Vol XXIII No2 Dec 13

Bridging the Gap in Resource Mobilisation in Irrigation System
Management in Sri Lanka: Application of Contingent Valuation Technique

M.M.M. Aheeyar
Rural Women's Involvement in Non-Timber Forest Resources Utilisation in
Enclaves of Cross River National Park, Nigeria
D. I Edet, A.T. Oladele and F. S. Popo-ola
Species Diversification in Coastal Shrimp Farming of Bangladesh:
Farmers' Innovations and Experiences
Md. Latiful Islam, Hindol Kumar Pal, Md. Arif Choudhury, Yahya Khairun and
Md. Jahangir Alam
Role of Institutions and Support Systems in Promoting Organic Farming -
A Case of Organic Producer Groups in India
Ch. Radhika Rani and A. Amarender Reddy
Mapping Food Price, Agricultural Productivity and Poverty Changes by
Development Domains in Nigeria: Implications for Sustainable Agricultural
Development and Poverty Reduction Policies
Olawale Emmanuel Olayide and Tunrayo Alabi
Technological Change in MV Paddy Production in Bangladesh: An Empirical
Analysis of the Application of Traditional and Granular Urea
Basanta Kumar Barmon
Grassroot Democracy and Empowerment of People: Sharing the Indian
Experience on Local Governance
Mona Kaushal
Volume XXIII December 2013 Number 2
Cecep E ffendi
Mahabub Hossain
Executive Director, BRAC
Editorial Assistant
Fahima Bintee Jamal
Jayant K. Routray
Professor and Academic Senate Chair
Regional and Rural Development Planning
Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand
Hossein Shahbaz
Director (Pilot Projects)
CIRDAP
Qazi K holiquzzaman Ahmad
Chairman, Palli K arma-Sahayak Foundation (PK SF)
Member of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winning UN I PCC team
Mohammed Far ashuddin
Founder President and Vice-Chancellor, East West University
Former Governor, Bangladesh Bank
Volume XXIII December 2013 Number 2
Pr inted by : Rupa Printing & Packaging, Dhaka
Cecep Effendi,
In cooperation with Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand
Volume XXI I I December 2013 Number 2
I SSN 1018-5291
CI RDAP 2013
Management in Sri Lanka: Application of Contingent Valuation Technique
M.M.M. Aheeyar
Rural Women's Involvement in Non-Timber Forest Resources Utilisation
in Enclaves of Cross River National Park, Nigeria
D. I Edet, A.T. Oladele and F. S. Popo-ola
Species Diversification in Coastal Shrimp Farming of Bangladesh:
Farmers' Innovations and Experiences
Md. Latiful Islam, Hindol Kumar Pal, Md. Arif Choudhury, Yahya Khairun
and Md. Jahangir Alam
Role of Institutions and Support Systems in Promoting Organic Farming
- A Case of Organic Producer Groups in India
Ch. Radhika Rani and A. Amarender Reddy
Mapping Food Price, Agricultural Productivity and Poverty Changes by
Development Domains in Nigeria: Implications for Sustainable
Agricultural Development and Poverty Reduction Policies
Olawale Emmanuel Olayide and Tunrayo Alabi
Technological Change in MV Paddy Production in Bangladesh: An Empirical
Analysis of the Application of Traditional and Granular Urea
Note
Grassroot Democracy and Empowerment of People: Sharing the Indian
Experience on Local Governance
Mona Kaushal
Book Review
Changing Face of Rural India
Participatory Rural Development in Pakistan: Experience of Rural Support
Programmes
Index
1
15
27
37
47
59
81
91
95
98
Volume XXI I I December 2013 Number 2
Articles Pages
CONT E NT S
1
Management in Sri Lanka : Application of Contingent
Valuation Technique
M.M.M. Aheeyar
*
Abstract
Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) had been implemented as a national irrigation
management policy in Sri Lanka since 1980s. The major expectation of the policy was to bridge the
resource gaps in irrigation system management through mobilisation of resources from farmers
through empowerment and establishment of appropriate institutional arrangements. However, past
research findings show that there is a continuous dependency of farmers on government support for
irrigation management. This paper was aimed at estimating the value of current level of resource
mobilisation by farmers and their Willingness to Pay (WTP) for sustainable irrigation system
maintenance in order to provide improved irrigation services in the long run.
The findings of the study indicate that, the estimated value of labour mobilisation for irrigation
system maintenance under the PIM varies from Rs 2300-Rs 5150 per annum at 2010 prices.
Further, it projected out that about 70% of farmers had WTP additional amount of resources to
ensure long-term sustainability of infrastructure and to have improved irrigation services. The
average seasonal estimated values of WTP range from Rs.111/ac to Rs. 295/ac. The willingness to
pay value was positively related to household income and the value of the current O&M fee.
Therefore it is important to uplift the irrigated agricultural incomes through crop diversification
and increasing cropping intensities. The expressed willingness to pay is needed to be captured to
bridge the current resource gaps and to establish a sustainable maintenance arrangement.
Introduction
Improved access to irrigation is an important component of agricultural development.
Irrigation accounts for about 94 per cent of total water harnessed in Sri Lanka, while the
domestic sector accounts for 4 per cent and industrial consumption is around two per cent.
Irrigation system in Sri Lanka consists of three groups of irrigation schemes, differentiated
by the extent of the command area. These are major, medium, and minor schemes. Each
major scheme has a command area of over 800 hectares and each medium scheme has a
command area between 80 and 800 hectares. Minor scheme has a command area of less than
80 hectares irrigated by a village tank, which are also called village irrigation schemes.
Paddy/rice- the staple food in Sri Lanka is the major irrigated crop, which accounts for
nearly 90 per cent of the total irrigated area. There has been a considerable increase in
irrigated area under paddy during the last 50 years. In the 1950s, the irrigated paddy area
had been only around 300 thousand hectares. This has increased to more than 600
thousand hectares. The expansion in irrigated areas has come about mainly through major
and medium irrigation schemes.
*
Head, Environment and Water Resources Management Division, Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research
and Training Institute, Colombo. E-mail: aheeyar@harti.lk
Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development
Vol. XXIII, No. 2, December 2013
2
With the expansion in irrigated area, there was considerable increase in the average yield
of paddy. The average paddy yield has increased from about 1.5 tonnes per hectare in
1950 (Central Bank of Sri Lanka 1998) to about 4.4 tonnes per hectare in 2010
(Department of Census and Statistics 2011). There is a considerable difference in the
average yield of paddy between the irrigated and rain-fed areas and between the areas
irrigated by major irrigation schemes and that by village tanks. In 2011, the paddy yields
were recorded as 4.9 tonnes per hectare for major irrigation areas, 3.8 tonnes per hectare
for minor irrigation areas, and 3.2 tonnes per hectare for rain-fed areas. Past yield data
illustrate that the average yield obtained from each hectare of rain-fed paddy cultivation
is about one to 1.2 to 1.7 tonnes less than that from major irrigation scheme areas due to
the risk of limitation in water availability and consequent low input agriculture.
