How inefficient are small-scale rice farmers in eastern India really?: Examining the effects of microtopography on technical efficiency estimates

We focus on the impact of failing to control for differences in land types defined along toposequence on estimates of farm technical efficiency for small-scale rice farms in eastern India. In contrast with the existing literature, we find that those farms may be considerably more technically efficient than they appear from more aggregated analysis without such control. Farms planted with modern rice varieties are technically efficient. Furthermore, farms planted with traditional rice varieties operate close to the production frontier on less productive lands (upland and mid-upland), but significant technical inefficiency exists on more productive lands (medium land and lowland).

Natural Resource Endowments, Subsistence Agriculture, and Poverty in the Chhotanagpur Plateau

The Chhotanagpur Plateau in Eastern India lies on the so-called Tribal belt and is one of the poorest regions of India. Beginning in 1998, the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata and the International Rice Research Institute began research to examine the biophysical and socioeconomic factors constraining agricultural activity and household income in the region. This report provides an initial descriptive and quantitative analysis of the integrated biophysical and socioeconomic database constructed from this research. The report begins with brief overview of the geography and history of the study area, followed by descriptions of the main biophysical characteristics of the study area, such as climate, topography, soil, water availability, and the typology of land types in the area. The main cropping systems associated with each land type are identified. This research highlighted the importance of low scale variations in topography in explaining cropping systems. Part Two of the report reviews socioeconomic characteristics of the villages and of surveyed households. Key characteristics noted include the high incidence of poverty, the diversity of economic activities, and the small share of imputed household income derived from rice cultivation. The report concludes with a brief discussion of policy implications and avenues for future research in the study.Natural Resource Management; Rural Poverty; Rice Production; Subsistence Farming; Eastern India

Natural Resource Endowments, Subsistence Agriculture, and Poverty in the Chhotanagpur Plateau

The Chhotanagpur Plateau in Eastern India lies on the so-called Tribal belt and is one of the poorest regions of India. Beginning in 1998, the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata and the International Rice Research Institute began research to examine the biophysical and socioeconomic factors constraining agricultural activity and household income in the region. This report provides an initial descriptive and quantitative analysis of the integrated biophysical and socioeconomic database constructed from this research. The report begins with brief overview of the geography and history of the study area, followed by descriptions of the main biophysical characteristics of the study area, such as climate, topography, soil, water availability, and the typology of land types in the area. The main cropping systems associated with each land type are identified. This research highlighted the importance of low scale variations in topography in explaining cropping systems. Part Two of the report reviews socioeconomic characteristics of the villages and of surveyed households. Key characteristics noted include the high incidence of poverty, the diversity of economic activities, and the small share of imputed household income derived from rice cultivation. The report concludes with a brief discussion of policy implications and avenues for future research in the study

Natural Resource Endowments, Subsistence Agriculture, and Poverty in the Chhotanagpur Plateau

The Chhotanagpur Plateau in Eastern India lies on the so-called Tribal belt and is one of the poorest regions of India. Beginning in 1998, the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata and the International Rice Research Institute began research to examine the biophysical and socioeconomic factors constraining agricultural activity and household income in the region. This report provides an initial descriptive and quantitative analysis of the integrated biophysical and socioeconomic database constructed from this research. The report begins with brief overview of the geography and history of the study area, followed by descriptions of the main biophysical characteristics of the study area, such as climate, topography, soil, water availability, and the typology of land types in the area. The main cropping systems associated with each land type are identified. This research highlighted the importance of low scale variations in topography in explaining cropping systems. Part Two of the report reviews socioeconomic characteristics of the villages and of surveyed households. Key characteristics noted include the high incidence of poverty, the diversity of economic activities, and the small share of imputed household income derived from rice cultivation. The report concludes with a brief discussion of policy implications and avenues for future research in the study

