Economics of turmeric cultivation in Punjab

Abstract

The present study was carried out to estimate the economics of turmeric cultivation for different categories of producers in Hoshiarpur, Nawashahar (Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar) and Gurdaspur districts of Punjab. The results revealed that on an overall basis the total cost incurred on use of physical input, machine labour and human labour use was '74438, '5227 and '29556 per hectare, respectively. The total variable cost was '121720, '108357 and '103569 per hectare for small, medium and large producers, respectively. On an overall basis returns over variable cost per hectare was '45380 which was highest for large producers ('68604) followed by medium producers ('48660) and small producers ('30822). Similarly, B-C ratio was also highest for large producers (1.66) followed by medium producers (1.45) and small producers (1.25). The overall benefit-cost (B-C) ratio was 1.40 denoting turmeric cultivation a profitable enterprise. The results of the study on economics of turmeric cultivation showed that the net returns per hectare received were quite high for all the categories of the farmers which clearly indicate the financial worthiness of turmeric crop.