Resource use efficiency and economics of okra cultivation in South Gujarat

Abstract

The okra is the major vegetable crop in South Gujarat. The present study was carried out to study the cost and returns and resource use efficiency. The study was conducted in Surat, Navsari and Tapi districts selected on the basis of area under okra. A sample of 120 okra growers was selected with randomly. The selection of 2 talukas within each district was done randomly for the study. The selection of 2 villages within each taluka was done randomly for the study. The result revealed that the total cost of cultivation (cost C3) per ha of okra amounted to ? 108262, ? 125533 and ? 139242 on small, medium and large farm, respectively. Overall Cost C3, which includes managerial cost, was worked out to be ? 114786 per ha. An increasing trend was observed in different cost concepts with increase in size of farm. The results indicated that the coefficient of multiple determination (R2) is 84.80 per cent. It implies that 84.80 per cent of the total variation in the output of okra was explained by the explanatory variables included in the model