NEW DELHI: While there has been a steady growth in the value of inputs used in India’s agricultural sector, the value of output from. This sector has shown no stable trends, according to a study, PTI adds. The study, conducted by the Punjab, Haryana and Delhi (PHD) Chamber of Commerce and industry, emphasizes that technological breakthrough to be fruitful should result in greater production at a given input level at a lower cost. This unfortunately has not happened in India.
Explaining this further, the study states that while total cost in terms of value of inputs used increased by 3.7 percent a year between 198081 and 198788, at 198081 prices, the value of output increased by 1.2 percent per annum during the same period. The productivity of inputs thus declined by 6,.2 percent during the same period.
Input costs have increased against the backdrop of a big shift in the relative importance of various inputs.
For instance, in 197071, livestock and seeds accounted for 50 percent of the value of inputs which, however, reduced to around 30 percent by 198586.
At the same time, the share of chemical fertilizers increased from 10 percent to 26.4 percent during the correspondence period, while diesel oil increased from 2.2 percent 4.5 percent.
Similarly the share of electricity increased from one percent to 2.7 percent and pesticides and insecticides rose from 1.7 percent to 2.2 percent in the same period.
The study points out that while fluctuations in the monsoon conditions affected the output levels, the value of inputs remained unchanged.
Moreover, owing to the limited spread of market facilities, the procurement price had little relevance for a large section of the farmers.
While the procurement operation is limited mainly to rice and wheat accounting for 15.35 percent of the total production.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 29, 1989
