Basis Of Total Cost Research Articles

Farmers’ Perception and Financial Profitability of Mustard Production in Bangladesh

The study was undertaken to assess farmers’ perception and explore the factors affecting farmers’ decision to adopt mustard production along with estimate financial profitability and identify potentials and problems of mustard production. Based on stratified random sampling, 120 farmers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire to collect primary data from different villages of Ullahpara upazila under Sirajganj district of Bangladesh. A combination of descriptive statistics, mathematical and statistical technique was used to analyze the data and to achieve the objectives. The study depicts that the highest number of the respondents (35%) belong to the 31-45 age group. Seventy two percent respondents were small farmers having land less than 1.0 hectare and they allocated 34% of their farm area for mustard production. Financial profitability analysis shows that mustard production was profitable on both variable cost and total cost basis and its benefit cost ratio (BCR) was more than one. In case of farmers perception, it was revealed that short duration crop, consumers’ preferences, product price, extension services and sharing of work among household members were the main driving factors for mustard production. Applying dichotomous logistic regression model, four factors namely, farmers’ age, number of family members, experience and farm size were found as significant determinants of adoption of mustard production. Large domestic market, limited use of high-yielding varieties, growing demand for mustard oil and attack of pests and diseases were found as important strength, weakness, opportunities and threats of mustard production, respectively. Finally, the study recommends that there are ample opportunities to enhance mustard production by ensuring access to quality seeds, adopting new technologies, securing fair prices, providing input subsidies, and improving institutional credit facilities with favorable terms and conditions. Bangladesh J. Nuclear Agric, 38(1): 65-80, 2024

Economics of maize cultivation at selected intensive areas of Bangladesh

The study was undertaken to assess the input used pattern and profitability of maize in selected intensive maize-growing areas of Bangladesh from February to July 2019. The present study was conducted in four districts viz. Chuadanga, Jhenaidah, Meherpur and Kushtia were located at AEZ-11, an intensive maize-growing area. In this study, 160 farmers were selected, of which 40 from each district were randomly selected for data collection. The average farm size was 0.64 ha, whereas the maize cultivated area was 0.34 ha. It was observed that maize was cultivated from November to December in the study area. The average per hectare seed required was 20 kg ha-1 and the fertilizer requirement was 1532 kg ha-1. The average labor required was 275 man-days in a season due to less use of technology. Total production cost was Tk. 162047 ha-1, in which variable cost was Tk. 101066 ha-1 (62%) and the fixed cost was Tk. 60980 ha-1 (38%). The price of the main maize grain at Farmgate was Tk. 18 kg-1. The gross margin was Tk.1 91962 ha-1 and the net margin was Tk. 40515 ha-1 average. The benefit-cost ratio on a cash-cost basis was 1.90 and on a total-cost basis was 1.18, meaning maize cultivation was profitable. Land preparation, seed, organic manure, TSP, Urea, MoP, DAP, Gypsum, Zinc and Boron had a positive influence on maize production. The high price of fertilizer and seed was the main problem farmers faced and due to high demand, there were no marketing problems. Though it had some problems, maize cultivation overall was a profitable crop. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 13(2): 70-78, Dec 2023

Cost-effectiveness of terlipressin for hepatorenal syndrome: the United States hospital perspective

BackgroundHepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is characterized by severely reduced renal perfusion that precipitates rapid morbidity and mortality. Terlipressin is the only US Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment to improve kidney function for adults with HRS with a rapid reduction in kidney function. Prior to the approval of terlipressin, unapproved vasoconstrictive agents used in HRS treatment were octreotide/midodrine and norepinephrine with albumin.MethodsA cohort decision-tree model representing a US hospital perspective assessed the clinical outcomes and direct medical costs (based primarily on hospital charges) of treating HRS with terlipressin + albumin (ALB) versus midodrine/octreotide (MID/OCT)+ALB, or norepinephrine (NorEp)+ALB. Treatment efficacy was defined by clinical response (complete/HRS reversal, partial, or no response) based on change of serum creatinine derived from published clinical trial reports. The proportions of patients with complete response were: terlipressin + ALB (36.2%), NorEp + ALB (19.1%), and MID/OCT + ALB (3.1%). Model outcomes included utilization of HRS-related healthcare resources (hospital and intensive care, outpatient and emergency department, dialysis, and transplantations), adverse events, and HRS-related mortality. Outcomes were assessed for the initial hospitalization in the base case and at 30, 60, and 90 days post-discharge.ResultsTotal costs incurred over the initial hospitalization with terlipressin + ALB were lower vs NorEp + ALB, primarily due to higher ICU costs with NorEp + ALB ($7,433 vs $61,897). TER + ALB was associated with higher total costs vs MID/OCT + ALB due to higher pharmacy costs with terlipressin + ALB. The cost per complete response achieved of terlipressin + ALB ($451,605) was half that of NorEp + ALB ($930,571) and one-tenth that of MID/OCT + ALB ($4,942,123).ConclusionsHRS patients treated with terlipressin experienced better clinical outcomes and a lower cost per treatment response vs other unapproved treatments. ICU days and pharmacy costs were key cost drivers distinguishing the treatment groups. These outcomes suggest that terlipressin is cost-effective on the basis of total cost per response achieved.

Farmers perception on pest management practices and profitability analysis for five winter vegetable production

The purpose of the study was to determine the farmers' perceptions of management measures against insect and disease pests and the profitability of five winter vegetables grown in Bangladesh's Sirajganj area. The highest incidences of fungal infections, including curd rot of cauliflower and early blight of tomato, were discovered. One of the most destructive diseases of brinjal and tomato was wilt, which was caused by both fungi and bacteria. Farmers took the necessary steps to control aphids (40-150 insects m–2 or 20-50 infected shoots m–2), brinjal shoot and fruit borer (10-50 insects 10m–2 or 20-60 infected shoots or fruits 10m–2), and other insects at the threshold level. They employed physical, chemical, and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques to manage the disease and insect pests. The greatest amount of insecticide spraying (35-45 times) was performed to control brinjal shoot and fruit borer insects. The entire manufacturing cost followed the pattern tomato > brinjal > bean > cauliflower > bottle gourd. The cultivation of brinjal yielded the highest return, gross margin, and net return (Tk. 987,000.00, Tk. 800,572.00, and Tk. 763,117.00 ha–1, respectively; US$ 1 = Bangladesh currency Tk. In contrast, bottle gourd farming yielded the lowest return (Tk 700,000.00 ha–1), and tomato cultivation yielded the lowest gross margin and net return (Tk 539,152.00 and 507,325.00, respectively). The brinjal cultivation had the highest profitability index, benefit-cost ratio (both variable and total cost basis), and rate of return on investment, whereas tomato cultivation had the lowest. Rot, blight disease, shoot and fruit borer, or fruit borer, and aphid were the most common pests of winter vegetables in the region surveyed. Finally, we discovered that brinjal is the most profitable vegetable in our area of study.

Performance and supply chain analysis of Binalebu-1 in some selected areas of Bangladesh

The study was conducted to find out the performance and supply chain of Binalebu-1 in four major Binalebu-1growing areas of Bangladesh, namely Cumilla, Mymensingh, Rangpur and Dhaka districts. Simple random sampling technique was followed for this study. The average cost of lemon production was estimated at Tk. 206127 per hectare of which about 68% was variable cost and 32% was fixed cost. Human labour cost was the lion share (32%) of total cost and it followed by irrigation cost (6.63%), Insecticide (2.64%) sapling (2.60%), and in the study areas. The average yield of Binalebu-1 was recorded 28.32 t/ha in all study areas while it was highest in 3rd year (30.24 t/ha) followed by 2nd year (28.17 t/ha) and 1st year (26.58 t/ha). The average gross return, gross margin and net return of lemon were found to be Tk 744517.62/ha, Tk 454521.67/ha, and Tk 538390.75/ha, respectively. Average BCR was found to be 2.71 on the basis of total cost. Supply chain was classified into four types: Channel 1: Accounts for 40 % which was ranked as I; Channel II: Accounts for 20 % which was Ranked as II; Channel III: Accounts for 18 % which was Ranked as III, Channel IV: Accounts for 12 % which was ranked as IV; Channel V: Accounts for 10 % which was Ranked as V. It was revealed that the value addition of the Faria, Bepari, Paiker, Arathdar, Retailer were Tk.135, Tk.95, Tk.55, Tk.39 and, Tk155 per quintal, respectively.