Sri Lanka has invested considerably in the expansion of irrigation facilities. The
investment in irrigation accounted for 37.5 per cent and 20 per cent of the total public
investment in 1950 and 1955, respectively, which later declined. But, in the1980s, the
government again recognised the importance of public investment in irrigation. The
irrigation investment in 1980 and 1985 was 18.4 and 18.0 per cent respectively of total
public investment in the country (Imbulana et al. 2010).
The investment in the development of new irrigation infrastructure has started again to
increase after 2006. According to the budget speech of 2012, four new irrigation
development projects namely, Uma Oya, Deduru Oya, Yan Oya, and Moragahakanda
were initiated and twelve other projects have been planned for implementation in the near
future. Allocations have been earmarked to commence feasibility studies to develop the
river basins of Gin Ganga, Kalu Ganga, and Nilwala Ganga. These projects are expected
to open up new lands for irrigation and improve capacity in existing irrigated lands in
several locations and enhance the cropping intensity in the project areas.
Expansion of irrigation infrastructure has demanded huge resources to cover recurrent
expenditures and it has been a big burden for the economy. Therefore, allocation of
finances for sustainable operation and maintenance (O&M) of irrigation systems had
decreased over the years due to budgetary and fiscal constraints although irrigation
systems were expanded and improved. Sri Lanka's long standing tradition of welfare
which came into being with the Donoughmore Constitution in 1931, of the British
colonial period and vigorously after the independence in 1948, has not provided a climate
conducive to the collection of any significant revenue for the state for irrigation water
provided at great expense by the government. According to Bhalla (1991), the largest cost
incurred by Sri Lanka in achieving self sufficiency in rice was its irrigation subsidies.
In this background, the government of Sri Lanka made an attempt in 1984, to recover the
partial O&M cost of irrigation systems thorough introduction of a user fee collection
system at the rate Rs. 100 per acre of irrigated paddy land. However, the collection of
O&M fee was drastically reduced in a few years and failed, mainly as the centralised
agency could not link the collected revenue to significantly improve the irrigation
services and its failure to take legal action against defaulters, and other implementation
problems. The major concern of the policy makers was the deterioration of irrigation
infrastructure and requirements of premature rehabilitation due to inadequate financial
resources to properly operate and maintain the systems.
Aheeyar
3
Participatory Irrigation Management
The government of Sri Lanka introduced participatory irrigation management (PIM) as a
national policy of irrigation system management in the late 1980s as an alternative to the
collection of a user fee. PIM policy is leading to irrigation management turnover (IMT)
where beneficiaries have to be valuable partners in O&M and thereby improving the
efficiency and equity of the irrigation system. Under the PIM and IMT framework, in the
major and medium irrigation schemes, irrigation agency is responsible for the O&M of
the head system and the main canal while Water Users Associations (WUAs) are
responsible for the O&M of the distributory canal (DC) and the system below the DC.
Farmers have to mobilise sufficient resources in labour, kind and cash for sustainable
O&M of the turned over system.
Institutional Models Adopted for PIM
Irrigation agencies pilot tested four different models for the implementation of PIM
policy in major and medium irrigation schemes. The salient features of these models are
described in the following sections.
a) INMAS Model
The Integrated Management of Major Irrigation Schemes (INMAS) programme
commenced in 1984 under the newly established Irrigation Management Division (IMD)
attached to the Department of Irrigation (ID). The IMD implemented its programme in 37
large irrigation schemes. Each scheme had a command area of over 800 ha covering a
total of 197,000 ha.
The key elements of the INMAS model are Field Channel Group (FCG), Distributory
Channel Organization (DCO), and the scheme level Project Management Committee
(PMC). The lowest level of WUA is the FCG. This group is an informal group where the
major function is communicating farmer problems to the FC representative who in turn
brings the issues to the attention of the higher levels. FCG is also responsible for O&M
and water management of the FC.
The next level of WUA is the DCO (DCO is equal to formal WUA or FO). This is a
'formal' organisation with a constitution. The membership of DCO comprises all the
farmers of the DC. A committee consisting of Farmer Representatives (FRs) is selected
by the FCGs governs the DCO. The DCO is responsible for water management among
FCs, O&M of the DC, resolving disputes not solved by the FCG and other needed
activities.
Each irrigation scheme has a Project Management Committee (PMC) which consists of
the selected representatives of the DCOs and scheme level officers from the line
agencies, including irrigation agency, agricultural agencies, banks and others. The PMC
is a joint management committee of both farmers and officers, which is responsible for
preparation of the seasonal plan, co-ordination efforts among agencies, improvement of
communication and resolving disputes between farmers and agencies and resolving
disputes among DCOs.
Bridging the Gap in Resource...
4
A specialised Resident Project Manager (RPM) is stationed in each INMAS system
employed by the IMD. He is responsible for establishing and strengthening beneficiary
organisations, coordinating government agency efforts, and chairing the Project
Management Committee. The Project Manager is assisted by an Institutional Development
Officer (IDO) specifically charged with creating and strengthening beneficiary
organisations. In the initial stages of the INMAS programme, there were Institutional
Organisers (IOs) on a casual basis to act as catalyst agents to create and strengthen
beneficiary organisations until the beneficiary organisations develop their capacity.
b) MANIS Model
The INMAS program deals only with larger schemes and does not include medium
schemes. Therefore, Management of Irrigation Systems (MANIS) was initiated by
Irrigation Department (ID) as a self reliant programme in 175 medium sized schemes.
MANIS programme adopted INMAS model with all main key elements, but with a
different approach. The main difference was that it functioned without outside support,
extra resources and incentives. The management of the tank and irrigation network is
under the authority of the Irrigation Engineer and Technical Assistant in-charge of the
scheme. They were expected to perform little more than their normal duties and function
as part time project managers without any special rewards (Wijesuriya 1990, Raby 1991).
