Resource use efficiency and economics of onion cultivation in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat

Abstract

The present investigation was undertaken with a view to study the cost & returns and resource use efficiency of onion in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat as it has the largest share in onion cultivation in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat state with a random sample of 120 respondents. The results indicated that the average total cost of cultivation per hectare of onion farms was Rs. 158678 which was the highest on large farms and the lowest on marginal farms by on an average, Cost-A (paid out cost) formed 69.18 percent of total cost, while Cost-B accounted for 82.42 percent of total cost. The average yield of onion per hectare was 299.56 quintal on sample farms which lead to give Rs. 182280, Rs. 78219, Rs. 52590 and Rs. 64743 as gross income, farm business income, family labour income and farm investment income, respectively to selected onion growers. The average cost of production (Cost-C2) was Rs. 529.65 per quintal which was the highest on small farms, followed by medium farms, large farms and marginal category of farms. The variables of manures & cakes, irrigation charges and plant protection chemicals found to have significant influence on the gross income The sum of the elasticities was less than one indicating diminishing returns to scale. The ratio of MVP to factor cost in case of all farms found to be greater than one for manures & cakes, irrigation, plant protection chemicals and fertilizer indicating that still there exists a scope for higher utilization of these inputs in order to increase the gross income. There is need to put more efforts to train the farmers regarding the use of pest and disease resistant varieties and creating awareness among the farmers regarding the efficient utilization of underutilized resources are some of the suggestions emerge from the study.