Comparative Study of Production Cost and Net Returns in Rice and Lac Cultivation

摘要

Seoni is predominately a rainfed district of Madhya Pradesh and rice is main crop. Only 11.93 percent of the total agricultural area is under double crop, thus majority of the farmers confront long lean period (November-June) during the year. Farmers areable to overcome this cash trapped situation from lac production that serves as both a complementary and supplementary source of income to their existing livelihood options. Lac with low inputs and high returns is popular among farmers in Seoni. The cost of cultivation of rice under manual and mechanized production system was Rs. 42,172 and Rs. 17,375 per ha while the net returns were Rs.19,028 and Rs. 43, 825 respectively. The total cost of cultivation for Kusmi and Rangeeni lac were Rs. 18,040 per 50Zizyphus mauritiana plants and Rs.11,790 per 50 Butea monosperma plants and the net returns were Rs. 58,460 and Rs. 32,285 respectively. Thus lac production has a comparative economical advantage over rice production in terms of profit, employment generation and conservation of Z. mauritiana and B. monosperma.