The Project Managers of the MANIS program generally had not received specialised
catalyst assistances such as IDOs or IOs, except during special rehabilitation interventions.
c) Mahaweli Model
Mahaweli Economic Agency (MEA) under the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka
(MASL) is responsible for the operation and management of six very large river basins
schemes. The total area of irrigated land covered by the MEA is about 121,000 ha. Since
then the MEA has been experimenting with ways and means to solicit farmer
participation in system management, but finally, MEA adopted an organisation similar to
the INMAS model for water management and O&M work and followed the INMAS
strategy (Raby and Merrey 1989).
Each Mahaweli scheme has a RPM as in the INMAS program, which are further divided
into several block areas under the leadership of block managers. Blocks consisted of
several units led by the unit managers.
A central unit for Institutional Development is available at MEA and an IDO has been
appointed for each block. He is supervised by an Assistant Manager of the institutional
development division of each scheme. At the initial stages, Institutional Organiser
Volunteers (IOVs) were appointed for each scheme on a casual basis as similar to IOs
fielded in INMAS to mobilise farmers at field level.
d) Bulk Water Allocation Programme
Bulk Water Allocation (BWA) programme is a water and irrigation system management
model incorporated into the Mahaweli management model in System H. Under the BWA
system, the DCOs are allocated a specific quantity of irrigation water (water quota) for
Aheeyar
5
each season on the basis of the total irrigated land within the DCO command area, type of
crops to be cultivated and the quantity of water required per rotation to meet the crop
water requirement. Water quota is decided through a series of consultations and
negotiations at various levels in an arrangement institutionalised for the BWA
programme. The whole procedure is based on the water availability, but there is a
guarantee of the allocated water quantity. This strategy has assured the right for water for
each individual farmer.
The farmer participation in water management is carried out at three levels namely; Field
Channel level, Distributory Channel level and Block Level through mobilisation of cash,
labour and materials. In addition, each farmer has to pay Rs 250 per season per hectare of
low land (Rs 100/ac) to the maintenance fund established in the DCO. In order to ensure
the adequacy and timeliness of water issues, a Water Master has been appointed by the
DCO and he is paid an honorarium for his services from the maintenance fund.
Problem Statement
The primary objectives of Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) policy were
government cost reduction in O&M and the improvement of the performance of the
systems. The policy emphasise the active participation of farmers along with the
government irrigation agency through irrigation management transfer. However, after
over a decade of experience in PIM, it has been found that, WUAs have failed to mobilise
adequate amount of resources toward O&M, and some of the maintenance
responsibilities have become 'no body's business and there is a serious under investment
in irrigation system maintenance (Aheeyar 1997, Samad and Vermillion 1999). Aheeyar
(1997) found that, the value of cash and materials mobilisation of farmers towards WUAs
for O&M is desperately low and mostly it was recorded as zero.
Under investment in irrigation system maintenance in the turned over irrigation systems by
beneficiary groups and the consequent issue of long term sustainability has been reported
in many other countries (Vermillion and Garces-Restrepo 1996, Vermillion et al. 2000,
Abernethy et al. 2000). The situation has raised serious questions regarding the
achievements of the expected objectives of PIM policy and irrigation management transfer.
Failure to mobilise adequate resources for O&M leads to deterioration of irrigation
systems and necessitates premature rehabilitation costing a huge amount of investment of
public money. Therefore it is important to examine the strategies that could be adopted to
address the existing resource gap in sustainable irrigation system O&M.
Objectives of the Study
The major objective of the present study is to:
(i) Assess the current level of resource mobilisation in the turned over irrigation canals
under different management models;
(ii) Estimate the farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for the improved irrigation services
as well as sustainable management of irrigation infrastructure; and
(iii) Suggest policy implications onsets out of the study
6
Conceptual Framework of the Study
Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) was adopted to estimate the farmers' willingness to
pay for improved irrigation services. The CVM is a survey technique that elicits values
people provide for the increase or decrease of benefits from natural resources at
hypothetical market condition. It addresses the individual valuation of non market goods
directly by the use of data sets that are hypothetical or experimental (Randall 1981). The
method basically depends on setting up of a contingent market which is close to an actual
market if it did exist. There is substantial literature to explain the theoretical and
empirical application of CVM (Hufschmidt et al. 1983, Whittington et al. 1983, Randall
1981, Upawansa & Abeygunawardana 1993). The economic principle involved in the
CVM is an attempt to determine the price that consumers are willing to pay or willing to
accept, which is essential to restore the initial or a subsequent utility level.
A questionnaire can be designed as a measure to obtain willingness to pay (WTP) for
sustainable operation and maintenance (O&M) of the system in order to provide
improved irrigation services and also to prevent deterioration of infrastructure.
Direct inquiry on irrigation fee is very sensitive among farmers and they may resist
answering certain types of questions. However, a traditional custom, which exists in Sri
Lanka, is the giving of a certain proportion of paddy to irrigation headmen (caretaker)
after each harvest for his services, though it is not in practice in new settlement irrigation
schemes. Therefore, farmers chosen for the survey were asked about their WTP in terms
of paddy harvested after each season to receive improved irrigation services and ensure
sustainable O&M of irrigation infrastructure.
Before posing the question, the beneficiaries were clearly explained about the existing
status of irrigation infrastructure and expected future cost escalation and institutional
context in which water resources are to be provided and funding is to be done and
farmers responsibilities are outlined under an agreement signed under PIM policy. Then
the WTP question was stated as follows: "How many kg of paddy you are willing to give
to your WUA per acre of cultivated land per season in addition to your current O&M fee
payment (if any) and voluntary labor mobilisation both for maintenance and other WUA
activities in order to maintain the turned over irrigation infrastructure in a better condition
to provide improved irrigation services".
The approach adopted in this study to find out the WTP in terms of paddy rather than in
cash was very successful and all farmers responded well. The WTP in terms of paddy was
converted into monetary value using 2010 paddy prices prevailed in the study areas.
The factors affecting the amount of WTP and relationship between variables were established
developing a multiple regression model. The following ten independent variables were
identified from the literature and the field experience that would influence the amount of
WTP (dependent variable) and information were collected from sample farmers:
1. Total family income (Inc) - Rs/month
2. Total low land extent (land) - ac
3. Age (age) - Years
4. DC location (loc) -Head/middle = 1, Otherwise=0
Aheeyar
7
5. Type of farming (farm) -Full time = 1, Otherwise=0
6. Current rate of O&M fee payment(Fee)- Rs/ac/season
7. Labour contribution for meetings (meet) - No. of days/season
8. Labour contribution for maintenance (main) - No. of days/season
9. Water availability (avail)-Abandoned=1, Otherwise=0
Study Sites
Study sites were selected to represent different contexts, such as different Agro-
Ecological Zones, management model, and different degree of water availability. The list
of selected irrigation schemes and the main features of the schemes are given in Table 1.
