Comparative economics of organic and inorganic Redgram production in Karnataka

Abstract

Redgram (Cajanus cajana) is one of the most important pulse crops in the tropics and sub-tropical regions of the world. Redgram occupies an area of 16 lakh ha with a production of 12 lakh tonnes during 2020-21 in Karnataka. The present study aims to analyse the cost and returns of organic and inorganic redgram production in Karnataka. The Kalaburagi and Bidar districts were selected for the study based on the highest area under redgram. The data was collected from 120 respondents constituting organic and inorganic redgram producing farmers. The findings of the study revealed that the per acre total cost of cultivation of organic production was `21499 and inorganic production was `23936, respectively. The variable and fixed costs constitute 73 per cent and 27 per cent in the case of organic production and 76 per cent and 24 per cent in inorganic production, respectively. The gross returns were realized marginally low in organic production (`41796) compared to inorganic production (`42359). The net returns obtained by organic farmers (`20297) were found to be higher than that of inorganic farmers (`18424). The returns per rupee of expenditure was also found to be high in organic redgram compared to inorganic redgram production.