Input Utilization Pattern of Rice Farmers in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh, India

Input Utilization Pattern of Rice Farmers in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh, India

C. Deepa^*1 , P.V. Sathya Gopal¹ , T. Lakshmi¹ , S. Hemalatha²

¹Department Agricultural Extension, S. V. Agricultural College, Tirupati - 517501, District Chittoor (Andhra Pradesh), India

²Department of Agronomy, S. V. Agricultural College, Tirupati - 517501, District Chittoor (Andhra Pradesh), India

Corresponding Author Email: deepachede2015@gmail.com

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.53709/ CHE.2021.v02i03.004

Abstract

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1. Introduction

Rice is most important and extensively grown food crop in the world. Andhra Pradesh is popularly known as granary of South India because of its abounding surplus in the production of food crops. It is often called as rice bowl of south India. The study area, Nellore is famous for its paddy fields and is the highest rice producing district in Southern agro-climatic zone. During the course of action, the inputs Viz., seeds, fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides and rodenticides play a major role in determining the net income per unit area of rice cultivation. The utilization of inputs greatly influencing the farmers by way of their availability, quality, timely application, dosage, method of application etc. in rice cultivation. Majority of the high yielding and superfine varieties are highly fertilizer responsive highly susceptible to different pests and diseases which led to intensive use of inputs in rice cultivation. On the other side, heavy incidence of different pests and diseases as a result of both environmental and man-made factors forced the rice farmers to go heavy usage of pesticides in rice cultivation. Input agencies also going for inventing, innovating and popularizing crop specific and pest specific molecules. Mostly the farmers are not aware of correct types and dosage of different agro-chemicals and mixing two or three chemicals at a time leading to high cost of cultivation towards pesticides [1-7].

2.  Material and Methods

            The study was conducted in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh during the year 2018-19. Ex-post facto research design was followed for the study. Three mandals of Nellore district and four villages from each mandal viz., Mypadu, Pallipadu, Somarajupalle and Indukurpet from Indukurpeta mandal, Naidupalem, Kodavalur, Gandavaram and Talamanchi from Kodavalur mandal, Allur, Isakapalle, Beeramgunta and Velicherla from Allur mandal were selected by using simple random method from which 120 rice farmers were selected as sample. The pattern of input utilization was measured by applying Garrett ranking procedure. This technique was used to evaluate the problems faced by the researchers. The orders of merit given by the respondents were converted into rank by using the formula. To find out the most significant factor which influences the respondent, Garrett’s ranking technique was used. As per this method, respondents have been asked to assign the rank for all factors and the outcomes of such ranking have been converted into score value with the help of the following formula:

Percent position = 100 (Rij – 0.5) /Nj

Where,

Rij = Rank given for the ith variable by jth respondents

Nj = Number of variable ranked by jth respondents

With the help of Garrett’s Table, the percent position estimated is converted into scores. Then for each factor, the scores of each individual are added and then total value of scores and mean values of score is calculated. The components having highest mean value is considered to be the most important factor.

Calculated Garrett ranking values for components of 5, 4, 3 preferences

3.  Results and Discussion

Table 1 indicates that, progressive farmers were found to be the major source of information and ranked first, followed by dealers, scientists, department of agriculture and mass media, ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively. Majority of the farmers were purchasing seeds from cooperative society which was ranked first, followed by department of agriculture, research station, sub dealers and other farmers, ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively. An analytical look shown that, more than half (53.33%) of the rice farmers were spending Rs.1,001 to Rs.1,500 towards purchase of seeds followed by (30.84%) spending Rs.1,500 to Rs.2,000 and the remaining (10.83%) were spending Rs.700 to Rs.1,000for purchase of seeds.

                It could be seen that, only (30.83%) of the farmers were purchasing seeds on credit. Remaining (69.17%) of the farmers were purchasing by paying cash. It was also noticed that, high cost of seed had a great impact on utilization of seeds and ranked first, followed by low quality, transportation costs, confusion among different brands and inefficiency application by the labour/own, ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Table 1 Pattern of input utilization (seeds)

Pattern of input utilization (fertilizers)

Table 2 indicates that, scientist was found to be the major source of information and ranked first, followed by dealers, department of agriculture, mass media and progressive farmers, ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Majority of the farmers were purchasing fertilizers from cooperative society which was ranked first, followed by dealers, sub dealers and department of agriculture, ranked second, third, and fourth respectively.    

An analytical look shown that, majority (60.00%) of the rice farmers were spending Rs.4,500 to Rs.6,000 towards purchase of fertilizers followed by (23.33%) spending Rs.3,001 to Rs.4,500 and the remaining (16.67%) were spending less than Rs.1,500 Rs.3,000 for purchase of fertilizers.

                It could be seen that, only (30.83%) of the farmers were purchasing fertilizers on credit. Remaining (69.17%) of the farmers were purchasing by paying cash.

