Agricultural Labourers from the poorest section of the rural population in India as well as in West Bengal. In numerical terms, they constitute about one-fourth of the total work force. Their number has been rising faster than the rate of growth of rural population. By the term agricultural labourers we mean a person who sells his/her labour power to work to another person’s land for wages in money, kind or a share of the crop. According to the 1991 Census definition, “a person who works on another person’s land for wages – in money, kind or share of crop is regarded as an agricultural labourer. He or she has no risk in cultivation, but merely works on another person’s land for wages. An agricultural labourer has no right of lease or contract on the land on which he or she works”. (Census of India, 1991, paper – III of 1991, p. 6). Thus the Census definition clearly excludes tenants as well as marginal farmers and includes only landless labourers. The definition adopted by us would be broader in the sense that it would include all those for whom sale of labour power in the agricultural sector is a source of livelihood. At the dawn of independence, the economy of West Bengal was characterized not only by a high percentage of landless agricultural labourers in its rural work force but also by a sizeable class of marginal holding peasants. This paper tries to inquire in some detail the causes of the high rate of growth of agricultural labourers in West Bengal as well in the district of Uttar Dinajpur.

Since unorganised manufacturing enterprises (UMEs) provide employment to a huge mass in India therefore its growth and productivity is a matter of concern. Thus, through this paper the growth and productivity of Indian UMEs are shown with the help of NSSO Data (67th and 73rd Rounds). This paper reveals that the number of UMEs increased significantly in India during 2010-11 to 2015-16. The average productivity of labour increased over time. Using the Cobb-Douglas production function it was further found that the marginal productivity of labour is much higher than the marginal productivity of capital. Productivity is found to be positively and significantly influenced by male ownership, own account enterprises, enterprises do not face problem, expanding status of growth, government assistance, registration of enterprises and capital intensity.

The fluctuation of cocoa prices in Cameroon is causing important disruptions in the allocation of producers’ resources, driving them to adopt resilience strategies. This article provides an analysis of the different strategic options of producer resilience to volatile cocoa prices in Cameroon. Based on revealed preferences and binary logistic regression, it identifies the main strategic resilience options and key factors that explain the choice of these strategies. 390 randomly selected producers in three main divisions of the Center region during the period of September to November 2017, constitute our sample. The results reveal that diversification through fruit trees and input management are the main strategies of producer resilience. Furthermore, factors such as, fruit commercialization, total area, cocoa production, cocoa yield, household size, sex of producer, level of education, Division, are the main factors that explain the adoption resilience strategies. Therefore, the government should provide training to build producers’ capacity in risk management and improve the citrus value chain.

Efficiency is an ability to do things well, successfully and without waste of time and energy. It is a measurable concept that can be determined by using the ratio of useful output to total input. The resources might be men, money, machines and materials that are being used within time for accomplishment of desired activity. Being efficient means the system uses inputs in a right way. If the input-output ratio is adverse then system may work inefficiently. In present study, technical efficiency, cost-effective efficiency and allocative efficiency of stakeholders were identified. The present study was carried out in seven districts of South Gujarat during 2020. The six types of stakeholder were playing pivotal role in AIS hence the list of each type of stakeholder were obtained from the concerned authorities. A simple random sampling method was adopted to obtain respondents sample size. Thus, 30 researchers, 50 extensionists, 30 In-charge of NGOs, 30 managers of private agencies, 50 owner of agro-service providers and 50 progressive farmers were selected. All the 240 stakeholders were randomly selected. The statistical tools and method was used to analyze the data were frequency, percentage and arbitrary method. It can be concluded that more than two fifth (47.50%) of the stakeholders equally had good and excellent level of efficiency among stakeholders in Agricultural Innovation System.

