Variation in Socio-economic Characteristics and Agricultural Productivity across Farms in Meghalaya

Abstract

The present study evaluates the variation in socio-economic characteristics and agricultural productivity across various farm sizes in Meghalaya. The study employs primary data collected from 360 farming households in East Khasi Hills District and Ri-Bhoi District of Meghalaya. The study reveals that the age of farmers and the family size is directly proportional with the size of farms. However, regarding the educational attainment of the farmers it is found that farmers with lower educational qualification have large farm size while those with higher educational qualification have small farm size. The study depicts that farm expenditure, gross return and net returns from cultivation of various crops are highest in large farms and lowest in small farms in both the districts of Meghalaya. It is also found that in both the districts the average total factor productivity is highest in small farms and lowest in large farms. Similarly when the two districts are combined, the null hypothesis can be rejected which implies that there is significant difference between the means across the three farm categories. This indicates that the agricultural productivity is distinct for each farm category in the state.