Data Sources
The study is primarily based on the data collected through a structured questionnaire
survey. Key informant interviews and focus group discussions were also conducted to
validate the survey data.
Table 1. Selected Irrigation Schemes and the Description
District
Anuradhapuara
Polonnaruwa
Kurunagala
Hambantota
Nuwara eliya
Name of irrigation
schemes
Kallanchiya
Huruluwewa
Mahaweli-H
(Eppawala Block)
Mahaweli-B
(Pimburaththawa Block)
Bathalagoda
Maha Siyabalangamuwa
Muruthawela
Mau-Ara
Kande-ela
Ma eliya
Type of the
schemes
Medium Tank
Major Tank
River Diversion
River Diversion
Major Tank
Major Tank
Major Tank
Major Tank
Medium size
Anicut
*
Medium size
Anicut
Management model
MANIS
INMAS
BWA
Mahaweli model
INMAS
MANIS
INMAS
MANIS
MANIS
MANIS
Sample size
34
38
40
43
51
35
54
35
30
31
*
Anicut is a the run-of-the river type water diversion systems
8
Sample Size
From each selected irrigation scheme, two FO command areas were purposively selected
to represent the head and tail end of the scheme. In single FO schemes, entire command
areas were considered as study area. From each scheme 10% or more farmers were
randomly selected for the sample survey.
A multistage stratified random sampling technique was adopted in selecting sample
farmers considering the head and tail differences of the irrigation scheme. The total
sample size was 391. The questionnaire was aimed to collect information on current
levels of resource mobilisation for irrigation system maintenance and farmers'
willingness to pay (WTP) for improved irrigation services from the existing levels. Data
collection was conducted during the period May to September 2010.
Results and Discussions
Levels of Resource Mobilisation for Operation and Maintenance
Sustainability of infrastructure largely depends on proper maintenance of the system from
the primary level (head system) to tertiary level (filed canal). The task needs mobilisation
of beneficiary labour time and cash. There are broadly four categories of resource
mobilisation in practice in irrigation system management at farmers level (Aheeyar
1997):
(a) Mobilisation of labour for group activities - eg. distributory canal maintenance (de-
silting and jungle clearing)
(b) Mobilisation of labour for individually allocated tasks - eg. maintenance of field canal
(c) Mobilisation of beneficiary time for various meetings - eg. planning, decision making
and various WUA meetings
(d) Mobilisation of cash and materials - eg: payment of O&M fee (for masonry works,
structural repairs, and painting and greasing of the structures and for the salary of
operation labour and expenses of WUA administrative works)
Table 2 shows the level of labour mobilisation by farmers for PIM in participating
various meetings and attending voluntary labour works. The total values of mobilised
labour range from Rs 2300 to Rs 5100 per annum. The cost of attendance at meetings
includes the labour time spent for participation of WUA general farmer meetings,
seasonal meetings, and other special meetings. The cost of participation for voluntary
works includes the labour time devoted for FC maintenance, DC maintenance and other
voluntary labour mobilisation activities organised by the WUA.
Aheeyar
9
Table 2: Estimated Average Value of Labour Mobilisation by WUAs (Rs/ha/Annum)
The value of cash mobilised by farmers for WUAs for system O&M shows high
variability within and between schemes (Table 3). Except the one WUA in Bathalagoda
and Mau Ara, most of the schemes collect less or zero amount of fee for system O&M.
Although a number of schemes have reported the system of O&M fee collection, the rate
of collection is very low in almost all the schemes excluding Mahaweli system H which
has institutionalised a proper system for O&M fee collection and procedures for fund
utilisation within the respective WUAs under the BWA programme. The amount of cash
mobilised for system O&M is a significant feature of BWA compared to various past
attempts of cash collection for the O&M by WUAs and government agencies.
Table 3 : Current Level of Resource Mobilisation in Cash and Kind
Muruthawela
Bathalagoda
Hurulu wewa
Mau ara
Kallanchiya
Maha Siyambalamgama
Kande -Ela
Ma -Eliya
Mahaweli H
Mahaweli B
200-300
0-300
0
250-500
0
150
0
500
500
0-100
0
0-1540
0
1540
0
270
0
0
0
0
200-300
0-2160
0
250-2055
0
420
0
500
500
0-100
Name of the Scheme Amount of maintenance
fee collection
(Rs/ha/annum)
Estimated value of fee
collected to pay for care
taker (Rs/ha/Annum)
Total Value
(Rs/annum)
Note: Range of value shown within the scheme indicate different levels of resources mobilised
between two different WUAs in the same scheme
Source: Author's Survey Data (2010)
Muruthawela
Bathalagoda
Hurulu wewa
Mau Ara
Kallanchiya
Kande -Ela
Ma-Eliya
Mahaweli H
Mahaweli B
1164
672
1290
1277
1006
1304
1012
873
1763
1430
3028
1642
2004
2326
1768
1483
2113
1931
3303
3028
4192
2314
3294
3603
2774
2784
3125
2804
5066
4458
Scheme Average Value of labour
for meetings
(Rs/Year)
1
Average Value of
labour for voluntary
works(Rs/Year)1
Total
(Rs/Year)
1
Market value of unpaid labour mobilisation for maintenance and WUA meetings
10
Therefore, the current level of resource mobilisation has created serious gaps in
sustainable O&M in PIM system, which is implied by the neglected condition of number
of canals, gates, structures and water regulators (Aheeyar et al. 2011, Kloezen, 1994).
The maintenance requirement is expected to increase over time with the ageing of
infrastructure and therefore the resource gap would be further widened in future.
Therefore, the study made an attempt to assess the farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for
sustainable O&M of turnover irrigation system towards WUAs in addition to their current
level of cash and labour mobilisation.
Willingness to Pay (WTP)
The ability to pay does not necessarily mean that the WTP exists. WTP arises when
surpluses are large enough, and when farmers are convinced that payment will lead to an
increased efficiency in the system (Ranaweera and Somasiri 1990). Tables 4 and 5 give the
number of farmers willing to provide additional resources and values of WTP expressed
by them for improved irrigation services. About 70% of people are willing to mobilise
additional resources for system maintenance, if a proper system for the collection and
utilisation of resources are established. As Mahaweli system -H has already practiced the
systematic O&M fee collection from all the farmers, the number of farmers willing to
provide further resources is lowest compared to the rest of the schemes.