The Nagaland State Rural Livelihood Mission (hereafter NSRLM) was established on the 13th of September, 2012 and is the implementing agency of NRLM in the State. It is the human development program aimed at poverty reduction by increasing the household income through sustainable livelihood and improved access to financial services. Primary data has been collected using convenience sampling method from 300 individual SHG members covering three districts, three blocks and six villages (50 respondents from each village). Six components of livelihood security have worked out and each component has been ranked for availability, accessibility, quality and status. Weighted average score has been calculated by scoring indicators on a five-point ordinal scale ranging from1 to 5 Measuring Livelihood Security Index. The study was found that except food security index the other security indices in all selected villages are in medium or low range and still they are living under sustainable in danger which emphasized the urgency to initiate and implement effective poverty alleviation and capacity building schemes in the entire state.

There has been an unprecedented crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The human witnessed significant changes in all spheres of activities in the society. There was complete, partial or intermittent lockdown all over the world to contain this infectious virus. People confined themselves mostly at home, and about 60% of economic activities was disrupted. The growth in the economy slowed down. Millions of international and internal migrant workers returned to their place of origin and again resuming works. To return to the economic normalcy, challenges would be to cope up with problems of migrant workers, protecting their livelihoods and providing income through employment to avert destabilizing effects. There is a need for strategic approaches and effective policies to strengthen self-sufficiency and self-reliance among returnees, and the farmers with the support of the Government and other agencies. Thus, attempts have been made in this paper to make an account on the migrant workers, to elucidate the COVID-19 impacts on them, to appraise major strategies and policy recommendations to strengthen self-reliant farming, rural development and re-employment.

Being a principal factor of production land occupies an important position in agriculture production and plays a key role in determining resource efficiency therefore,t he study was conducted to understand temperate fruits productivity of the different blocks of district Shimla in order to reveal the resource efficiency picture of different blocks. For studying resource efficiency, one has taken land as the main and principal resource and data of 10 years (2008-2018) for 10 Blocks being collected and analyzed with the help of regression and percentage method. It was found that in Almonds, Apricot, Cheery and Pears production at blocks Rampure and Jubbal & Kotkhai are showing the highest average and per hectare productivity however the coefficient value of land concerned blocks Narkand,Rohru, Mashobra, and Jubbal & Kotkhai is showing the highest land productivity for Almonds, Apricot, Cherry and Pears production, therefore, reveals the production and efficiency status of difference blocks of Shimla District.

Groundnut is grown throughout the tropics and extended to the subtropical countries. India is the second largest producer of groundnut in the world after China. The fact is that groundnut crops in India, particularly in Karnataka are mainly covered under rain fed situation, which in turn has to depend on the arrival of monsoon, climatic changes and drought. Hence, the productivity level of groundnut crop was erratic. It was in this backdrop, an attempt was made through the present study to examine the growth and instability of groundnut in India and Karnataka by way of analyzing the time series data of 48 years. The results revealed that the level of instability was marginally higher in groundnut area (8.7 %) during period II compared to period I (2.9%) and period III (7.3%). The variation in production and yield of groundnut was higher during the period III compared to period I and II. Change in the mean area is contributing more to change in average production of groundnut in India and in Karnataka followed by interaction between changes in mean area and mean yield. Change in area variance is the predominant component contributing to the change in variance of production of groundnut in India as well as in Karnataka. From the outcome of the result, it is concluded that the researchers and policy makers have to pay more attention to develop location specific cultural practice to increase and sustain groundnut production and yield in the nation.