Green Chemo-Prevention: An Integrated Review Between Agriculture and Medicine

The isothiocyanate's chemoprevention properties are reported to be present in cruciferous veggies through a variety of mechanisms. Sulforaphane, a phytochemical found in green leafy vegetables, has shown promise in the prevention and treatment of several cancers, including those of the prostate, breast, colon, skin, urinary bladder, and oral cavities. These malignancies include those that affect these organs. This substance is naturally present in broccoli sprouts, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, and garden cress. Broccoli should be a regular part of your diet because it contains a variety of bioactive substances such as vitamins, polyphenols, sulfides, glucosinolates, and antioxidants. Sulforaphane may be used as an inexpensive replacement or dietary supplement for chemo preventive therapy, according to the findings of epidemiological and experimental studies. Phase 2 detoxification enzymes like glutathione transferases, epoxide hydrolase, NAD(P)H: quinone reductase, and glucuronosyltransferases, as well as epoxide hydrolase and epoxide hydrolase, are produced when the body is stimulated. This is a useful tactic for preventing cancer and fending off the harm that electrophiles and reactive oxygen species can cause. Isothiocyanates are widely distributed in the Cruciferae family and Brassica genus of food plants, which include both broccoli and cauliflower. The most typical form of these substances is glucosinolate precursors. Sulforaphane and 4-methylsulfinylbutyl isothiocyanate, two of these isothiocyanates, are particularly powerful inducers of phase 2 enzymes. It is feasible to successfully extract glucosinolates and isothiocyanates from plants by homogenizing them at a temperature of around 50 degrees Celsius in a solution of equal parts dimethyl sulfoxide, dimethylformamide, and acetonitrile. This method avoids the hydrolysis of glucosinolates by myrosinase.   It's interesting to note that glucoraphanin, the precursor to sulforaphane, is 10–100 times more abundant in 3-day-old sprouts of various cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli and cauliflower than it is in fully grown veggies. Dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-treated rats displayed notable reductions in mammary tumor occurrence, quantity, and rate of growth when fed extracts from 3-day-old broccoli sprouts. These extracts' primary enzyme-inducing components were either glucoraphanin or sulforaphane. As a result, crucifer sprouts might provide an equivalent amount of cancer prevention to eating far larger quantities of the same mature vegetable species

Impact of Water Regimes and Amendments on Inorganic Arsenic Exposure to Rice

Rice-based diet faces an important public health concern due to arsenic (As) accumulation in rice grain, which is toxic to humans. Rice crops are prone to assimilate As due to continuously flooded cultivation. In this study, the objective was to determine how water regimes (flooded and aerobic) in rice cultivation impact total As and inorganic As speciation in rice on the basis of a field-scale trial in the post-monsoon season. Iron and silicon with NPK/organic manure were amended in each regime. We hypothesised that aerobic practice receiving amendments would reduce As uptake in rice grain with a subsequent decrease in accumulation of inorganic As species relative to flooded conditions (control). Continuously flooded conditions enhanced soil As availability by 32% compared to aerobic conditions. Under aerobic conditions, total As concentrations in rice decreased by 62% compared to flooded conditions. Speciation analyses revealed that aerobic conditions significantly reduced (p < 0.05) arsenite (68%) and arsenate (61%) accumulation in rice grains. Iron and silicon exhibited significant impact on reducing arsenate and arsenite uptake in rice, respectively. The study indicates that aerobic rice cultivation with minimum use of irrigation water can lead to lower risk of inorganic As exposure to rice relative to flooded practice

How Inefficient Really Are the Small-Scale Rice Farmers in Eastern India?: Examining the Effects of Microtopography on the Estimation of Technical Efficiency

We focus on the impact of failing to control for differences in land types defined along toposequence on estimates of farm technical efficiency for small-scale rice farms in eastern India. In contrast with the existing literature, we find that those farms may be considerably more technically efficient than they appear from more aggregated analysis without such control. Farms planted with modern rice varieties are technically efficient. Furthermore, farms planted with traditional rice varieties operate close to the production frontier on less productive lands (upland and mid-upland), but significant technical inefficiency exists on more productive lands (medium land and lowland)

Markov chain analysis of weekly rainfall data in determining drought-proneness

Markov chain models have been used to evaluate probabilities of getting a sequence of wet and dry weeks during South-West monsoon period over the districts Purulia in West Bengal and Giridih in Bihar state and dry farming tract in the state of Maharashtra of India. An index based on the parameters of this model has been suggested to indicate the extend of drought-proneness of a region. This study will be useful to agricultural planners and irrigation engineers to identifying the areas where agricultural development should be focused as a long term drought mitigation strategy. Also this study will contribute toward a better understanding of the climatology of drought in a major drought-prone region of the world

Poverty reduction in the 'tribal belt' of Eastern India

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/The Indian economy's strong growth in recent years has given new impetus to long-standing efforts to develop the country's poorest rural areas. Growth has increased government resources and raised expectations among the rural poor for improvements in their well-being. Findings of a long-term study of farming households in Eastern India suggest the importance of local circumstances in developing policies intended to raise the welfare of poor families in remote, agriculturally unfavorable, areas. The history of government rural development efforts in India is largely disappointing, but recent policies, including the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, signal a reversal of top-down national policies and improve prospects for these agricultural areas. Program decentralization and allowing localities broad latitude in developing interventions that encompass agricultural, manufacturing, and labor market-based pathways for raising rural livelihoods are critical in these efforts. Success in rural development efforts in India is vital to maintaining support for economic reforms and sustaining the nation's growth