Table 4: Number of Farmers Willing to Provide Additional Resources (Cash and/or
Kind) for Improved Irrigation Services
The findings show that a considerable amount of WTP exists among the majority of the
farmers to receive improved irrigation services irrespective of management models. This
should be exploited through WUAs by proper guidance and establishing procedures. The
clear guidance and system of collection should come from the government authorities
regarding collection of O&M fee from farmers, but the collected resources need to be
dedicated solely to system maintenance. The financial transparency and management
should be improved in order to convince farmers to mobilise the resources to WUAs.
Willing to Provide Additional Resources
Scheme
Muruthawela
Bathalagoda
Huruluwewa
Mau Ara
Kallanchiya
Kande Ela
Ma Eliya
Mahaweli H
Mahaweli C
Grand Total
36
32
26
25
22
27
27
23
21
31
270
66.67
62.75
68.42
71.43
64.71
77.14
90.00
74.19
52.50
72.09
69.05
No. %
Aheeyar
11
Table 5: Willingness to Provide Additional Amount of Resources for Improved
Irrigation Services (Rs/ac/season)
The average seasonal estimated WTP were ranges from Rs.111/ac to Rs. 295/ac of
equivalent amount of paddy (un-husked rice) at 2010 prices. The higher values of
standard deviations of WTP show high variation in amounts willing to pay by various
farmers. It is noteworthy to mention that WTP values estimated is in addition to the
current level of labour mobilisation and O&M fee collection (if any).
The amount that farmers WTP to WUA's towards system O&M is an impressive point
compared to the past attempts made to collect O&M fee through the centralised financial
agency, which had an unsuccessful short life. The existing WTP is needed to be captured
by the authorities to cope up future cost escalations and increasing maintenance
requirements of ageing rehabilitated infrastructure.
Factors Affecting the Willingness to Pay for Improved Irrigation Services
The results of the regression analysis conducted in order to find out the relationship
between farmers' willingness to pay and the farmers' socio-economic features are
presented in Table 6. Out of ten variables, four variables are categorical variables (sex of
the farmer, DC location, type of farming, and water availability). y
2
analysis conducted to
find out the association between WTP and categorical variables shows that, except the
DC location of the farmer, other variables have no significant association with WTP.
Therefore, these categorical variables were dropped from multiple regression analysis.
Minimum
100
100
100
100
100
100
40
100
100
100
Maximum
600
500
600
500
500
500
200
500
500
500
Mean
295
281
164
274
277
248
111
274
258
250
248
SD
192
162
109
159
158
148
57
182
160
165
163
Scheme
Bathalagoda
Huruluwewa
Kallanchiya
Kande Ela
Maeliya-Pitapola
Mahaweli H
Mau Ara
Mahaweli C
Muruthawela
Grand Total
12
Table 6: Results of Regression Analysis
The regression findings show that, only two variables; namely, total family income and
the amount of the current O&M fee shows statistically significant relationship with WTP
for the respective WUAs for further improvement of irrigation services. These two
significant variables explain 67% of the WTP model of this population. The non
significant relationship of WTP with labour mobilisation indicates that, farmers are not
concerned about their current level of labour mobilisation (meetings and maintenance).
This is also implied in the findings of Samad and Vermillion (1999) that, farmers' direct
investment on the irrigation system (in cash and kind) is less, but he/she contributes more
labour for O&M. As most of the farmers are subsistence farmers cultivating small
holdings (one ha or less), land size was also not significantly related to WTP.
The findings show the importance of having strategies to enhance farm level income by
ways of increasing land and water productivities. It is also evident that there is a huge
potential for mobilising more resources for O&M from beneficiaries who do not make
any pay or paying lesser amount for O&M by establishing systematic procedures and
utilisation methods for resource mobilisation.
Conclusions
Since irrigation sub-sector in Sri Lanka has been heavily subsidised over the years
farmers have a mentality of depending on government financial allocations for the
management of irrigation system. The attempts made in the past to recover the partial
cost of irrigation system maintenance through a centralised financial agency had mostly
failed. The present study findings suggest that farmers have mobilised substantial amount
of resources for irrigation system maintenance under BWA programme.
Willingness to pay for the improved irrigation service exists in all the schemes among the
majority of the farmers for their respective WUAs, but transparent and accountable
procedures are needed to make the farmers mobilise their resources and ensure proper
utilisation of resources. The impressive amount of resources mobilised by the farmers
-140.414
123.136
0.04469
-0.0001230
0.0732
2.864
-0.522
-0.5803
9.705
1.083
0.01740
0.0001121
0.1238
2.030
1.936
0.7080
-14.47
113.67
2.57
-1.10
0.59
1.41
-0.27
-0.82
0.000
0.000*
0.011*
0.273
0.554
0.159
0.787
0.413
1.041
1.071
1.027
1.049
1.014
1.093
1.099
Constant
Total family income
Current O&M fee
Land size
Age
DC Location
Meeting days
Maintenance days
Predictor Coef SE Coef T P VIF
S = 29.8369 R
2
= 67.2% Adjusted R
2
= 67.1%
Durbin-Watson statistic = 1.61553
The regression equation is;
WTP = -140 + 123 Income + 0.0447 current O&M fee - 0.000123 Land size
+ 0.073 Age + 2.86 DC Location - 0.52 meeting days- 0.580 maintenance days
Aheeyar
13
under the BWA model which provides assured water supply and resource mobilisation
was implemented through local farmer centered water user associations.
The estimated values of WTP for improved irrigation services is a notable point to be
considered in the future policy formulation to bridge the present gap in resource
mobilisation for the sustainable irrigation system maintenance. The WTP expressed by
farmers should be exploited considering the future cost escalations and deterioration of
infrastructure. WUAs should be provided necessary capacity for financial management
and operation and maintenance while institutionalising a system of cash mobilisation to a
separate maintenance account and procedures for fund utilisation from the WUA
maintenance fund for needed O&M works.
The major implication of the findings is that comprehensive devolution policy for the
irrigation sector and assured water supply can encourage farmers to invest in the long
term sustainability of their irrigation infrastructure. The positive and significant
relationship between total family income and amount willing to pay indicates the needs
of strategies to commercialise the small farm agriculture which will increase the capacity
and willingness of the farmer to mobilise more resources towards irrigation system
maintenance. The intensification of land uses through promotion of appropriate cropping
system and integration of different components such as livestock, bee keeping and agro-
processing into the farming system would further enhance farm level incomes. The
devolution policy must provide attention to create local organisation self-reliance
socially, financially and technically for the local management.
It is necessary to pay due attention to increase the cropping intensity through more
efficient water management together with improvements in cropping systems. This calls
for a coordinated effort in the areas of agro economic research, water management
research and effective extension plus participatory land and water use practices.
