The present study was aimed to find out the input use levels and economics of ginger cultivation in Wayanad district of Kerala, during the crop year 2015-16. Total four villages which are leading in the area of ginger cultivation were selected and twenty  farmers from each village i.e. total 80 farmers were chosen randomly as sample size. The study indicated that cost of cultivation and gross returns were positively related with size of the holding.   The  overall  cost  of  cultivation  was  ` 4, 54,991.62 and ` 4, 94,501.03 per hectare on small and large farms. The expenditure on seed was found to be maximum constituting about 35.01 per cent of total cost followed by human labour, and machine power. All the farm income measures exhibited a positive relationship with the farm size. Returns per rupee of expenditure were found to be ` 0.60 and 0.67 per hectare on small and large farms respectively

Mathew, M. (Merlin )

English

Economic Affairs - Official Publication of AESRA

Economic Affairs, Vol. 63, No. 3, pp. 627-632, September 2018
DOI: 10.30954/0424-2513.3.2018.6
©2018 New Delhi Publishers. All rights reserved
Economics of Production of Ginger in Wayanad District of 
Kerala, India
Merlin Mathew1*, N. Vani2 and B. Aparna2
1Agricultural Economics, Sri Venkateswara Agricultural College, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India
2Department of Agricultural Economics, Sri Venkateswara Agricultural College, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India 
*Corresponding author: merlin0703@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
The present study was aimed to find out the input use levels and economics of ginger cultivation in 
Wayanad district of Kerala, during the crop year 2015-16. Total four villages which are leading in the area 
of ginger cultivation were selected and twenty farmers from each village i.e. total 80 farmers were chosen 
randomly as sample size. The study indicated that cost of cultivation and gross returns were positively 
related with size of the holding. The overall cost of cultivation was ` 4, 54,991.62 and ` 4, 94,501.03 per 
hectare on small and large farms. The expenditure on seed was found to be maximum constituting about 
35.01 per cent of total cost followed by human labour, and machine power. All the farm income measures 
exhibited a positive relationship with the farm size. Returns per rupee of expenditure were found to be 
` 0.60 and 0.67 per hectare on small and large farms respectively.
Keywords: break even output, cost concepts, farm income measures, margin of safety
Ginger is one of the earliest known oriental spices 
and is being cultivated in India for both as a fresh 
vegetable and as a dried spice since time immemorial. 
It is the most popular hot, fragrant, kitchen spice in 
the world. Ginger has a long documented history 
of both culinary and medicinal use throughout the 
history. In Indian Ayurvedic medicine, ginger is 
used as an anti-inflammatory and in Indian cuisine; 
ginger is the most important ingredient. About 50 
percent of the global demand for ginger is met by 
India. India is the largest producer, consumer and 
exporter of ginger in the world with an area of 140 
thousand hectares (2013) and a production and 
productivity of 688.30 thousand tonnes and 4,916 
kg/hectares (2013) respectively. India is the leading 
exporter of ginger in the world. In the year 2014-15 
India fetched a value of Rs. 33,133 lakhs in export 
of ginger. Ginger is grown in almost all parts of 
India since time immemorial. In India, Mizoram 
and Assam, Jharkand, West Bengal and Kerala 
are the leading producers of ginger. These states 
contribute more than 50 per cent of the total ginger 
production. Kerala stands fourth in area (4,538 
hectares) with a production of 21,521 tonnes (2013). 
The first grade export quality cured ginger (Cochin 
ginger or Calicut ginger) is produced in Kerala state. 
It fetches a premium price because of its superior 
quality. In Kerala, the ginger crop is cultivated in 
all the 14 districts and is one of the most important 
cash crops grown in wayanad district. Due to the 
peculiar nature of soil and climate, the area under 
ginger cultivation has been mostly concentrated 
in this district. Wayanad stood first in area, 1,992 
hectares (2013) with a production of 11,006 tonnes, 
followed by Palakkad with an area and production 
of 836 hectares and 4,080 tonnes (2013) respectively. 
Wayanad district contributes to more than 50 per 
cent of the total state production.