Rajasthan state is the second largest oilseeds producer and land coverage in the country. The share of oilseed crops is scheduled the significant growth in area and output in latest 20 years. Nevertheless, compare to wheat and gram, the growth rate of area and production of several oilseeds is less significant and there exist wide instability in their productivity in scattered part of the state. This study investigates to growth, its contributors and variability in area, production and productivity of major oilseed crops. The study period from 1990-91 to 2019-20 was divided into three sub-periods viz., period-I (1990-91 to 2004-05); period-II (2005-06 to 2019-20) and Overall study Period (1990-91 to 2018-19). Time series data were collected from various public E-sources to compute the growth, instability and decomposition in oilseeds production. It was revealed from the analysis that growth of kharif oilseeds was higher than rabi oilseeds. The highest instability (31.78) in production and productivity was reported in period-I for kharif oilseeds. In case of relative contribution, the area effect (416.85) and yield effects (211.10) were more effective in production of taramira and sesame crops, respectively. This analysis suggested that during period –I and II area effect was dominant in changing output of taramira and rapeseed-mustard.

Vegetables are important constituents of Indian agriculture and nutritional security. Along with health benefits, vegetables help in flourishing countries economy, as it provides a great opportunity for income and employment generation for the farming sector. The study has an objective to understand the extent of growth each vegetable experiencing and to derive the major factor for the growth in Karnataka, utilizing time-series data. The total area showed an increasing trend over the period with about 40 % increase in a span of two decades. However, figures for increased production were more appealing than its area, as it has shown 60 % increase. Total production of vegetables in Karnataka has increased from 42 lakh tonnes in 1998-99 to 68 lakh tonnes in 2018-19, with an annual growth rate of 3.9 %. The highest growth in production was observed in onion (7.5% annually) followed by tomato and cole crops. The area effect was the most responsible factor for increasing production of tomato, onion, guards, cole crops and other vegetables group. Thus, in effect for overall vegetables, it is 66 % of the total increased production effect. However, for potato and leafy vegetables, only yield effect was found to be positively contributing to the production.

The research work was carried out with the objective to estimate the cost and returns in cultivation of paddy (basmati) in IPM-INM and CPM farms in Haryana. Information was extracted from 120 farmers by using well-structured interview schedule through survey method. Firstly four districts was purposively selected then one block was selected randomly from each district and from each block, 20 IPM-INM farmers and 10 CPM farmers were surveyed. The overall findings revealed that the total cost of cultivation for IPM-INM technology in paddy (` 110574ha-1) was somewhat greater than CPM paddy (` 106456 ha-1), the per quintal cost of production of IPM-INM paddy (` 2197) which was lower as compared to its CPM (` 2300), mainly due to higher productivity of IPM-INM (50.33 q/ha) paddy than the CPM (46.29 q/ha). The gross returns from IPM-INM and CPM farm was estimated to ` 138854 and ` 127927 per hectare respectively. As indicated by B:C ratio over variable cost of 2.73:1 for IPM-INM and 2.45:1 for CPM. Therefore, the cultivation of paddy was found to be more profitable with the adoption of IPM-INM technology, which is sustainable in every aspect.

The study was conducted in Karnal and Kaithal districts of Haryana during the year 2017-18. The results of the revealed that the share of variable cost as well as fixed cost in total cost of conventional technique of wheat were estimated to be was higher than the conservation techniques (ZTT and THST). The highest cost was incurred on fertilizer investment in variable cost. On the other side in case of fixed cost, highest share were incurred on rental value of land in conventional as well as conservation techniques of wheat in both the districts. The highest gross as well as net returns were found to be higher in turbo happy seeder technique (THST) over zero tillage technique and conventional technique in Karnal and Kaithal district of Haryana. As far as benefit cost analysis, turbo happy seeder technique was recorded profitable over zero tillage technique and conventional technique in the study area.

Finger millet was the most consumed among the urban consumers with 3.00 kg per month while other millets equally being consumed by the urban consumers, while foxtail millet, finger millet and little millet were consumed by rural consumers with higher consumption of foxtail millet. The monthly household food expenditure among the urban consumers, expenses made on groceries (40.21 percentage), expenditure on millet (15.33 percentage), purchasing minor millets were as nutritional and health benefits (96.67 percentage) followed by doctor’s advice (53.33 percentage) similarly, traditional staple food (93.33 percentage) followed by own production (80.00 percentage) for rural households. For each respondent, the part-worth’s were estimated using OLS regression analysis, rural consumers also found price to be the most important attribute accounting 26.11 per cent of relative importance, gaining awareness among consumers in consumption of millets for nutritional value and health benefits is improving gradually.

