07.03.2014 Views

economics of on-farm development - Institute for Social and ...

economics of on-farm development - Institute for Social and ...

economics of on-farm development - Institute for Social and ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

_.--_._---<br />

The relative pr<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>itability has been examined by applying the returns to scale<br />

c<strong>on</strong>cept as defined in the Cobb-Douglas producti<strong>on</strong> functi<strong>on</strong>. The costs <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> inputs<br />

expressed in rupee terms included OFD expenditure, labour <strong>and</strong> material costs.<br />

The analysis shows that the returns from coc<strong>on</strong>ut <strong>and</strong> banana cultivati<strong>on</strong> have<br />

been more compared to other crops. The lowest returns has been observed in the<br />

case <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> paddy (0.697), which indicates decreasing returns to scale per unit <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />

investment. In the case <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> coc<strong>on</strong>ut, the returns to scale is almost <strong>on</strong>e, indicating<br />

c<strong>on</strong>stant returns. The crop combinati<strong>on</strong>, ie., coc<strong>on</strong>ut <strong>and</strong> banana give better<br />

returns to scale (1.033) in comparis<strong>on</strong> to coc<strong>on</strong>ut <strong>and</strong> arecanut (0.997). The<br />

analysis <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the comparative returns from different crops <strong>and</strong> crop combinati<strong>on</strong>s<br />

signify that the returns to scale could be further increased if canal water supply is<br />

adequate <strong>and</strong> assured.<br />

The Kallada project was designed <strong>for</strong> paddy cultivati<strong>on</strong>. Even so, almost<br />

60 per cent <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the comm<strong>and</strong> area is under dry crops. which require irrigati<strong>on</strong><br />

during summer. Since the topography <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the project area is undulating, the<br />

underground pipe line system, called the Minor C<strong>on</strong>veyance System (MCS) was<br />

proposed, instead <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> open canal system. The MCS is laid out through the <strong>farm</strong>ers<br />

plots <strong>and</strong> the financial burden <strong>on</strong> them has been very marginal or some times nil.<br />

The c<strong>on</strong>structi<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> canal network to feed the MCS was delayed <strong>for</strong> more<br />

than a decade. This mismatch between the c<strong>on</strong>structi<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> canal network <strong>and</strong> the<br />

<strong>on</strong>-<strong>farm</strong> water distributi<strong>on</strong> system had made the investment in MCS infructuous<br />

or unproductive sunk capital. Furthermore, the material used to lay the pipes <strong>and</strong><br />

associated structures have been completely spoiled <strong>and</strong> became useless. This has<br />

resulted in several changes in l<strong>and</strong> use pattern in the comm<strong>and</strong> area.<br />

350

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!