Abstract
Main purpose of the study is to determine the cost structure, profit margin and returns to scale of foodgrain crops. Foodgrain crops selected for investigation are wheat, maize and paddy. Solan district was selected purposively. Data have been collected by personal interviews. Per hectare cost of cultivation of wheat, maize and paddy worked out as size-wise of holding and compared the cost of these crops and found that medium farms had maximum cultivation cost because their farm size were large, gross returns and net returns also worked out. Further Cobb- Douglous production function has been to get the estimates of elasticities of the inputs land, human labour, bullock labour, manure& fertilizers, seeds and capital. Results show that inputs have significant impact on the production of foodgrain crops and also show constant, increasing and decreasing returns to scale.
Highlights
Johnston and Mellor (1961) [1], Johnston and Kilby (1975) [2] agriculture play a very important role in transition process of countries, agriculture generates market for industrial product, provide food and agriculture raw material for industrial processing, build adequate food supplies that are crucial factors in sustaining price stability, provide exports to earn foreign exchange, supplies the non-agricultural sector with capital and labour, in the market oriented economy, eases the process of industrialization through gradual accumulation of entrepreneurship and marketing capabilities in the agriculture sector
Per hectare cost of cultivation of wheat worked out Rs17619.21 on marginal farmers, Rs 18290.5 on small farmers, Rs. 72693.56 on medium farmers and Rs 25717.05 on overall farmers
On the other hand gross return was worked out Rs21835.45, 49504, 132175 and 50820 in respect of marginal,small,medium and overall farmers
Summary
Johnston and Mellor (1961) [1], Johnston and Kilby (1975) [2] agriculture play a very important role in transition process of countries, agriculture generates market for industrial product, provide food and agriculture raw material for industrial processing, build adequate food supplies that are crucial factors in sustaining price stability, provide exports to earn foreign exchange, supplies the non-agricultural sector with capital and labour, in the market oriented economy, eases the process of industrialization through gradual accumulation of entrepreneurship and marketing capabilities in the agriculture sector. Since we know that agriculture sector facing hardships of low agricultural productivity in most of developing countries, low agricultural growth is unable to keep pace with the fast and persistently growing population pressure in these countries. Many other problems such as small size of holdings, fragmented land holdings due to heavy pressure of population, nuclear families, scattered farms can’t be looked after properly and waste time of agriculturists, poor quality of livestock, lack of desire to produce more agriculture production, weak will power towards diversification of agriculture, poverty, traditional inputs, scarcity of land deficiency of electricity, land ownership, literacy, low income, low savings, low capital formation, backwardness, slow progress of land reforms, finance problems, traditional methods of agriculture, irrigation problem, lack of markets in rural areas, low prices and low net returns to scale of agriculture product makes farmer inactive to produce agriculture production. It is helpful to know the cost of output, profit margin of crops, and helpful in changing of agriculture sectors structure and to make agriculture more profitable profession and provide information to the government of a country about the problems of agriculture and government can take initiatives for the solution of problems by formulating policies for the development of agriculture
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