Analysis of Spatial Cointegration amongst Major Wholesale Egg Markets in India

The performance of egg market has been studied through measurement of oneness in the egg markets. For this purpose, the Engle-Granger Cointegration test procedure has been applied to egg price series for major wholesale egg markets in the country, viz. Nammakal (Tamil Nadu), Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad for the period 1982 to 2000. The study has indicated that the six major wholesale egg markets in the country are cointegrated apparently due to performance of market intelligence functions by the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) which helps in transmitting price signals across the length and breadth of the country through print media on day-to-day basis. The high degree of cointegration amongst various markets indicates that these markets are competitive and efficient at the wholesale levels. However, it still remains to be examined whether the poultry farmers and traders at the grass-root level are able to realize the prices declared by the NECC.Agribusiness, Marketing,

Impact of Rural Development Scheme on Availability of Agricultural Labour — A Study of Dairy Farmers in Thanjavur District of Tamil Nadu

This study conducted in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, has indentified the problems being faced by dairy farmers due to scarcity of farm labour for agricultural and livestock production. The study is based on the data collected from 40 selected respondents involved in crop production and dairying in the study area during the year 2008-09 through primary survey. The study has revealed that the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has provided employment opportunities to rural workers and has checked the migration of farm labour from villages to cities and nearby industrial townships. All the eligible family member of landless dairy farmers had the job cards, but medium and large dairy farmers possessing agricultural land, prefer to work at their own farms. These farmers have reported that they were facing acute shortage of labourers during peak paddy planting and harvesting due to MGNREGS. The labour wages have increased significantly from Rs 60 to Rs110 per day since the implementation of MGNREG scheme. It has been observed that milch animals of some landless/ small dairy farmers are being maintained by the children or aged family members, as majority of adult family members prefer the MGNREGS jobs to earn wages. These adult members have complained about not getting 100-day wage employment as per provisions of scheme. The wage payments are also delayed after completion of work and they face problems in getting the job cards. The study has concluded that the minimum wages under MGNREGS should be increased cautiously keeping in view its impact on agricultural/ livestock activities.MGNREGS, Agricultural labour, Labour demand, Labour wage rates, Rural – urban migration, Agricultural and Food Policy, J22, J23, J38, J39,

Estimation of Post-Harvest Losses in Kinnow Mandarin in Punjab Using a Modified Formula

This study undertaken in Punjab on kinnow mandarin has suggested to include marketing loss in the estimation of marketing margins, price spread and efficiency and has used a modified formula for it. It has been observed that a majority of kinnow producers sell their orchards to the pre-harvest contractors/ traders at different stages. The aggregate post-harvest losses from orchards to consumers in kinnow in two different markets ranges from 14.87 per cent in Delhi market to 21.91 per cent in Bangalore market. It has indicated the necessity of establishing kinnow processing industries for development of value-added ready-to-serve (RTS) quality products, minimizing post-harvest losses and providing remunerative price to the producers. The results have emphasized that efforts should be made to adopt improved packaging techniques, cushioning material and cold storage facilities at the retail level. The producer’s share in consumer’s price as estimated by old method has been found higher in local market than Bangalore and Delhi markets, largely because of lower marketing costs and profit margins of traders. The inclusion of marketing loss in the estimation of marketing margins, price spread and efficiency has indicated that the old estimation method unduly over-states the farmers’ net price and profit margins to the market middlemen. It is appropriate to use modified method for the estimation of marketing margins and price spread.Crop Production/Industries,

Broilers’ Supply Value Chain in the National Capital Region Delhi: A Case Study of Ghazipur Poultry Market

