Effect of mechanization on cost-economics of maize cultivation by small farmers of Gajapati District, Odisha

Abstract

Maize is the one of the highest yielding cereals. Area under maize cultivation in the country, as well as in state of Odisha is gradually increasing due to its high economic benefits from maize. However, the benefits obtained by small and marginal farmers are comparatively less than the large maize farmers due to the use of traditional method of cultivation, use of conventional tools and machineries and small land holding. Most of the unit operations in maize are generally carried out manually which is labour intensive thereby increasing the cost of cultivation. Therefore, in this study a set of improved animal powered machineries and implements were demonstrated in maize cultivation in order to study the gain in net benefits by adopting small farm mechanization. The study revealed that small and marginal maize farmers of Gajapati districts could save up to Rs 7490/- per hectare using the improved bullock drawn implements and the B:C ratio has been increased up to 2.63 as compared to 2.08 in case of conventional maize farming.