 It is clearly noticed that, high cost of fertilizers had a great impact on utilization of fertilizers and ranked first, followed by low quality, transportation costs, confusion among different brands and inefficiency application by the labour/own, ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Table 2 Pattern of input utilization (fertilizers)

Pattern of input utilization (Insecticides)

Table 3 indicates that, department of agriculture was found to be the major source of information and ranked first, followed by scientists, dealers, progressive farmers and mass media, ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively. A cursory look shown that, majority of the farmers’ were purchasing insecticides from dealers which was ranked first, followed by cooperative society and sub dealers, ranked second and third respectively. An analytical look shown that, more than half (61.67%) of the rice farmers were spending Rs.3,001 to Rs.4,500 towards purchase of insecticides followed by (22.50%) spending more Rs.1,500 to Rs.3,000 and the remaining (15.83%) were spending more than Rs.4,500 to Rs.6,000 for purchase of insecticides. It could be seen that, only (30.83%) of the farmers were purchasing insecticides on credit. Remaining (69.17%) of the farmers were purchasing by paying cash. It is clearly noticed that, low quality of seed had a great impact on utilization of insecticides and ranked first, followed by high cost, confusion among different brands, transportation costs and inefficiency application by the labour/own, ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Table 3 Pattern of input utilization (insecticides)

Pattern of input utilization (fungicides)

Table 4 indicates that, input dealers were the major source of information and ranked first, followed by department of agriculture, scientists, progressive farmers and mass media, ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.

A cursory look states that, majority of the farmers were purchasing fungicides from cooperative society which was ranked first, followed by dealers and sub dealers, ranked second and third respectively.

                An analytical look shown that, more than half (67.50%) of the rice farmers were spending Rs.3,001 to Rs.4,500 towards purchase of fungicides followed by (13.34%) spending Rs.1,500 to Rs.3,000 and the remaining (19.16%) were spending more than Rs.4,500 for purchase of fungicides. It could be seen that, only (30.83%) of the farmers were purchasing fungicides on credit. Remaining (69.17%) of the farmers were purchasing by paying cash. It is clearly noticed that, low quality of fungicides had a great impact on utilization of fungicides and ranked first, followed by confusion among different brands, high cost, transportation costs, and inefficiency in the application by the labour/own, ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Table 4. 29. Pattern of input utilization (fungicides)     

Pattern of input utilization (herbicides)

Table 5 indicates that, dealers were found to be the major source of information and ranked first, followed by scientists, department of agriculture, progressive farmers and mass media, ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively. A cursory look shown that, majority of the farmers were purchasing herbicides from cooperative society which was ranked first, followed by dealers and sub dealers, ranked second and third respectively. An analytical look shown that, more than half (51.67%) of the rice farmers were spending Rs.700 to Rs.1,000 towards purchase of herbicides followed by (25%) spending Rs.1,001 to Rs.1,500 and the remaining (23.33%) were spending Rs.1,500 to Rs.3,000 for purchase of herbicides. It could be seen that, only (30.83%) of the farmers were purchasing herbicides on credit. Remaining (69.17%) of the farmers were purchasing by paying cash. It is clearly noticed that, low quality of herbicides had a great impact on utilization of herbicides and ranked first, followed by inefficiency application by the labour/own, high cost, confusion among different brands, transportation costs, ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Table 5 Pattern of input utilization (herbicides)

Pattern of input utilization (rodenticides)

Table 6 indicates that, dealers were found to be the major source of information and ranked first, followed by department of agriculture, scientists, mass media and progressive farmers, ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively. A cursory look clearly depicted that, majority of the farmers were purchasing rodenticides from department of agriculture which was ranked first, followed by sub dealers, cooperative society and dealers, ranked second and third respectively. An analytical look shown that, more than half (74.16%) of the rice farmers were spending less than Rs.1,000 towards purchase of rodenticides followed by (15.84%) spending more than Rs.1,001 to Rs.1,500 and the remaining (10.00%) were spending more than Rs.1,500 for purchase of rodenticides. It could be seen that, only (30.83%) of the farmers were purchasing rodenticides on credit. Remaining (69.17%) of the farmers were purchasing by paying cash. It is clearly noticed that, low quality of rodenticides had a great impact on utilization of rodenticides and ranked first, followed by, inefficiency application by the labour/own, transportation costs, confusion among different brands and high cost, ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Table 6 Pattern of input utilization (rodenticides)

Majority of the farmers might be contacting the fellow farmers who are progressive and opinion leaders in the village. As seed is the critical input for the crop, they might be seeking more confidence through fellow farmers because of their own practical experience and localities affinity. Dealers, scientists and department of agricultural officials might not have been considered for seed due to lack of their direct involvement in farming. Mass media might be the source of only awareness but did not have a direct impact on adoption. The same trend has also been noticed with fertilizers, due to limited number of variants and use of routine type of fertilizers in rice cultivation. For insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and rodenticides might be approaching input dealers to choose the desired brand as perceived by the farmers. They also might have that there may be more options of choosing the suitable chemical in consultation with the input dealer.