Recent trends in the international trade scenario and related shifts in India’s foreign trade policy have had far-reaching consequences for India’s general agricultural sector and, in particular, for agricultural exports. The Indian product of agriculture has played an important part in the global product of agriculture. For many agricultural commodities, India used to be the key export spot. The present study established the growth and output of agricultural exports from India during the time (2000-2019). India is the top tenth exporter of agricultural products in the world. Top exports comprise sugar, beef, rice, and shrimp. Export of principal agricultural products including rice, wheat, sugar, cotton, fruits, and vegetables are ‘free’ whereas export of pulses (excluding chickpea) and edible vegetable oil in bulk (excluding coconut and rice bran oils) are ‘restricted’ to meet domestic demand. Indian agricultural exports have increased, but the proportion of agricultural exports to the country’s overall exports has decreased. The research also explores the evolving behavior of the allocation of each category of commodities to the overall agricultural export basket. It covers the major agricultural products/crops which, over different periods, contribute to the maximum share of total agricultural exports (2000-2019). Higher agricultural exports would mean better price realization for farmers, increased awareness regarding good agricultural practices, and consequently thrust for quality also.

Market integration and prices of fruit crops such as apple play an important role in determining the production decisions of apple farmers. In this context, the present study examines the degree of spatial market integration and price transmission across five major apple markets of the country, viz. Shimla, Chandigarh, Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai by adopting Johansen’s Cointegration Test, Grangers Causality and Impulse Response Function. The outcomes of the study strongly buttress the cointegration and interdependence of the apple markets in India. To get additional information on whether and in which direction price transmission is occurring between market pairs, Ganger’s Causality Test has been used, which has confirmed Shimla to be the price determining market as it has causal relations with all the selected markets. The Impulse Response Function supported that all the selected markets responded well to standard deviation shock given to any other market. The major implication of the study is further improvement in market integration situation through dissemination of price and arrival data efficiently and developing communication means with in the markets by the government.

The study was undertaken in North of Bengaluru to assess the quantum of credit borrowed, sources of credit and its utilization pattern by farm households across rural urban interface. The required primary data was collected from randomly selected 50 farmers each under rural, peri-urban and urban transacts. The results revealed that the farmers availed more credit from formal sources compared to informal sources across all transacts. Commercial banks occupied the prominent position in all the three transacts with a share of 52.25, 53.15 and 42.17 per cent in rural, peri-urban and urban areas, respectively followed by cooperatives among the formal sources. In case of informal sources, the amount borrowed was high in rural area (40.06 %) followed by peri-urban (24.13 %) and urban area (15.89 %). Furthermore, the amount borrowed among informal sources was more from the money lenders and commission agents. When crop loans are concerned, the peri urban farmers are more productive in proper utilization of the loans followed by urban and rural farmers. Credit borrowed in rural areas was primarily utilized on livestock (32 %), education (32 %) and bore well digging (22 %). Whereas, majority of farmers in peri-urban area and urban areas utilized credit for high value horticulture crops and livestock rearing. In case of high value crops, for digging of bore well and livestock rearing, the utilization percentage was cent per cent or even more in all the areas. It was because these crops will help in getting assured returns which is sufficient enough to meet their household expenditure when compared with the normal crop enterprises.

