ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF TURMERIC GROWERS

A study conducted in Belagavi district during 2018-19 examined the economic performance of turmeric growers using an ‘Ex-post facto’ research design. Two top turmeric-growing blocks were selected through multistage proportional sampling, with six villages chosen from each block based on irrigation sources. Data from 120 respondents across 12 villages was collected using pretested structured interviews. The cost of cultivation was estimated using the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices’ principles (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, C3). Labour was the most extensively used input, with an average of 134 man-days acre -1 . Canal/borewell farms (CBF) used more labour (137.5 man-days acre -1 ) compared to river basin farms (RBF - 130.50 man-days acre -1 ). The average cost of turmeric cultivation was Rs. 138010.78 per acre, with A1 cost at Rs. 91494.09 acre -1 and A2 cost at `95128.09 acre -1 . Mean gross returns were `194943.03 acre -1 . Net returns varied, with `100159.56 acre -1 at cost ‘A’, `82157.09 acre -1 at cost ‘B2’, and `56932.25 acre -1 at cost ‘C3’. CBF had higher net returns (`70099.83 acre -1 ) than RBF (`44390.73 acre -1 ). The benefit-cost ratio at cost ‘C3’ was 1:1.41 for the district, with CBF (1.49) outperforming RBF (1.33).