The marketing of broilers/chicken meat in the National Capital Region (NCR) Delhi has been compared in two distinct kinds of markets, viz. organized (shopping malls, organized multi-product retailers) and unorganized or primarily wet markets (exclusive chicken dressers, poultry meat retailers, etc.). Data have been collected from various functionaries involved in marketing of broilers/poultry meat in the NCR Delhi during the year 2008-09 through primary survey. The most prominent channel in the unorganized broiler market has been found as: Producer-Wholesaler- Dresser-cum-Retailers –Consumer, whereas the same in the organized market as Producer - Commission agent- Supplier-Distributor- Shopping Malls/ Hotels/ Retailer-Consumer. The marketing cost, marketing margins, price spread and producers’ share in consumers’ rupee, in the most efficient unorganized marketing channel have been found as Rs 10480, Rs 30220, Rs 40700 per tonne (live wt. basis) and 62 per cent, respectively, whereas the corresponding figures in the most efficient organized marketing channel were Rs 12750, Rs 76350, Rs 88500 per tonne and 43 per cent. The wholesale regulated poultry market at Ghazipur was the key supply centre for chicken in the NCR Delhi. The average daily arrival in the poultry market has been found over one lakh broilers accounting for about 50 per cent sales in Delhi. Over 70 per cent of the broilers at Ghazipur Poultry Market are manually dressed. The manual poultry processing has provided direct employment to nearly 5000 workers. The manual dressing of broilers has resulted in value addition of about 50 per cent on live weight basis and production of over 20 chicken meat products/ by-products. The study has also assessed the pros and cons of manual dressing of broilers vis-à-vis mechanical processing and has estimated the cost of processing in the two systems. It has been observed that manual dressing of broilers is not only cheaper but also provides employment and livelihood to a large number of illiterate and/ or semi-skilled workers. Hence, the study has suggested to improve and organize the manual dressing system so that the qualitative aspects and concerns about health and hygiene could also be addressed. Erratic power supply, long power cuts, lack of refrigerated transportation facility, poor monitoring of food safety and quality norms in manual processing, rampant corruption in transportation of live chickens, etc. have been identified as the major constraints in marketing of broilers/chicken meat in the NCR Delhi.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Analysis of Spatial Cointegration amongst Major Wholesale Egg Markets in India

The performance of egg market has been studied through measurement of oneness in the egg markets. For this purpose, the Engle-Granger Cointegration test procedure has been applied to egg price series for major wholesale egg markets in the country, viz. Nammakal (Tamil Nadu), Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad for the period 1982 to 2000. The study has indicated that the six major wholesale egg markets in the country are cointegrated apparently due to performance of market intelligence functions by the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) which helps in transmitting price signals across the length and breadth of the country through print media on day-to-day basis. The high degree of cointegration amongst various markets indicates that these markets are competitive and efficient at the wholesale levels. However, it still remains to be examined whether the poultry farmers and traders at the grass-root level are able to realize the prices declared by the NECC

Impact of Rural Development Scheme on Availability of Agricultural Labour — A Study of Dairy Farmers in Thanjavur District of Tamil Nadu

This study conducted in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, has indentified the problems being faced by dairy farmers due to scarcity of farm labour for agricultural and livestock production. The study is based on the data collected from 40 selected respondents involved in crop production and dairying in the study area during the year 2008-09 through primary survey. The study has revealed that the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has provided employment opportunities to rural workers and has checked the migration of farm labour from villages to cities and nearby industrial townships. All the eligible family member of landless dairy farmers had the job cards, but medium and large dairy farmers possessing agricultural land, prefer to work at their own farms. These farmers have reported that they were facing acute shortage of labourers during peak paddy planting and harvesting due to MGNREGS. The labour wages have increased significantly from Rs 60 to Rs110 per day since the implementation of MGNREG scheme. It has been observed that milch animals of some landless/ small dairy farmers are being maintained by the children or aged family members, as majority of adult family members prefer the MGNREGS jobs to earn wages. These adult members have complained about not getting 100-day wage employment as per provisions of scheme. The wage payments are also delayed after completion of work and they face problems in getting the job cards. The study has concluded that the minimum wages under MGNREGS should be increased cautiously keeping in view its impact on agricultural/ livestock activities

Economic Evaluation of Peach Cultivation in North Indian Plains

The production constraints and economics of peach (Prunus persica (L) Batsch.) cultivation in Punjab and Uttarakhand have been presented. The investment in peach orchards has been found a profitable business. The internal rate of return (IRR) has been found to vary from 20.98 per cent to 23.80 per cent, depending on the size of peach orchards. The net present value, benefit-cost ratio and IRR at 12 per cent discount rate have been reported as Rs 44,807, 1.681 and 22.20, respectively for the overall category of orchards. The economic productive life of peach orchards in Punjab and Uttarakhand has been calculated up to 24 years. The optimum size of peach orchards is above 2.0 ha. It has been revealed that the peach orchards are worth retaining as long as they give the income of Rs 5,713 over the annual maintenance cost. The economic appraisal of investment methods has indicated that annual amortization method may be preferred, because of its simplicity, efficiency and close to real situation results. To achieve the targets of fruits production, priority should be given to proper post-harvest management, including establishment of mechanical grading, packaging, on-farm processing, cold storage and quality control measures to minimize post-harvest losses and provide remunerative prices to the peach growers