                Cooperative society is one of the important input agencies providing mainly seeds, fertilizers and other inputs which are predominant in rice cultivation. As the society is pivotal source of providing inputs both on cash/credit basis at the village level, most of the farmers were approaching it for purchase of inputs. The farmers also might be approaching department of agricultural farms, research station, sub dealers and fellow farmers as and when required seed is not available at the society or during the cases of using new varieties. Almost all the fertilizers, herbicides and fungicides are available at cooperative society and farmers were having better access to get the inputs. So, the majority of the farmers are approaching cooperative society to get the fertilizers. In case of scarcity, they might be purchasing from other sources. Regarding insecticides and rodenticides, farmers might be approaching input dealers as they have a greater number of brands of different companies than the cooperative societies.

Majority of the farmers might be purchasing branded seed from the input dealers at nearby town for more quality assurance and incurring high costs. Some of the enthusiastic farmers might be getting seed from other districts of Telangana state as a part of their innovation and for getting desired variety. Very few might be sorting to local purchase from fellow farmers and cooperative society at lower prices. Regarding fertilizers, majority of the farmers might be resorting overdoses of fertilizer especially the urea, DAP and complex fertilizers with a view to get higher productivity leading to high cost on fertilizers. Scientific rationality of fertilizer application such as soil based fertilizer application, application of recommended dose of fertilizer might be missing in their fertilizer utilization pattern. Further, the improper time and method of application also might have contributed for the high cost on fertilizer. On the other side, the educated and progressive farmers might be judicious in fertilizer usage, investing less on fertilizers.

Insecticides and fungicides might be highly uncertain inputs due to environmental condition as well as induced environment created by the farmers for pest and disease incidence. Accordingly, the availability of different new molecules in the market is luring the farmers to protect the crop. Judicious use of fertilizers and management of pests and diseases through Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices might have reduced the costs incurred on insecticides and fungicides for some of the farmers. Further the rodenticides and herbicides being more important inputs in the recent past might have become a part of rice cultivation, also contributing to the cost of cultivation. These two inputs might be used by the farmers with due care, might have controlled their usage.

The farmer might be continuously cultivating the crops year-round with Rice-Rice follow Pulse-Rice cropping pattern and realizing the income which will be used for next season without going for credit. On the other side, few of the small and marginal farmers might be resorting for credit to purchase inputs. Regular appearance of off-types in the fields and poor germination percentage might have created a negative impact on seed quality among the rice farmers. Inefficiency in application of seed by labour also might have some impact on cost of seed. Seed cost might not have much impact on input utilization by the rice farmers. Due to increased rates of fertilizers coupled with over dose of fertilizer application might have developed a feel of incurring high cost on fertilizer among the rice farmers. Further, the inappropriate time and method of fertilizer application might have led to more wastage of nutrients through leaching, evaporation and immobilization.

Production of substandard quality inputs, lack of quality inspection and exploitation of input dealers were the major attributes for low quality inputs as perceived by the rice farmers towards insecticides and fungicides in terms of their production and marketing. This also might have led to high cost of insecticides and fungicides. They also might have been confused with several brands of different chemicals and their application methodologies and as a result they might be under a state of dilemma to move ahead.

Herbicides are the recent development in rice cultivation and gained momentum with usage of pre-emergence, post-emergence and selective herbicides. All these types of herbicides might be replacing the labour force which is scarcer in villages. But the use of herbicides requires careful precaution to avoid damage to the standing crop. In this context, farmers might be so careful in application of herbicides. On the other side, quality standards of herbicides also might have attributed for the impact of herbicide usage, the same trend has also been noticed in case of rodenticides.

CONCLUSION

                Majority of the farmers might be contacting the fellow farmers who are progressive and opinion leaders in the village. Dealers, scientists and department of agricultural officials might not have been considered for seed due to lack of their direct involvement in farming. The same trend has been noticed with fertilizers also due to limited number of variants and use of routine type of fertilizers in rice cultivation. For insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and rodenticides might be approaching input dealers to choose the desired brand as perceived by the farmers.

Cooperative society is one of the important input agency providing mainly seeds, fertilizers and other inputs which are predominant in rice cultivation. Regarding insecticides and rodenticides farmers might be approaching input dealers as they have more number of brands of different companies than the cooperative societies.

Judicious use of fertilizers and management of pests and diseases through Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices might have reduced the costs incurred on insecticides and fungicides for some of the farmers. Further the rodenticides and herbicides being more important inputs in the recent past might became a part of rice cultivation also contributing the cost of cultivation.

The farmer might be continuously cultivating the crops year round with Rice-Rice follow Pulse-Rice cropping pattern and realizing the income which will be used for next season without going for credit. On the other side, few of the small and marginal farmers might be resorting for credit for the purchase of inputs.

Production of substandard quality inputs, lack of quality inspection and exploitation of input dealers were the major attributes for low quality inputs as perceived by the rice farmers towards insecticides and fungicides in terms of their production and marketing. This also might have led to high cost of insecticides and fungicides.

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