Though Wayanad district is an important area for 
the production of ginger in Kerala, India, little 
information is available on the economic viability 
of the crop in this region. In this context, it is 
felt necessary to conduct a micro level study and 
examine the economic aspects of production of 
ginger.
Mathew et al.
628Print ISSN : 0424-2513 Online ISSN : 0976-4666
Objectives
 1. To study the input use levels in ginger 
cultivation
 2. To study the cost and returns in the ginger 
cultivation.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Wayanad district having the first place in the 
production of ginger in the state was purposively 
selected for the study. Then, two blocks – Panamaram 
and Sulthan Bathery- of Wayanad district were 
selected and from these blocks, a list of villages 
under ginger crop was arranged in the descending 
order of their acreage. The first two villages from 
each block with highest area under the selected crop 
were choosen for a detailed study. The farmers were 
stratified into small and large groups on the basis 
of operational holding as per the criterion adopted 
by IRDP. Those farmers with 2 hectares or less of 
dry land were considered as small farmers and 
the farmers with more than 2 hectares of dry land 
were considered as large. From each of the selected 
villages, 10 farmers in each size group from each 
village were selected at random. Thus 40 small and 
40 large farmers constituted the sample of the study. 
The total number of ginger growers selected for the 
purpose of study was 80.
The data used in the study to fulfill various 
objectives were collected from the selected farmers 
through personal interview with the help of pre-
tested schedules designed for the purpose. Simple 
tabular analysis was carried out to work out the 
levels of input utilization and cost of production 
of ginger.
Cost concepts defined by Commission for 
Agricultural Costs and prices (CACP) were 
followed. Cost concepts were used to estimate the 
cost of cultivation and to derive the measures of 
efficiency viz., farm business income, family labour 
income, net income and farm investment income. 
The cost concepts viz., Cost A1, Cost A2, Cost B1, 
Cost B2 , Cost C1, Cost C2 and Cost C3 were used in 
the present study and they are derived as follows.
Cost A1
This cost includes value of hired human labour, 
owned and hired cattle labour, owned and hired 
tractor services, seeds, fertilizers, farm yard manure, 
plant protection chemicals, depreciation, repairs, 
land revenue and interest on working capital.
Cost A2
Cost A1 + rent paid for leased in land. In the 
present study, all the selected farmers were owner 
cultivators. Hence, Cost A1 and A2 were one and 
the same.
Cost B1
Cost A1 + interest on value of owned capital assets 
(excluding land)
Cost B2
Cost B1 + rental value of owned land (net of land 
revenue) and rent paid for leased-in land.
Cost C1
Cost B1 + imputed value of family labour
Cost C2
Cost B2 + imputed value of family labour
Cost C3
Cost C2 + 10 per cent of Cost C2 as management 
cost (on account of managerial functions performed 
by farmers.
Farm efficiency measures
Farm business income = Gross income – Cost A1 
(Cost A2 in case of tenant 
operated land)
Family labour income = Gross income - Cost B2
Net Income = Gross income – Cost C2
Farm investment income = (Gross income – Cost C3) + 
(Cost B2 – Cost A2)
Break-Even analysis
A break-even analysis is the determination of the 
functional relationship of revenue and costs to 
output rate and the derivation of functional relation 
of profit to output as residual. A break-even chart 
is a diagram of the short run relation of total cost 
and total revenue to rate of output. When actual 
costs are segregated into fixed and variable costs, 
any variation in volume will cause a change in 
variable costs and in turn, on the contribution and 
Economics of Production of Ginger in Wayanad District of Kerala, India
629Print ISSN : 0424-2513 Online ISSN : 0976-4666
profit. The management has, therefore to know the 
effect of such an increase in output on its profits 
and a study of cost-volume-profit relations enables 
management to plan profits.
A break-even analysis chart can be defined as a chart 
which shows neither profit nor loss at various levels 
of activity, the level at which neither profit nor loss 
is shown being called the break-even point. A firm 
is said to be at break-even point when its costs are 
equal to revenue i.e., when the contribution margin 
is exactly equal to the fixed costs. The break-even 
analysis is the methodology used to calculate that 
level of output at which the firm neither makes 
profit nor suffers loss. The appropriate formula to 
estimate the break-even output is.