An attempt has been made to study the Comparative Marketing Efficiency of different marketing channel with reference of mustard crop in Swai Madhopur district of Rajasthan. The study was conducted in Chauth Mata Agro Producer Company Limited; Chauth ka Barwada blocks in Swai Madhopur district. For each selected randomly villages, a separate list of mustard growing farmers was prepared and 80 farmers, processor, retailers, wholesaler and consumers were selected. The primary data were collected from the mustard producers and market functionaries through personal interview method with the help of well prepared schedule and questionnaire for the production and post-harvest year for Rabi mustard 2017-18. The market efficiency of FPOs and Non FPOs channel worked out to be 1.23 and 1.09, respectively. Price spread of FPOs and Non FPOs channel work out to be 43.19 and 46.11 percent, respectively. Producer’s share in consumer’s rupee of FPOs and Non FPOs channel out to be 55.86 and 52.71 percent, respectively. The market margin and marketing cost of FPOs channel works out less than the Non FPOs marketing channel. According to finding of this study Farmer Producer Organisations channel were found to be more relevant and profitable for farmers.

The present study was conducted in the Lake Zone of Tanzania, with a sample size of 265 rice farmers has been selected. The objective was to find out the constraints faced by rice farmers to propose Government’s policies regulating to overcome the constraints of rice production promotion and marketing in Tanzania. The study found that the agro-ecological constraints faced by farmers, ranked from more to less serious, were related to production and marketing problems; the major production challenge was drought faced 89.81 % of rice farmers from attaining the high rice production potential in the Lake Zone, followed by pests 34.34 %, shortage of inputs 31.32 % and diseases were the other major challenge encountered by the 25.29 %. The major diseases were the Yellow Mottle Virus and rice blast. Further, it shows that the low price of rice was a major marketing challenge faced by 38.95 %, followed by price fluctuations of 17.90%, and improper measurement scale was observed to be a challenge faced by 14.90 % of rice farmers.

Retailing is defined as a set of activities involved in the selling of a product or service to definite customers ranging from vehicles to clothing to feast at restaurants to film tickets. Somayajulu et al. (2002) found several hurdles hampering the growth of organized retail in India. These hurdles included high intermediation, high supply chain costs, insufficient supply chain infrastructure, inflexible labor laws, multiple licensing requirements, etc. Retailers along these lines attempt different business exercises and perform capacities, for example, arranging, holding stock, and so on, that increase the value of the contributions they make to the objective sections. The retail industry is divided into two parts- Organized Retail Sector and Unorganized Sector. The research study intends to analyze the volume and nature of employment generated between organized and unorganized sectors of Kolkata. The study reveals that unorganized sector retailers did experience a slight decline in their volume of business and profit in the initial years after the entry of large organized retailers, but there was no evidence of a decline in overall employment in the unorganized sector as a result of the entry of organized retailers and hence none of the retailers would like to change their existing business in spite of having sufficient resources for changing business because all of them do not find any reason to change business.

Economic analysis of agricultural mechanization in mid-hill zone of Himachal Pradesh was conducted in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. The results revealed that the mechanization index at the overall farm category was 0.26, which varied from 0.21 to 0.53 among different categories of farms. The highest (0.53) farm mechanization index was found in medium farms and the lowest (0.21) in marginal farms. It can further be observed that the coefficient of variation was highest (39.00 %) in marginal farms and lowest (6.52 %) in medium farms. At the overall level, 46.15 percent variation was found in farm mechanization.

The present paper explores the growth of total factor productivity of red gram crop in North-Eastern Karnataka. The cost of cultivation data of red gram crop for the period 1990-91 to 2012-13 was used for estimation of Total Factor Productivity. It was found that TFP of red gram crop has substantially increased in North Eastern Dry Zone and the mean TFP index recorded for the entire 23 year period was 1.92. TFP of red gram during the period has registered a growth rate of 5.14 percent per annum implying that change in output growth is due to the factors such as research, extension, soil types, rainfall and infrastructure facilities, etc. In the case of North-Eastern Transitional Zone, the TFP index registered fluctuations over 23 year period and there was no substantial growth in TFP. The total factor productivity estimate of red gram crop shows that there was significant growth in TFP in North-Eastern Dry Zone compared to North-Eastern Transitional Zone.