Apparently the role of government policy in organising such a coordinated effort has not
been recognised by the authorities.
References
Abernethy, C.L., H. Sally, K. Lonsway and C. Maman. 2000. 'Farmer Based Financing of
Operations in the Niger Valley Irrigation Schemes.' Research Report No. 37.
Colombo: International Water Management Institute.
Aheeyar, M.M.M. 1997. 'Participatory Irrigation Management and Sustainability of
Irrigation Infrastructure: A case of Irrigation management turnover in Sri Lanka.'
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October 20th-23rd, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Aheeyar, M.M.M., M.A.C.S. Bandara and Padmajani, M.T. 2011. `Participatory
Irrigation Management in Sri Lanka: Achievements and Drawbacks.' Research
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Institute.
Bhalla, S. 1991. "Sri Lanka", In The Political Economy of Agricultural Pricing Policy:
Volume 2 Asia edited by A. O. Krueger, M. Schiff and A. Valdes. The John Hopkins
University Press (For the World Bank).
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Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) 1998. Economic Progress of Independent Sri Lanka,
Colombo: Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
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http://www.statistics.gov.lk/agriculture/Paddy%20Statistics/PaddyStats.htm,
accessed on 30th March 2013.
Hufschmide, M.M., D. E. James, A. D. Meister, B. T. Bower and J. A. Dixon.1983.
Environment, Natural Systems and Development: An economic Valuation Guide.
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Imbulana, K.A.U.S., N. T. S. Wijesekara, B. R. Neupane, M. M. M. Aheeyar, V. K.
Nanayakkara. 2010. Sri Lanka Water Development Report. Colombo: UNESCO,
Ministry of Irrigation, University of Moratuwa and HARTI.
Kloezen, W.H. 1994. "Financing Participatory Irrigation Management in Sri Lanka" In
Irrigation Management Transfer: Selected Papers from International Conference on
Irrigation Management Transfer by S. H.Johnson et al. Wuhan, China, 20-24
September, Rome: IIMI and FAO.
Raby, N. 1991. "Participatory Management in Large Irrigation Systems: Issues for
Consideration", World Development. 19:12
Raby, N. and D. J. Merrey. 1989. Professional Management in Irrigation Schemes: A
Case Study of Performance Control in Mahaweli System H-Sri Lanka. Colombo:
International Irrigation Management Institute.
Randall, A. 1981. Resource Economics - An Economic Approach to Natural Research
and Environmental Policy, Columbus, Ohio: Grid publishing, Inc.
Ranaweera, N.F. and C. S. Somasiri. 1990. "What Can Farmers do for Irrigation System
Sustainability?", In IIMI., Resource Mobilization for Sustainable Management,
Proceedings of the Workshop on Major Irrigation Schemes in Sri Lanka, 22-24
February, Colombo: International Irrigation Management Institute.
Samad, M. and D. Vermillion. 1999. Assessment of Participatory Management of
Irrigation Schemes in Sri Lanka: Partial Reforms, Partial Benefits. Research Report
No. 34, Colombo: International Water Management Institute.
Upawansa, W.J.I. and P. Abeygunawardana. 1993. 'Economic Value of Irrigation Water in
Dewahuwa Irrigation Scheme.' Tropical Agricultural Research 5: 181-193.
Vermillion, D.L. and C. Garces- Restrepo. 1996. 'Results of Management Turnover in
Two Irrigation Districts in Colombia'. Research Report No. 4. Colombo:
International Irrigation Management Institute.
Vermillion, D.L., M. Samad, S. Pusposutardjo, S.S. Arif, and S. Rochdyanto. 2000. 'An
Assessment of the Small-Scale Irrigation Management Turnover Program in
Indonesia.' Research Report No. 38, Colombo: International Water Management
Institute.
Whittingten, D. et al. 1983. 'Cost Recovery Strategy for Rural Water Delivery in Nigeria,'
Urban Development Working Paper, Washington D.C: World Bank.
Wijesuriya, L.T. 1990. "Sri Lankas' Experience in Resource Mobilization as Viewed by
Irrigation Department", In IIMI., Resource Mobilization for Sustainable
Management, Proceedings of the Workshop on Major Irrigation Schemes in Sri
Lanka, 22-24 February, Colombo: International Irrigation Management Institute.
Aheeyar
15
Rural Women's Involvement in Non-Timber Forest
Resources Utilisation in Enclaves of Cross River National
Park, Nigeria
D. I Edet*, A.T. Oladele and F. S. Popo-ola**
Abstract
Unsustainable utilisation of non - timber forest resources by rural people including women has
been a major problem in the conservation of biodiversity in protected areas. This study assessed the
extent of forest resources utilisation by indigenous women in enclaves of Cross River National Park
(CRNP). A multi-stage sampling technique was used in selecting 1210 households in four enclaves
(Mfaminyen, Ojor-Nkonembo, Abijang and Iko-Esai) of CRNP, Oban Division, for questionnaire
administration. Other sources of information included focus group discussions and in-depth
interviews. Data generated were analysed with the aid of tables, frequencies, tetra-choric
correlation and Chi-square. Crop farming (61.98%) and Non-timber Forest Products collection
(26.45%) were the identified major occupations of women. The forest resources often exploited
include firewood, mushrooms, spices, fruits and wild vegetables. Also exploited are snails,
periwinkles and fish from streams and rivers. The communal (42.15%) and park (27.27%) forests
were the major sites of forest resources collection. The study showed that women exploit forest
resources of the park and the pattern of their exploitation are unsustainable. Tetra-choric
correlation analysis on relationship between educational status of women and awareness of park's
legislation were significant [rt (1.0000) > SE
rt
(0.0456)] in the area of study. Though statistical
differences (p>0.05) exist among communities, most (70.08%) women do not have access to land.
Participatory approaches to Park management, domestication of important NTFP species and
women empowerment programmes are recommended for sustainable utilisation and biodiversity
conservation in CRNP.
Introduction
Gender roles in West Africa put the women folk in direct contact with natural resources
such as forests, wildlife, land and water. Thus, women are indeed established utilisers of
natural resources especially the forests (Awono et al. 2010). According to Segot et al.
(1995), women are users of biological resources; collectors of wild vegetables, snails and
medicinal plants, hence their role in forest resources management should be carefully
observed or studied since their activities have direct impact on the environment and its
sustainable use.