PRODUCTION AND MARKETING SYSTEM OF FLOWERS IN THE SELECTED AREAS OF JASHORE

The study was undertaken to assess the production and marketing system of different flower cultivated in Jashore district. Different flowers were cultivated and planted seed/seedling in different months, but their target was same as they sold it in a specific occasion. Gladiolus, rose, marigold, chrysanthemum, tuberose, gerbera, jasmine, gipsy etc. flowerwere cultivated commercially inJashore. Flower was used in different national, occasional and cultural day such as happy new year, valentines day, pohelafalgun, shaheed dibos, 17th march, independence day, pohelaboishakh, 15th August, victory day and many more. People buy flower for celebration of national day, marriage day, birth day and so on. Among the cultivated flower gladiolus, rose, tuberose, gerbera and marigold were 57%, 41%, 69%, 17% and 71% farmer respectively.Benefit cost ratio on the total cost basis was highest in gerbera cultivation (2.67) followed by tuberose (1.88), rose (1.81), gladiolus (1.78) and marigold (1.56) respectively. Farmer, farmer cum trader, paiker, arathdar cum paiker, retailer, consumer etc. were the main market actors of flower. Flower cultivation was profitable as its BCR was more than one. But some flower required huge amount of investment. People used flower as its esthetic value and share his feeling with others, so that the consumption of flower was increased day by day. Insect pest infestation was the main problem of flower. Transportation and storage were the main problem of flower marketing as it was perishable products. Training, supply of sapling, market linkage should by developed for proper cultivation, quick transportation, proper storage and other facilities to reduce spoilage and damage of flower.

Profitability and productivity of drought tolerant Aus rice variety Binadhan-19 in some areas of Bangladesh

The present study was conducted in five districts namely Mymensingh, Ranpur, Pabna, Rajshahi and Chapainwabganj in Bangladesh. The objectives of the study were i) to identify the socio-economic characteristics of Aus rice growers; ii) to estimate profitability and productivity of Binadhan-19 in the study areas; and iii) to find out the major preferences and constraints for the variety cultivation. A total of 200 farmers were randomly selected (40 from each location) to collect the data with a pre-designed questionnaire. The distribution of the farmers by age showed that the mean age for Binadhan-19 cultivated farmers was 43 years. In the study areas among the farmer 86% was educated. Farmers average experience was 20 year and income were Tk. 235066 (USD 2611.84) per year. Per hectare average yield of rice was 1.37 ton. It was estimated that, to produce one kilogram of rice, total cost incurred was Tk. 14 where per kg average selling price of rice was Tk. 17. The average gross return and gross margin of rice cultivation were found Tk. 90679 (USD 1007.54)/ha and Tk. 51290 (USD 559.88)/ha, respectively. Per hectare average net return was Tk. 2459 (USD 27.32) which was found to be highest in Chapainwabganj Tk. 29739 (USD 330.43) and lowest in Rangpur Tk. 12692 (USD 141.02) district. BCR on total cost basis was found 1.37. The highest preference was for neat rice 98% and the highest constrain said by the farmer was crop destroy by animal and bird of paddy for early ripening in Binadhan-19 cultivation.

Comparative Profitability and Impact of BINA Developed Aman Mutant Rice Binadhan-7 with Non-Mutant Variety in Bangladesh

