An analysis of profit and input efficiency of farmers producing cowpea in Thoothukudi District of Tamilnadu
Muthu Maha Laxmi
Assistant Professor of Economics, St.Mary’s College (Autonomous), Thoothukudi Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli – 627012, (India)
ABSTRACT
The state’s principal crops, paddy, cholam, pulses, cumbu, cowpea, maize, sugarcane, ragi, and groundnut, have done exceptionally well in irrigated agriculture in Tamil Nadu. Only because the Tamil Nadu government placed such a high value on agriculture were all these accomplishments possible. This study aims to investigate the profitability and input effectiveness for small and marginal farmers growing cowpea in Tamilnadu’sThoothukudi area. 120 cowpea farmers from 5 villages in the Thoothukudi district were chosen using the proportionate random selection technique. The secondary data were gathered from a range of publications, including books, journals, articles, newspapers, magazines, and websites. The data collected from the primary source was analysed using a variety of statistical techniques, including Cobb-Douglas Production Function and Regression analysis. From December 2022 to February 2023, the data were gathered. On the demand for labour in the study area, changes in the price of pulses for small and marginal farmers appeared to have a sizable impact. This suggests that one of the important elements affecting the employment of farmers who grow pulses, especially cowpeas, is the wage rate. Small and marginal farmers’ demand for labour on the land had elasticities of 0.5872 and 0.6307 percent, respectively. The corresponding elasticities were 0.1351 and 0.2065 for capital. This suggests that the demand for small farmers, as opposed to marginal farmers, was more positively impacted by an increase in pulse growers. The study demonstrates that small farmers might absorb more labour than marginal farmers when growing pulses like cowpea. As a result, it can be inferred from the data that marginal farmers in the study area are economically more productive than small farmers when it comes to growing cowpeas. This might be because of the improved oversight and more effective farm management made possible by the small operational holdings. This showed that, in addition to the effective distribution of inputs, direct supervision and farm management are important factors in determining economic efficiency.