A study of input-output and determinates of yield status of selected chilli growers with reference to Tirunelveli district of Tamilnadu
*P. Shenbagaraj and *S. Sasikumar
Department of Economics, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Palayamkottai Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli – 627012 (India)
ABSTRACT
An essential ingredient in any kitchen is chilli. Vegetables, spices, condiments, sauces, and pickles are all grown in different types. One of the most lucrative crops, chilli is cultivated all around the nation. Tamil Nadu is one of the states in India that produces the most chillies. Tamil Nadu has the largest acreage, productivity, and output of chillies. Among the most significant spices, chilli is largelyutilised in processed powder form in daily diets and has limited usage as a vegetable. Based on the input-output structure, marginal and small farmers yield an average of 4.827 and 5.283 tonnes of chilli per acre, respectively. Small farmers outperform marginal farmers in terms of yield, as the yield difference is found to be statistically significant at the 5% level. Other than the use of manure and mechanical power, there is no variation in the labour force and other inputs used in the production of chillies between marginal and small farmers. Compared to labour from people and bullocks, input costs like seed are fixed. The amount of manure and mechanical power applied by small farmers in comparison to larger producers differs statistically significantly at the 5% level. The input- output structure reveals a considerable difference in the amount of chilli produced per acre between marginal and small farmers. This difference can be attributed to the small farmers’ use of more manure and mechanical power. Regression analysis results indicate that the sole area ofdifference between marginal and small farmers is in their utilisation of mechanical power. Marginal farmers rely on labour from people, while small farms use machinery. Small and marginal farms’ yields are dependent on all five variable inputs; changes in the five independent variables account for more than 81% of the yield variation.