This papar examined the cost and revenue as well as impact of mutant rice on fourteen region of Bangladesh namely Mymensingh, Jashore, Cumilla, Bogura, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Dhaka, Khulna, Chattagram, Rangamati, Barishal and Faridpur. A total of 560 farmers were randomly selected to fulfill the objectives where 280 farmers were mutant growers and 280 were non- mutant growers. A pre-designed interview schedule was used to collect the necessary data. Descriptive statistics, profit function and livelihood assets were used to analyzed the collected data. The study revealed that total variable cost of rice cultivation was BDT.40589 and BDT.43927 per hectare for mutant and non mutant, respectively which was around 71 percent of total cost of production. On an average, the total cost of production was BDT.59584 per hectare, where 29 percent was fixed costs and 71 percent was variable cost. For Binadhan-7 cultivation per hectare average net return was found highest in Dinajpur region i.e. BDT.70919 and the lowest in Jashore region i.e. BDT.33703. BCR on total cost basis was found 1.90 which was the highest in Sylhet 2.56 and the lowest 1.51 in Jashore region for Binadhan-7 production. In case of non-growers BCR on total cost basis was found 1.43 which was lower than Binadhan-7 production in the study areas indicating Binadhan-7 growers earn much than the non growers. The asset pentagon approach showed that there is a noteworthy increases in capitals of sampled farm households and the highest for financial capital that was 20.05 percent and the lowest was for natural capital i. e., 5.38 percent. Among the list of preferences, the highest was 88.93 percent for short duration and it was ranked I, the lowest was high yielding i.e. 81.43 percent which was ranked as V. Among the constraints, the highest constraint reported by the farmer was labour crisis as well as high price of labour i.e. 80.71 percent and it was ranked I and the lowest ranked V was lack of quality seed at proper time i.e. 48.93 percent in Binadhan-7 cultivation. Finally it is remarked that short duration high yielding variety Binadhan-7 plays a vital role in the monga mitigation of the northern areas of Bangladesh.

Comparative Profitability of Conventional and Chemical Free Pineapple Production in Madhupur Upazila of Tangail District

The purpose of this study was to determine the relative profitability of nonadopters and adopters, as well as the factors influencing the adoption of chemical-free pineapple production technology at Madhupur Upazila Tangail district. Data were collected by interviewing 50 randomly selected pineapple producers of Haludiya, Baniabari and Aushnara villages of Madhupur Upazila in Tangail during July to September 2019. For comparing the profitability of chemical-free and conventional pineapple farming, two groups of pineapple growers were chosen: non-adopters and adopters. Farmers were chosen from two groups using a purposive sampling strategy.Collected data were analyzed with undiscounted BCR and logistic regression analysis. Per acre total cost were estimated Tk. 16,5477 and Tk.16,4285.66, respectively for non-adopters and adopters of chemical free pineapple production. The per acre gross returns of pineapple were determined in this study at Tk. 31,7995.2 for non-adopters and Tk. 40,2986 for adopters of chemical-free pineapple producing technology. Gross margin per acre was estimated Tk. 16,1518.2 for non-adopters and Tk. 24,6700.35for adopters, respectively. Thus, the net return per acre were Tk. 15,2518.2 for non-adopters and Tk. 23,8700.34 for adopters of chemical free technology of pineapple production. The undiscounted Benefit Cost Ratio on the basis of total cost was 1.92 for non-adopters implying that Tk. 1.92 would be earned by investing every Tk. 1.00 in conventional pineapple production and BCR was estimated 2.45 for adopters implying that Tk. 2.45 would be earned by investing every Tk. 1.00 in chemical free pineapple production. Binary Logit regression estimate suggest that ethnicity and gross margin had a substantial impact on the adoption of this chemical-free technology. The majority of the farmers had a relatively good attitude toward chemical-free pineapple cultivation, according to the results. Extension agents must increase their contact with farmers in order to effectively disseminate information about chemical-free pineapple farming. Overall, it can be summarized that this paper has found that total costs of production is higher for conventional pineapple growers; however, gross return is higher for the chemical-free pineapple growers. This implies that chemical-free pineapple is profitable in contrast to conventional pineapple, which has further been proved the undiscounted BCR.

