P. K. SINGH, O. P. SINGH*, SIPORA MAHTO AND SATYAM RAJ
Department of Agricultural Economics, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi- 221 005 (Uttar Pradesh), India
*(e-mail: ompsingh@gmail.com; Mobile: 94503 92935)
(Received: June 18, 2023; Accepted: August 10, 2023)
ABSTRACT
Rice is the staple food in Nepal being the major source of livelihood and income for around 2/3rd of the farm households. The present study was carried out in wards 5 and 6 of Kapilvastu district of Nepal to estimate the cost and returns from the cultivation of paddy, resource use efficiency and to know the major input constraints perceived by the paddy growers. The primary data were collected through household survey using interview schedule. The cost of cultivation per hectare for paddy was found to be Nepali Rupees (NRs) 140233.91 (INR 87646.19) and the gross and net returns were NRs 158163 (INR 98851.87) and NRs 17929.09 (INR 11205.68), respectively. The benefit-cost ratio was found to be 1.13. This showed that paddy farming was profitable in the study area. The resource use efficiency analysis showed that expenditure on seed, irrigation and fertilizer had significant impact on the total return from the cultivation of paddy. A unit increase in the expenditure on seed, fertilizer and irrigation would result into -6.62, 7.23 and 10.35 unit increase in total returns from paddy cultivation. Analysis of constraints was done using Garrets ranking technique which showed that high seed and fertilizer costs were the major input constraints followed by high labour cost, timely unavailability of fertilizer, timely unavailability of labour, fluctuating market prices of inputs and timely unavailability of seeds. It was suggested that subsidy should be given on seed and fertilizer and it should be made available on time. Similarly, farmers should be encouraged to cultivate crops that give high returns.
Key words : Paddy, benefit-cost ratio, Garretts ranking technique, resource use efficiency