In tropical Asia and African regions poor rural women have close association with the
forest resources. Bisong and Ajake (2001) found that women in southern Nigeria depend
heavily on NTFPs collection for household income and about 75% of NTFPs traders in
Anambra state of Nigeria have been observed to be women while sawn wood/timber
traders in Port Harcourt were found to be 100% males (Aiyeloja et al. 2012, Aiyeloja et
al. 2013). For many women in Asia and the Pacific NTFPs collection is the only way to
earn an independent income (Van Rijsoort and De Pater 2000).
*
Department of Forestry and Wildlife Technology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Owerri, Nigeria.
Formally at Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
E-mail : kunleladele@gmail.com
**
Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
16
Thapliyal (2012) report that 70% of women in the mountainous region of Uttarakhand,
India participates in forest management activities by attending general meetings,
patrolling, and formation of small home groups in the regions but not as key actor in the
process of decision and management of forest. However, forest resources conservation by
women in Africa is not a common practice due to labour constraints faced by women,
lack of time as a result of domestic activities and access to technology and dissemination
(Mwangi et al. 2011). Volunteers for Africa (VFA) (2009), also report that women are
great sustainers of rural micro-economic activities, however, nowhere is their impact and
activities more significant as their indigenous knowledge and management of forest
resources. Rural woman are crucial because their traditional gender roles bring them in
direct contact with forest resources: their survival and that of their families depend
directly in exploitation of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) from the forests around
them. Adetoro (1997) noted that Nigerian women carry out several environmentally
degrading activities in the name of economic survival. Non-timber forest products
provide off-farm employment to a large part of the rural population and account for a
large share of household income in Nigeria (Chukwuone and Okorji 2008). The relevance
of women in environmental issues should therefore be considered to be of great economic
importance and be the main focus of any worthwhile effort to achieve sustainable
biodiversity management. This however, has not been the case as women continue to lack
the necessary political will to achieve self-determination or involvement in decision
making, hence women continue to degrade the environment and make biodiversity
conservation difficult (Schreckenberg and Marshall 2006).
The activities of women which are not consistence with conservation ethics are often
neglected and go unnoticed as the male folk are often viewed as major agents of
environmental "abuse" in many protected areas, especially national parks in Nigeria
(Oyekale and Ajesi 2011).
The study is therefore based on the theoretical framework that the economic and social
values of NTFPs that support rural livelihood especially women in and around Cross
River National Park have been ignored, underestimated and undocumented, an action that
may lead to over exploitation as the population grows and consequent unsustainable
supply of the desired resources. These actions have biased resources planning.
The major aim of the study is therefore to identify and document utilisable NTFPs by
indigenous women living in enclaves of Cross River National Park, Oban Hills Division,
Nigeria with the aim of sensitising appropriate government agency to develop policy
framework for sustainable use of these resources.
Methodology
Study Site
The study was conducted in Cross River National Park, Nigeria. The park was
established by a Federal Military Decree in 1991 (Marsh 2003). The study was carried
out in four randomly selected enclaves (Mfaminyen, Ojor-Nkonembo, Abijang and Iko-
Esai) of Cross River National Park, Oban Hills Division. The Division is 2,800 km2 in
area and centered on coordinates 525'0''N 835'0''E (Birdlife International 2010). The
Edet et al.
17
division shares a long border with Korup National Park in the Republic of Cameroon,
forming a single protected ecological zone (Nigeria National Park Service, 2010).
The division has a rugged terrain, rising from 100 m in the river valleys to over 1,000 m in
the mountains. The soils are highly vulnerable to leaching and erosion when stripped of
plant cover. Two main seasons are observed in the year, the rainy season lasts from March
to November, with annual rainfall of over 3,500mm, while short dry season last from
December to February. The northern part is drained by the Cross River and its tributaries,
while the southern part is drained by the Calabar, Kwa and Korup rivers (Birdlife
International 2010, Edet 2004). The park has one of the oldest rainforests in Africa, and
has been identified as a biodiversity hot spot (Nigeria National Park Service 2010).
Sixteen primate species have been recorded in the park, and these include rare primates
like cross river gorilla, chimpanzees and drills. This Division of the park consists of
primary moist tropical rainforests as well as mangrove swamps on the coastal zones. Parts
of the park belong to the Guinea-Congolian region, with a closed canopy and scattered
emergent trees reaching 40 or 50 meters in height (Birdlife International 2010) The area is
threatened by illegal logging, slash and burn farming and poaching (Edet 2004).
Data Collection and Analysis
Data were collected with the aid of a well-structured questionnaire. A total of 1210
questionnaires were randomly distributed in the four enclaves using a multi-stage
sampling technique. The first stage involved stratification of enumeration areas (EAs) in
each enclave. Household listing was then carried out in each EA. Households used for the
study in each EA were further selected by random sampling. Elderly female respondents
were purposely selected for interview in each household. Preference was given to married
women and heads of households who are females. In a situation where a household was
uncooperative, the enumerators moved to the next household for replacement. This
procedure was followed until the desired sample size per EA in each enclave was
achieved. Number of questionnaires distributed per enclave is shown in Fig. 1.
Figure 1: Questionnaire Distribution Within the Selected Enclaves
Source: Field Survey (2011)
Rural Women's Involvement in...
18
Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with females groups and In-depth Interviews (IDIs)
with local informants especially women leaders were also used to augment data generated
from questionnaires. Simple frequency table, tetra-choric correlation (Adesoye 2004) and
Chi-square (x
2
) were employed to analyse data generated from the questionnaires.
Results and Discussion
In all, 121 respondents representing 10.00% are women below or about twenty years of
age (Table 1). The age classes 21-30, 31-40, 41-50 and 51-60 years are represented by
31.32%, 20.66%, 16.53%, 13.22 and 8.26% respectively. This implies that the highest
percentage of women in the area falls within the active age range (21-50 years)
representing a total of 68.52%.
Table 1: Demographic Factors of Informants
Most of the collections in the forest are done by this active and agile age class which in
turn threatens the sustainable use of important species that can be easily marketed for
liquid cash. This group of individuals if targeted is capable of influencing programmes
aimed at conservation of forest resources of the area. Efforts directed toward this group of
people will yield positive results (Oyekale and Ajesi 2011, Blench 2004).
About 56.2% of the respondents have no formal education (Table 1). Those with primary
education are represented by 23.97%, secondary education (14.88%) and tertiary
education (4.96%). The implication for this low level of education is that there is
likelihood for a negative impact to be made for any advocacy programme involving
indigenous women in relation to forest resources of the area.