Economic Analysis of Tomato Production in Cumilla and Rangpur Districts of Bangladesh

This paper attempts to analyze the costs, revenues and production problems of tomato in two districts namely Cumilla and Rangpur in Bangladesh. It is necessary to enunciate that through purposive sampling technique, the data were collected from 240 tomato cultivators of Cumilla and Rangpur districts. The essentials of tomato’s production include human labour, fertilizer, bamboo stick, thread, seed/seedlings, ploughing, irrigation, insecticides/pesticides, hormone, etc. It is also indispensable to count the transport costs here. The mentioned factors were collectively considered to estimate the cost of production of tomato. All the data were analyzed statistically and economically while their results have been substantiated through consecutive tables. Farmers are facing different types of problems and this research highlights this issue. The findings show that the total cost of tomato was higher in Cumilla (Tk. 155,515/acre) than that of Rangpur (Tk. 151,224/acre). Gross returns from tomato in Cumilla and Rangpur were Tk. 234,942/acre and Tk. 212,213/acre respectively. The net returns were found higher in Cumilla (Tk. 77,010/acre) than that of Rangpur (Tk. 60,989/acre). Undiscounted benefit cost ratio of tomato production per acre was found to be 1.51 and 1.40 on the basis of total cost for Cumilla and Rangpur districts respectively. The high price of input, lack of storage facilities, price fluctuation, insect and disease damage were the most salient constraints in producing tomato. Up-to-date policy and well-organized extension services have, therefore, to be ensured to augment the income as well as the employment opportunities of the tomato growers.

English

The objective of this study is to examine the determinants of profit shifting by multinational enterprises in Rwanda. The study specifically sought to determine the extent to which finance costs, intra group transactions / services costs and royalty expense influence profit shifting by multinational companies in Rwanda. Profit shifting was measured on the basis of total cost as well as taxable income reported by multinational enterprises (MNEs). The study was guided by theory of optimal transfer prices, agency theory, and accounting theory. The study adopted a quantitative research design. The target population was 72 MNEs registered in large taxpayer office. Data were collected from the audited financial statements using documentation. Inferential statistics were used to ascertain the determinants of profit shifting. The study found out that there is a positive and significant relationship between intra group transactions / services.  The study also shows that there was a negative and significant relationship between finance cost and taxable income. The study also found out that there is a negative and significant relationship between intra group transactions / services and taxable income. The study concludes that a unit change in independent variables influence the total costs as well as taxable income.  The study recommends that RRA should come up with a clear law or legislation on transfer pricing.   Key words: Profit shifting, transfer pricing, multinational companies, intra group transactions, Rwanda.

Import and export parity price analyses of selected vegetables and spices in Bangladesh

The study was undertaken to find out the export potentialities of selected vegetables and import substitution of selected spices in Bangladesh. Seven hundred twenty vegetables and 320 spices growers, 25 suppliers, and 25 exporters were randomly selected for the study.Net margin analysis was done on both variable and total cost basis. Domestic resource cost (DRC) analysis was also done for estimating comparative advantage of the selected vegetables and spices. The study revealed that net returns were positive for all vegetables and spices producers. However, the highest net return was estimated for brinjal producers (Tk. 273799/ha) followed by bittergourd producers (Tk152145/ha). In the case of spices, the highest net return was received by ginger producers (Tk. 231399/ha) followed by onion producers (Tk. 122308/ha).Comparatively lower net returns were found for okra (Tk51830/ha) and garlic producers (Tk 99352/ha). Vegetables exporters received the highest net margin (Tk32852/ ton) from UK market which was higher than the Middle East market (Tk22869/ton).The highest benefit cost ratio (BCR) was calculated for brinjal (1.9) followed by ash gourd (1.8). For spices, BCR were 2.1and 1.8 for ginger and garlic respectively. Bangladesh had comparative advantage for producing all selected vegetables as the estimates of domestic resource cost (DRC) were less than one. The value of DRC for all selected spices were less than unity implied that the production of these spices would be highly efficient for import substitution. Therefore, the study have been undertaken to find out this issues.Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 42(2): 321-341, June 2017

Economic analysis of small scale dairy buffalo enterprises in Bhola district of Bangladesh