Break even output = 
Total fixed costs
Selling price per unit of output – 
Variable costs Per unit
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Average size of land holding
The scale and efficiency of production and income 
earning capacity of farm business depends on the 
size of the holding. Table 1 presents land holding 
particulars of the sample farmers.
Table 1: Average size of land holding of sample 
farmers (hectares)
Sl. 
No.
Particulars Small Large
1 Dry land 1.27 (94.07) 2.69 (91.50)
2 Irrigated land 0.08 (5.93) 0.25 (8.50)
3 Total 1.35 (100) 2.94 (100)
4 Area under ginger 0.32 (23.70) 0.70 (23.81)
The average size of the land holding varied from 
1.35 hectares on the small farms to 2.94 hectares on 
the large farms. Of the 1.35 hectares operated by 
small farmers, the share of the irrigated land was 
0.08 hectares and that of dry land was 1.27 hectares. 
On large farms, the irrigated land constituted 0.25 
hectares and the dry land 2.69 hectares. This clearly 
indicated the predominance of dry land cultivation. 
In the study area, most of the crops are raised under 
rainfed condition.
The area under ginger, a selected enterprise for an 
economic analysis ranged from 0.32 hectares on 
small farms to 0.70 hectares on large farms. The 
proportionate area allocated for ginger cultivation 
appeared to be almost equal on both the farms.
Input utilization
Human labour utilization was positively related 
with the size of holding. Male and female labour 
utilization were highest in large size group of 
holdings (Table 1). The overall average labour 
utilization was 332.72 mandays per hectare in 
small farms and 387.64 mandays per hectare in 
large farms. Human labour was utilized for all the 
operations except ploughing, for which machinery 
services were employed (47.32 hours/ha). Machinery 
use showed a negative relationship with the farm 
size.
The quantity of rhizomes increased with increase 
in size of the holding. It was highest in the large 
size groups (2633.5 kg/ha) followed by small 
farms (2393.5 kg/ha). The average quantities of 
manures applied by the selected farmers were 
18.96, 18.6 and 18.72 tonnes/ha on small and large 
farms respectively. The levels of application of N, 
P, K increased with the size of the holding. The 
expenditure on plant protection chemicals was 
highest on large farms.
Table 2: Input utilization in ginger cultivation per 
hectare
Sl. No. Particulars Small Large
1 Human labour (mandays/ha)
V3\\33 Owned 24.87 4.62
Hired 307.85 383.02
2 Machine power (hours/ha)
Owned — —
Hired 52.41 44.91
3 Seeds (kgs) 2393.5 2633.5
4 Manures (tonnes) 18.96 18.6
5 Fertilizers (kgs)
N 177.5 206.88
P 155 179.33
K 160 135.1
S 37.5 33.73
6 Plant protection chemicals (L) 5.99 7.79
Mathew et al.
630Print ISSN : 0424-2513 Online ISSN : 0976-4666
Cost of cultivation
Seed rhizomes, human labour, machine use, 
manures, rental value of land were the major items 
of cost on all the size groups and it accounted for 
more than 80 per cent of the total cost (Table 3). 
The cost of cultivation (cost c2) was found to be Rs. 
4, 54,991.62 and ` 4, 94,501.03 on small and large 
farms respectively. Cost of cultivation according to 
the cost concepts revealed the same. Costs, A1, A2, 
B1, B2, C1, C2, C3 showed positive relationship with 
the farm size (Table 3).
Table 3: Cost of cultivation of ginger according to 
farm size and component wise (In rupees per hectare)
Sl. 
No.
Particulars Small Large
1.
