Temporal Analysis of Operational Costs of Paddy and Wheat Crops in Punjab

Abstract

A study on operational costs in paddy and wheat crops was carried out by analysing secondary data. The secondary data over two decades from 1996-97 to 2016-17 were collected from Cost of Cultivation of Principal Crops in Punjab. The results revealed that paddy's total operational cost increased by over 150 percent, showing a growth rate of 8.27 percent per annum compared to a nearly 125 percent increase with 6.36 percent growth rate in wheat. Among various cost components, human labour showed a drastic increase of 260.71 percent (13.04 percent per annum growth rate) in paddy due to various operations performed by labour from transplanting seedling to harvesting. However, there was a similar increase of 346.46 percent in machine labour at the annual rate of 17.32 percent in the wheat crop. The study concluded that paddy farming turned labour intensive, and wheat was highly mechanized in Punjab. Subsequently, the farmers' dependence on labour was on the higher side in paddy cultivation.