Economic assessment of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) through intercropping systems for doubling farmer’s income in Yamunanagar district of Haryana

Abstract

This study was conducted in the Yamunanagar district of Haryana, specifically in the Jagadhari and Radaur blocks, which were selected purposively on basis of highest area and production under sugarcane based intercropping systems. A total of 60 farmers were involved, with 12 farmers selected from each cropping system. The study aimed to analyze the costs and returns of different sugarcane-based cropping systems, with a focus on intercropping. The findings showed that intercropping systems, such as sugarcane + garlic (CS-IV-a) and sugarcane + onion (CS-IV-b), performed significantly better than the sole sugarcane cropping system (CS-I) in terms of gross return, net return, return over variable cost, and benefit-cost ratios. Sugarcane + garlic intercropping (CS-IV-a), emerged as the most profitable system, generating the highest gross return, net return, return over variable cost, and benefit-cost ratio. The sugarcane + onion intercropping (CS-IV-b) also displayed strong performance in terms of gross return and net return. When considering net return, the intercropping systems also showed better results. In terms of net return, the intercropping systems viz. CS-II, CS-III, CS-IV-a and CS-IV-b were ?62,064, ?38,789, ? 1,64,345 and ?1,37,877 respectively, surpassing the net return of the sugarcane sole crop (CS-I) was ? 22,488. Similarly, the benefit-cost (B:C) ratio was higher in intercropping systems. The B:C ratio of different intercropping systems, viz. CS-II, CS-III, and CS-IV-a had B:C ratios of 1.18, 1.12, and 1.40, respectively, higher than the B:C ratio of the Sugarcane sole crop (CS-I) was 1.07.