The purpose of this study was to analyze the socio-economic structure of water buffalo farming at some selected coastal areas of Bhola district of Bangladesh. Data were collected from the 35 small and large farms by surveying during the period January to March, 2015. The study revealed that buffalo rearing was mostly practiced by middle (30-45yrs) and old (>45yrs) aged farmers than young farmers (<30yrs). Majority (45.71%) of the buffalo farmers were educated, have no organized housing facilities for sheltering and depend on locally available roughages and tree leaves to fed buffaloes. The average lactation length was found 228 days andmilk yield was 2.1 litres/ buffalo/ days. The Gross Margin and Net farm profitability per dairy buffalo per lactation year over cash cost and non-cash cost were stood at Tk. 55866.65 & Tk. 51127.89 and Tk.44954.65 & Tk. 40435.39 for Herd size-1 and Herd size-2, respectively that indicates rearing of small- scale dairy buffaloes is highly profitable at coastal belt areas in Bhola District. The average Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) was accounted for 1:7.51 and 1:3.11, respectively over cash and total cost basis considering both herds. Finding of this study indicates that buffalo rearing is highly profitable in the coastal areas of Bangladesh and a crucial pathway for poverty alleviation.Progressive Agriculture 27 (4): 502-510, 2016

Credit Facilities in Groundnut Production and its Impact on Poverty Reduction- A Farm Level Survey in Mymensingh District

A study was conducted to determine the poverty and credit facilities of groundnut producers and profitability and resource use efficiency of groundnut production in the selected char areas of Gaffargaon upazila in Mymensingh district. In this study, 100 respondents were randomly selected from the mentioned upazila. Farmers were classified into three categories on the basis of loan size. Cobb-Douglas production function was used to determine the contribution of factors to groundnut yield. It is evident from the study that per acre net returns were greatly influenced by the use of human labour, animal labour, seeds and insecticides and it was found that they got profit from groundnut cultivation and the undiscounted BCRs (both the variable cost and total cost basis) was estimated at 1.88 in case of all categories of farmers. The mentioned factors were directly or jointly responsible for influencing per acre net returns for groundnut cultivation. Maximum loan money was utilized in family expenditure purpose for meeting their emergency and urgent needs to survive. But their repayment was satisfactory. However some problems were identified (i.e, tips and bribes, delay in providing loan and their poverty) in receiving loan for groundnut cultivation. It appears from the analysis that among three categories of farmers marginal farmers suffered a lot from inadequate supply of credit. The present study suggests that to develop agriculture, to reduce poverty and to increase the productivity of the farmers, both public and private sectors need to give attention on groundnut production in char area for their poverty reduction.J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 8(2): 57-62 2015

Profitability of Kinnow Mandarin Cultivation-A Case Study of Himachal Pradesh

The attractiveness of any business ultimately depends upon its profitability. The profitability of farm business can be derived from the relationship between the cost incurred in running the business and the returns accrued from it. It is the input-output relationship that generally decides the economic prosperity and the degree of commercialization on these farms. For this purpose, the present study was designed to measure socio economic status of kinnow orchardists, input use, cost structure, return and resource use efficiency in kinnow production of Himachal Pradesh, India. In present investigation the sample of 308 kinnow orchardists were selected from study area which input-output data collected with a view to examine the input use, cost structure and returns in production and the resource use efficiency of kinnow orchardists in year 2013–14. The results of study revealed that the average net profit per hectare was 4372.16 to 11319.86 and it increased with the increase in size of farms. The overall input-output ratio was 3.44 on the basis of total cost of cultivation for large orchardists followed by medium farms (2.96) and small farms (2.63).

Financial Profitability and Resource Use Efficiency of Broiler Farming in a Selected Area of Bangladesh

The present study was undertaken to investigate the socio-economic characteristics of the broiler farmers, to estimate the costs, returns and profitability of broiler enterprise and to determine the contribution of the key variables to the production of broiler farms in some selected locations of Dhaka district, Bangladesh. It was mainly done on primary data which were collected through face to face interview from the respondents of broiler production in 2014. 80 broiler farm owners were selected by using simple sample randomly technique. Both tabular and econometric techniques were used to find out the results. The results of the analysis showed that on average total cost of broilers per farm per year was Tk. 301142.103. It was found that the variable cost per farm per year stood at Tk. 238728.73 which accounted for 79.28 percent of total cost. The total fixed cost per farm per year accounted to Tk. 62413.373. The net return over total cost per farm per year was calculated at Tk. 130257.90. The benefit cost ratios of broiler farming were 1.80 on variable cost basis and 1.43 on total cost basis. The functional analysis indicated that most of the selected variables had significant impact on the production of broiler farms. This study also identified some economic, marketing, technical, social and natural problems in broiler production. Finally, on the basis of findings of this study, some recommendations were made for the development of broiler farming in Bangladesh.