Broilers’ Supply Value Chain in the National Capital Region Delhi: A Case Study of Ghazipur Poultry Market

The marketing of broilers/chicken meat in the National Capital Region (NCR) Delhi has been compared in two distinct kinds of markets, viz. organized (shopping malls, organized multi-product retailers) and unorganized or primarily wet markets (exclusive chicken dressers, poultry meat retailers, etc.). Data have been collected from various functionaries involved in marketing of broilers/poultry meat in the NCR Delhi during the year 2008-09 through primary survey. The most prominent channel in the unorganized broiler market has been found as: Producer-Wholesaler- Dresser-cum-Retailers –Consumer, whereas the same in the organized market as Producer - Commission agent- Supplier-Distributor- Shopping Malls/ Hotels/ Retailer-Consumer. The marketing cost, marketing margins, price spread and producers’ share in consumers’ rupee, in the most efficient unorganized marketing channel have been found as Rs 10480, Rs 30220, Rs 40700 per tonne (live wt. basis) and 62 per cent, respectively, whereas the corresponding figures in the most efficient organized marketing channel were Rs 12750, Rs 76350, Rs 88500 per tonne and 43 per cent. The wholesale regulated poultry market at Ghazipur was the key supply centre for chicken in the NCR Delhi. The average daily arrival in the poultry market has been found over one lakh broilers accounting for about 50 per cent sales in Delhi. Over 70 per cent of the broilers at Ghazipur Poultry Market are manually dressed. The manual poultry processing has provided direct employment to nearly 5000 workers. The manual dressing of broilers has resulted in value addition of about 50 per cent on live weight basis and production of over 20 chicken meat products/ by-products. The study has also assessed the pros and cons of manual dressing of broilers vis-à-vis mechanical processing and has estimated the cost of processing in the two systems. It has been observed that manual dressing of broilers is not only cheaper but also provides employment and livelihood to a large number of illiterate and/ or semi-skilled workers. Hence, the study has suggested to improve and organize the manual dressing system so that the qualitative aspects and concerns about health and hygiene could also be addressed. Erratic power supply, long power cuts, lack of refrigerated transportation facility, poor monitoring of food safety and quality norms in manual processing, rampant corruption in transportation of live chickens, etc. have been identified as the major constraints in marketing of broilers/chicken meat in the NCR Delhi

Integrated Poultry-Fish Farming Systems for Sustainable Rural Livelihood Security in Kumaon Hills of Uttarakhand

The study has analyzed socio-economic impact of poultry based farming system on farmers for their livelihood security and women empowerment. The analysis is based on the data collected from 95 poultry farmers selected from three hill districts of Kumaon region for two production years, 2011-12 and 2012- 13. It has been observed that the farmers’ access to day-old chicks (DOCs)/fish seed/fingerlings plays the key role in popularization of integrated poultry-fish farming. The economics of prevailing poultry production systems has been worked out and it has been found that cost on rearing of chicks up to 3-5 weeks is nearly ` 46 per chick and a small unit of 10-15 birds in backyard poultry gives a net income of ` 11470/ annum. The chicken broilers could be reared successfully by farmers in the remote hills villages. The feed cost has a lion’s share (72%), followed by DOCs cost in the total cost. The study has revealed that poultry could be successfully reared in backyard as well as intensive broiler farming. The adoption of integrated poultry-fish farming provides fetch additional income of ` 4000-5000 and employment opportunities for 45-50 human days. Additionally, the consumption of eggs/fish and meat adds to food quality and livelihood security of the resource-poor family. High costs of feed and chicks have been identified as the major constraints of integrated poultry farming. The study has concluded that the integrated poultry-fish system could address issues of sustainability, women empowerment and livelihood security effectively. The government should offer subsidy on feed and other inputs as incentives to the BPL families for adoption of integrated poultry-cum-fish farming which would lead to women empowerment and livelihood security in the region