CBN-V Video Archives - S1-22
Resource Use Efficiency of Cassava Farmers: Experience of India

Srinivas T., V.S. Santhosh Mithra and S. Ramanathan
Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Sreekariyam, Trivandrum 695 017, Kerala, India srinivas@ctcri.ren.nic.in

        Cassava, an important crop of food security for human kind from time immemorial, is sustaining people during the times of famine. It is a crop of weaker sections of the farming community (marginal and small) operating under resource scarce and risk prone production systems globally. Optimum utilisation of resources by resource poor farmers is the prime factor influencing the productivity of any crop in any cropping system. Inefficient utilisation of resources will have an adverse impact on the productivity and cassava farmers are no exception to this phenomenon. A study conducted on resource use efficiency of cassava farmers under four major production systems in India has indicated scope for reorganisation of resources so as to enhance productivity. Nitrogenous fertilisers were over-utilised under irrigated as well as rainfed production systems affecting the productivity adversely. Potassic fertilisers and planting materials were found to contribute significantly to the productivity of the crop in most of the production systems indicating efficiency in the use of these resources. Human and machine labour was found to contribute adversely to the productivity, indicating inefficient utilisation of labour resources by cassava farmers. Decreasing returns to scale is observed in most of the cassava production systems in India.

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