Profitability of important summer vegetables in Keranigonj upazilla of Bangladesh

The study was conducted in Keranigonj upazilla under Dhaka district from the month of April to May in 2014 to determine the cost and return of some important vegetables namely bottle gourd, brinjal and cucumber. Data were collected from 20 bottle gourd farmers, 30 brinjal farmers and 20 cucumber farmers by using purposive sampling method. The averages total cost per hectare were calculated at Tk. 4,12,713, Tk. 2,69,627 and Tk.2,56,258 for bottle gourd, brinjal and cucumber production.Net return per hectare was the highest for brinjal (Tk. 7,32,811) and the lowest for bottle gourd (Tk. 5,79,431).The benefit cost ratios (BCR) considering variable cost were 2.83, 4.88 and 4.57 for bottle gourd, brinjal and cucumber respectively. The highest BCR was for brinjal (3.72) and the lowest for bottle gourd (2.40) on the basis of total cost. Lack of capital, low price of vegetables, high price of input, price fluctuation, disease, unavailability of input and lack of storage facilities were the major problems of farmers. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v12i1.21400 J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 12(1): 111-118, June 2014

Stochastic Analysis of DSS Queries for a Distributed Database Design

of query in distributed database system is one of the dominant subjects in the field of database theory. Depending upon the placement of data a query can be described as centralized or distributed query. The processing of distributed query is entirely different from the centralized query as in the former case the data is distributed over number of sites. Decision Support System Query (DSSQ) is one of the decisive types of distributed query. DSS queries are complex and time consuming in nature. Due to the decentralization of data and the complexity of query, it becomes mandatory to optimize the DSS query in distributed database system. In this work an effort is made to find an optimal DSS sub query allocation plan in distributed environment stochastically using Genetic Algorithm. The queries are designed on the basis of one of the benchmark of DSS query as given by TPC-DS. The DSS queries are optimized on the basis of Total Cost. The use of Genetic Algorithm has significantly expedited the process of DSS query optimization. The effect of varying communication cost over Total Cost of system resources is also observed. KeywordsSS Query; Distributed Database; Genetic Algorithm, Sub- query Allocation Plan.

An approach to evaluate the impact of interaction between demand forecasting method and stock control policy on the inventory system performances

Usually in stock control studies demand data are considered as an input to the model, without explicitly considering that they are the results of a demand forecasting system. Stock control system is examined independently of the demand forecasting system, and it is assumed that demand data (or forecast errors) have been properly modelled. However, the interactions that may exist between demand forecasting methods and stock control systems, in terms of their effects on global system performances, are not considered. In the paper an approach for evaluating these interactions, based on a comparative simulation test of global system costs using historical data, is presented. The approach is explained through a real case: the replenishment, from different suppliers, of a central depot of tinned food, which supplies more than 700 items to warehouses at the lower echelon. Results of the simulation study show that traditional measures of forecast errors cannot be taken as sole indicators for the choice among different demand forecasting methods. These methods, on the contrary, have to be evaluated on the basis of total costs and service level of the global inventory control system.

Demand Elasticity and Benefit Measurement in a Waterway Simulation Model

Waterway simulation models can be used to evaluate system performance and optimize investment and operation decisions, provided the effects of such decisions on demand are properly considered. Some simulation models have considered demand changes due to seasonal variations, economic growth, congestion effects on travel times, and user responses to service interruptions—but not all of these factors together. An elastic demand relationship embedded in a simulation model is used to estimate the effects of changing service times and lock closures during the simulation. Because traffic demand and benefits may be significantly affected by the simulated decisions, evaluation or optimization of the system merely on the basis of total costs is unreasonable. Estimation of the benefits to waterway users also is demonstrated during simulation runs while accounting for the users' responses to lock closures and other factors that affect travel times. Specifically, the present worth of net benefits for the entire analysis period can be computed and used as the objective function for optimization. This approach can account for infrastructure construction and maintenance costs, the effects of service quality and interruptions on user costs, and possible mode shifts in response to waterway service quality.