An Economic Analysis of Contract Farming in Cotton Cultivation

摘要

The rapid industrialization process in India has created shortage of farmland, which in turn has necessitated organized farming practice in India. The process of contract farming in India involves, engaging rural Indian farmers for the cultivation ofagricultural produce under strict government policies. In the above context, an attempt has been made to analyze the benefits of contract farming with special reference to cotton cultivation with the objectives to study the concept of group cultivation in cotton farming, to assess the factors influencing the participation, to identify the factors contributing to the yield increase by way of participation and to suggest policies to improve upon the present practices. 15 farmers per village (10 Adopters and 5 Non Adopters) were selected randomly from three sample villages from the list of villages where the contract farming was being practiced. Among the various reasons given by the farmers for taking up the contract farming in cultivating the cotton, the remunerative prices offered by the contractors was ranked first. The significant attributes that have contributed to the farmers' behaviour in taking up contract farming were Farming experience, Ratio of area under cotton to total area in the farms, On-farm income, farm size and dummy for awareness about the ICCP. Finally it may be concluded participation in the contract farming, educational level and timely advice would improve the yield levels of the farmers. It may be suggested that success stories could be disseminated to other regions and agricultural graduates may be motivated in advising the farmers instead of the private organizations.