(a) Human labour 1,46,396.80
(32.18)
1,70,561.60
(34.49)
Owned 10,942.80
(2.41)
2,032.80
(0.41)
Hired 1,35,454.00
(29.77)
1,68,528.80
(34.08)
(b) Machine use
Owned — —
Hired 41,928.00
(9.22)
35,928.00
(7.27)
(c) Seeds 1,57,827.00
(34.69)
1,73,652.00
(35.12)
(d) Manures 36,061.6
(7.92)
35,679.46
(7.21)
(e) Fertilizers 8,915.00
(1.96)
9,238.60
(1.87)
(f) Plant protection chemicals 2,450.94
(0.54)
3,381.35
(0.68)
(g) Repairs and maintenance 
charges
472.00
(0.10)
1,370.00
(0.28)
(h) Interest on working capital 19,948.85
(4.38)
21,759.18
(4.40)
Total operational costs 4,14,000.19
(90.99)
4,51,570.19
(91.32)
2.
(a) Land revenue 550
(0.12)
550
(0.11)
(b) Rental value of owned 
land
36,250
(7.97)
37,500
(7.58)
(c) Depreciation 2,062.89
(0.45)
2,333.86
(0.47)
(d) Interest on fixed capital 2,128
(0.47)
2,546.98
(0.52)
Total fixed costs 40,991.43
(9.01)
42,930.84
(8.68)
Total costs 4,54,991.62
(100)
4,94,501.03
(100)
Note: Figures in the parenthesis indicate percentage to the total.
Output and returns from ginger cultivation
The small and large farms realized a gross income 
of ` 7, 27,281.82, ` 8, 27,336 and per hectare 
respectively. The net income also exhibited a 
positive relationship with the farm size (Table 4).
Table 4: Costs concepts – ginger (Rupees per hectare)
Sl. 
No.
Particulars Small Large
1 Cost A1/A2
4,05,670.28
(89.16)
4,52,421.25
(91.49)
2 Cost B1
4,07,798.82
(89.63)
4,54,968.23
(92.01)
3 Cost B2
4,44,048.82
(97.59)
4,92,468.23
(99.59)
4 Cost C1
4,18,741.62
(92.03)
4,57,001.03
(92.42)
5 Cost C2
4,54,991.62
(100)
4,94,501.03
(100)
6 Cost C3
5,00,490.78
(110)
5,43,951.13
(110)
Note: Figures in the parentheses indicate percentage to the Cost C2.
Table 5: Output and returns from ginger cultivation
Sl. 
No.
Particulars Units Small Large
1 Yield in physical units
(a) Ginger Quintals
253.13 
(94.18)
285.46 
(94.86)
(b) Seed purpose Quintals 15.64  
(5.82)
15.48 
(5.14)
Total output Quintals
268.77  
(100)
300.94 
(100)
2. Yield in monetary terms
(a) Ginger ` 6,41,261.82 7,42,196.00
(b) Seed purpose ` 86,031.00 85,140.00
Gross returns ` 7,27,281.82 8,27,336.00
Cost of cultivation ` 4,54,991.62 4,94,501.03
Net returns ` 2,72,289.2 3,32,834.97
Note: Figures in the parentheses indicate percentage to the total 
output.
Economics of Production of Ginger in Wayanad District of Kerala, India
631Print ISSN : 0424-2513 Online ISSN : 0976-4666
Cost of production
The particulars on costs and returns per quintal 
of ginger are presented in Table 6. The contents 
of the Table 5 revealed that the cost of production 
was inversely related with the farm size. Cost per 
quintal of ginger decreased from ` 1,692.86 on 
small farms to ` 1,643.19 on large farms. A quintal 
of ginger resulted in a net income of ` 1,013.10 on 
small farms, ` 1,105.98 on large farms.
Table 6: Costs and returns per quintal of ginger 
production (Rupees per quintal)
Sl. No. Particulars Small Large
1 Costs
(a) Variable costs 1,540.35 1,500.53
(b) Fixed costs 152.51 142.66
(c) Total costs 1,692.86 1,643.19
2 Returns
(a) Gross returns 2,705.96 2,749.17
(b) Net returns 1,013.10 1,105.98
Measures of farm income
Measures of farm income are represented in Table 7. 
