bangalore Harisandra Dec, 19 8 360 340 300 300 340 330 500 400 NA
Tumkur Gidlahali Nov, 19 8 350 320 350 350 350 320 400 360 NA
Maharashtra Bhandara Adyal June, 20 8 300 200 275 200 275 200 400 350 350
Chandrapur Kothari June, 20 8 300 200 300 200 300 NA 350 300 200
Skilled Labours
WorkingHours
Month & Year
Normal Daily
Harvesting
Ploughing
Herdsman
Weeding
Sowing
Black Smith
Carpenter
State District Centre
Cobbler
M 8 300 NA 250 250 200 NA 275 280 NA
Assam Barpeta Howly Apr, 20
W 8 NA NA 170 170 150 NA NA NA NA
Skilled Labours
WorkingHours
Month & Year
Normal Daily
Harvesting
Ploughing
Herdsman
Weeding
Sowing
Black Smith
Carpenter
State District Centre
Cobbler
M 8 250 250 200 NA 250 150 500 500 NA
Hoshangabad Sangarkhera Aug, 20
W 8 NA NA 200 NA 200 NA NA NA NA
Skilled Labours
WorkingHours
Month & Year
Normal Daily
Harvesting
Ploughing
Herdsman
Weeding
Sowing
Black Smith
Carpenter
State District Centre
Cobbler
M 8 300 300 300 300 300 NA 500 NA NA
Meerut Meerut July, 20
W 8 NA 250 250 250 250 NA NA NA NA
M 8 NA NA NA NA 300 NA 500 NA NA
Chandauli Chandauli July, 20
W 8 NA 300 NA NA 300 NA NA NA NA
M - Man
W - Woman
NA - Not Available
NR – Not Reported
* The State reported district average daily wage
Skilled Labours
Other Agri Labour
Type of Labour
WorkingHours
Month & Year
Normal Daily
Harvesting
Ploughing
Herdsman
Weeding
Sowing
Black Smith
Carpenter
State District Centre
Cobbler
M 8 300 NA 250 250 200 NA 275 280 NA
Assam Barpeta Howly May, 20
W 8 NA NA 170 170 150 NA NA NA NA
Skilled Labours
WorkingHours
Month & Year
Normal Daily
Harvesting
Ploughing
Herdsman
Weeding
Sowing
Black Smith
Carpenter
State District Centre
Cobbler
M 8 292 292 292 292 272 120 510 483 450
Rajkot Rajkot April, 20
W 8 NA 292 292 292 272 100 NA NA NA
Gujarat*
M 8 300 300 150 150 150 NA 400 350 300
Dahod Dahod April , 20
W 8 NA 250 150 150 150 NA NA NA NA
Skilled Labours
WorkingHours
Month & Year
Normal Daily
Harvesting
Ploughing
Herdsman
Weeding
Sowing
Black Smith
Carpenter
State District Centre
Cobbler
M 8 500 500 500 500 500 NA 500 460 NA
Punjab Monga Nathoke Aug, 20
W 8 NA 400 NA 400 400 NA NA NA NA
M - Man
W - Woman
NA - Not Available
NR – Not Reported
* The State reported district average daily wage
Prices
2. Wholesale Prices of certain Agricultural Commodities and Animal Husbandry Products at
Selected Centres in India
Arhar Split Sort II Quintal Tamil Nadu Chennai 10000 9600 8400
Mustard Seed Black (S) Quintal Uttar Pradesh Kanpur 4940 4750 3690
Linseed Bada Dana Quintal Uttar Pradesh Kanpur 4950 5250 4600
Cotton Seed Mixed Quintal Tamil Nadu Virudhunagar 2100 1900 2500
Cotton Seed MCU 5 Quintal Tamil Nadu Coimbatore 3000 3000 2800
Sesamum Seed White Quintal Uttar Pradesh Varanasi 8200 9200 9800
Mustard Oil Ordinary 15 Kg. West Bengal Kolkata 2050 1900 1400
Groundnut Oil Ordinary 15 Kg. Tamil Nadu Chennai 2500 2350 2120
Sesamum Oil Ordinary 15 Kg. Tamil Nadu Chennai 3320 3200 3500
Banana Medium 100 No. Tamil Nadu Kodaikkanal 600 600 700
Milk Buffalo 100 Liters West Bengal Kolkata 6000 6000 6200
Ghee Deshi Deshi No 1 Quintal NCT of Delhi Delhi 60030 63365 68701
Ghee Deshi Desi Quintal Uttar Pradesh Kanpur 40500 40350 39000
Eggs Madras 1000 No. West Bengal Kolkata 5476 5145 4120
Tobacco Bidi Tobacco Quintal West Bengal Kolkata 13200 13100 13200
Price Correction for the month of July 2020, August, 2020 and September, 2020
Ghee Deshi Deshi No 1 Quintal NCT of Delhi Delhi 63365 70035 70035
Crop Production
Sowing and Harvesting Operations Normally in Progress during the Month of January, 2021
Andhra Summer Rice, Ragi, (R), Small Millets Winter Rice, Jowar (K), Maize (R), Ragi, (K),
Pradesh (R) other Rabi, Pulses, Sugarcane, Onion Tur (K), Urad (K), Mung (K), Winter Potato
(Plains), Sugar cane, Groundnut,Castorseed,
Cotton, Mesta, Sweet Potato, Garlic.
Bihar Summer Rice, Winter Potato (Plains), Winter Potato (Plains), Sugarcane,
Sugarcane Groundnut, Rapeseed & Mustard, Linsed.
Karnataka Summer Rice, Ragi (R), Urad, Mung (R) Winter Rice, Jowar (R), Bajra (K), Ragi (K),
Potato (Plains) Sugarcane Wheat, Barley, Small Millets (K), Gram, Tur
(K), Mung (K), Other Kharif Pulses Potats
(Plains) Sugarcane Black Pepper, Chillies
(Dry) Tobacco Castorseed, Rapeseed &
Mustard, Linseed, Cotton, Mesta, Sweet
Potato, Turmeric, Kardiseed, Tapioca.
Kerala Summer Rice, Sugarcane, Sesamun (3rd Winter Rice, Ragi, Tur, (K) Other Kharif
Crop) Pulses, (Kulthi), Urad (R) Other Rabi Pulses,
Sugarcane, Ginger, Black Pepper, Seamum
(2nd Crops) Sweet, Potato, Turmeric,
Tapioca.
Madhya Sugarcane, Onion Jowar (K), Small Millets (R), Tur (K), Urad
Pradesh (R) Mung (R), Other Rabi, Pulses, Sugarcane,
Ginger, Chillies (Dry), Tabacco, Castorseed,
Rapeseed & Mustard, Cotton, Mesta, Sweet
Potato, Turmeric, Sannhemp.
Sowing and Harvesting Operations Normally in Progress during the Month of January, 2021-Contd.
Orissa Summer Rice, Chillies (Dry). Winter Rice, Winter Potato (Plains),
Sugarcane, Chillies (Dry), Tobacco,
Castorseed, Nigerseed.
Tamil Nadu Winter Rice, Jowar (R), Sugarcane, Tur Rice, Jowar (K), Bajra (K), Ragi, Small
(R), Tobacco, Groundnut, Sesamum, Millets (K) Gram, Tur (K) Urad (K) Mung
Onion, Bajra (R) (K), Other Kharif Pulses Winter Potato
(Hills), Sugarcane, Black Pepper, Groundnut,
Castorseed, Sesamum, Cotton, Turmeric,
Onion.
Uttar Pradesh Summer Rice, Sugarcane, Jute Onion Tur (K), Winter Potato (Plains), Sugarcane,
Tobacco (Late). Tobacco (Early), Castorseed Rapeseed &
Mustard, Cotton, Sweet, Potato, Turmeric,
Tapioca.
West Bengal Summer Rice, Sugarcane. Tur (K), Urad (R), Mung (R) Other Rabi
Pulses, Winter Potato (Plains), Sugarcane,
Ginger, Chillies (Dry), Sesamum, Rapeseed
& Mustard.
Delhi Winter Potato (Plains) Onion Summer Potato (Plains), Sugarcane, Chillies
(Dry), Onion.
Other Publications of
the Directorate