Gross income exhibited direct relationship with the 
farm size and it was in the order of ` 7, 27,281.28 
and ` 8, 27,336 per hectare on small and large farms 
respectively. The gross income was more by ` 1, 
00,054.72 on large farms due to higher productivity 
attained by this category of farms. Net income 
which represents the surplus of income over total 
cost was estimated at ` 2, 72,289.66 on small farms 
as against ` 3, 32,834.97 on large farms. The trend 
of net income revealed that large farmers were more 
efficient than the small farmers in the utilization of 
resources in the cultivation of ginger. Farm business 
income is a measure which indicates return to 
owned resources like land, capital and labour. On 
this front also, large farmers were distinctly superior 
to small farmers in tapping maximum productivity 
out of these resources. It was ` 3, 21,611 on small 
farms and ` 3, 74,914.75 on large farms. Family 
labour income is another measure of farm efficiency 
representing the returns from farmers own labour 
and family labour. Large farmers derived more 
family labour income amounting to ` 3, 34,867.77 
as against ` 2, 83,232.46 on small farms. Farm 
investment income is a measure that indicates 
returns to fixed capital. It was ` 3, 10,668.20 and 
` 3, 72,881.95 per hectare on small and large farms 
respectively. Large farmers were able to realize a net 
income of ` 0.67 per rupee of expenditure, while the 
small farmers realized ` 0.60.
Table 7: Measures of farm income – ginger 
production(Rupees per hectare)
Sl. 
No.
Particulars Small Large
1 Gross income
7,27,281.28
(100)
8,27,336
(100)
2 Net income
2,72,289.66
(37.44)
3,32,834.97
(40.23)
3 Farm business income
3,21,611
(44.22)
3,74,914.75
(45.32)
4 Family labour income
2,83,232.46
(38.94)
3,34,867.77
(40.48)
5 Farm investment income
3,10,668.2
(42.72)
3,72,881.95
(45.07)
6
Returns per rupee of 
expenditure
0.60 0.67
Note: Figures in the parentheses indicate percentage to the gross 
income.
Break-even analysis
Break-even analysis of ginger cultivation according 
to size groups are presented in Table 8. 
Table 8: Break-even analysis – ginger cultivation
Sl. 
No.
Particulars Small Large
1 Total Fixed Costs (`) 40,991.43 42,930.84
2
Variable cost  
(`/Quintal)
1,540.35 1,500.23
3 Price (`/Quintal) 2,533.33 2,600
4 Break-even output 
(Quintals)
41.28 39.04
5
Average output 
(Quintals)
268.77 300.94
6
Margin of safety 
(Quintals)
227.49 261.90
7
Percentage BEO to 
average output
15.36 14.91
The break even out-put on small and large farms was 
41.28 and 39.04 quintals per hectare respectively. It is 
apparent that the average yields obtained by small 
and large farms exceeded the minimum output to 
be produced. The margin of safety stood at 227.49 
Mathew et al.
632Print ISSN : 0424-2513 Online ISSN : 0976-4666
and 261.90 quintals on the above said categories of 
farms. This margin of safety confirmed the ability of 
farmers to cope up with the eventualities in ginger 
cultivation.
CONCLUSION
The cost of cultivation of ginger was directly related 
with the size of the holding. It was ` 4, 54,991.62 on 
small farms and ` 4, 94,501.03 on large farms. The 
cost of human labour, seeds, manures and rental 
value of owned land accounted for more than 80 
per cent of the total cost. The cost of producing 
a quintal of ginger exhibited inverse relationship 
with the size of the holding as it was ` 1643.19 on 
large farms and ` 1692.86 on small farms. A quintal 
of ginger yielded a net income of ` 1013.10 and 
` 1105.98 on small and large farms respectively. The 
returns per rupee of expenditure were ` 0.60 and 
` 0.67 on small and large farms.
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Gaikwad, S. H., Thorve, P. V. and Bhole, B. D. 1998. Economics 
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Economics of Production of Ginger in Wayanad District of Kerala, India

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Economics of Production of Ginger in Wayanad District of Kerala, India

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