As shown in Table 1, 7.44%, 27.69%, 25.21%, 22.31% and 17.36% of the respondents
had 0, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 and more than 6 dependents respectively. This shows that majority of
the women and their households had many children / dependants to cater for, thus leading
to heavy dependence on resources of the communal forests and consequently that of the
Age (Years) Frequency Percentage Education Frequency Percentage
20 121 10.00 Primary Education 290 23.97
21-30 379 31.32 Secondary Education 180 14.88
31-40 250 20.66 Tertiary Education 60 4.96
41-50 200 16.53 No formal Education 680 56.20
51-60 160 13.22 Total 1210 100.00
>60 100 8.26
Total 1210 100.00
Children / Dependents Frequency Percentage Occupation Frequency Percentage
0 90 7.44 Farming 750 61.98
1-2 335 27.69 NTFPs collection 320 26.45
3-4 305 25.21 Petty trading 100 8.26
5-6 270 22.31 Others 40 3.31
>6 210 17.36 Total 1210 100.00
Total 1210 100.00
Edet et al.
19
park. Findings in Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia have shown that income generated
by women from NTFPs collections are used to support family needs and care of
dependents (Ijeomah and Ogara 2006, Shackleton et al. 2011), the driving force of forest
resources exploitation can be linked to poverty among the forest based communities.
The occupational distribution of women living in enclaves of the park showed that major
occupation is farming as indicated by 61.98%, NTFPs collection (26.45%) and petty
trading (8.25%). The fact that most women are farmers means that some of them are
likely to need some parts of the park for farming activities. In-depth interviews with
community leaders in the area revealed that men were known to be great cultivators of
annual crops, but with the advent of cash crop (especially cocoa) production yielding
more profit, the men abandoned annual crop farming for the women folk. Women are
known to be great cultivators of farmlands (Pamma et al. 2000), hence they cultivated
any farmland abandoned by the men. According to community leaders, agricultural and
communal lands are now becoming unproductive and some of the women had to
encroach into the park's forest for their annual crop farming such as cocoyam, cassava
and maize.
The use of forest land for gathering of non-timber forest products is a common activity
for 26.45% of the women (Table 1). Fruits, nuts, wild leafy vegetables, spices,
mushrooms, roots, snails, periwinkles and fish are among the major NTFPs gathered
from the forest. Common NTFPs often gathered by the women are shown in Table 2.
Interview with women showed that unsustainable methods are used for the harvest of
most NTFPs, for example Gnetum africanum (African salad) and other forest vines are
often harvested by uprooting the plants. Interview with respondents showed that
traditional knowledge on conservation of non-timber forest products used as household
materials, kitchen utensils, condiments, food, medicine and cosmetics are passed from
generation to generation especially through mothers to daughters (Chukwuone and Okorji
2008). Thus the unsustainable methods of harvest of NTFPs are also inherited by children
from their parents.
A wide array of NTFPs is used as medicine for the treatment of various diseases in the
area of study (Table 3). Findings from FGDs with women, such as female birth
attendants, the forest of the area is rich in medicinal plants. FGDs with the women
indicated that some of the resources are not common in the secondary or communal
forests around them, hence they have to trek great distances into communal forests and
sometimes the park's forest to harvest them. This is in consistence with findings of
Aiyeloja et al. (2012) in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State in Nigeria.
Though there was no record of hunting as an occupation among females, in-depth
interviews revealed that some women occasionally accompany male hunters during
hunting expeditions. Wildlife species often hunted include giant snails (Achachatina
marginata), cane rats (Thryonomys swinderianus), bush bucks (Tragelaphus scriptus),
warthogs (Phacochoerus aethiopicus), porcupines (Antherurus africanus) and a host of
others. This trend, if unchecked could lead to increase in poaching pressure in the park
and its environs and threat to survival of the species.
20
Table 2: Common NTFPs Gathered by Indigenous Women of CRNP, Oban Division
Pandamus candelabrum
Thaumatococcus danielli
Pterocarpus osun
Ficus exasperata
Gnetum africanum/Gnetum
bulchozianum
Irvingia gabonensis/Irvingia
wombulu
Achachatina marginata
Pleurotus tuberosus
Afrostyrax lepidophyllus
Piper guinensis
Mat plant
"Moi-moi" wrapping leaves
Osun
Sand paper leaf
Salad (Eruru)
Bush mango
Giant snail
Elephant mushroom
Bush onion
Hot leaf
Leaves used for mat weaving
Leaves used as wrapper and stems
used for mat weaving
Red dye from wood used as cosmetic
for decorating body parts
Leaves used for cleaning cooking
utensils and bangles
Leaves used for cooking delicious meals
Cotyledons used as soup condiment
Meat used as food and medicine
Whole body used for cooking delicious meals
Leaves and seeds used as spice
Leaves and seeds used as spice
Botanical name Common name Uses
Table 3: Some Plants Harvested for Medicinal Uses by Indigenous Women of the Area
Family Scientific name Medicinal use Parts used
Apocynaceae Funtumia elastica Dysentry Leaves
Apocynaceae Rauvolfia vomitoria Haemorrhage Bark
Buseraceae Canarium schweinfurthii Worm expeller,
stomach pains
Bark
Cucubitaceae Momordica gilgiana Acute stomach pain Leaves
Euphorbiaceae Phyllantus amarus Malaria and typhoid Leaves
Euphorbiaceae Phyllantus muolleriaus Stomach pain Leaves
Guttiferae Garcinia kola Cough Seeds
Icacinaceae Lasianthera africana Contraceptive Leaves
Moraceae Musanga cecropioides Antenatal agent Leave ligule
Piperaceae Piper umbellatum Infertility Leaves
Plumbaginaceae Plumbago zeylanica Rheumatism Leaves and roots
Polygalaceae Carpolobia lutea Aphrodisiac Roots
Rubiaceae Nauclea latifolia Stomach aches Roots
Smilacaceae Smilax kraussiana Child labour, fever Stem-twigs, roots
Tiliaceae Grewia flavescens Lactating mothers Leaves
Verbenaceae Lantana camara Antiseptic, fever Leaves
Zingiberaceae Afromomum melegueta Chickenpox, coughs Leaves, seeds
Edet et al.
21
Figure 2: Energy/Fuel Source in the Study Sites
The study showed that firewood is a major energy source in the area. Etukudo et al.
(1994) observed that demand for firewood in Nigeria is high and about 95% of wood
consumed in Nigeria is for fuel. FGDs with women revealed that the forest of the park is
a major source of fuel wood for cooking, processing of produce and heating of houses.
The survey showed that 98.35% of the women use firewood as the main energy source in
the area (Fig. 2). This indicates a high demand for firewood. Only 1.35% of women used
other sources like kerosene and saw dust, cooking gas is beyond the reach of the rural
population hence, not used in the area.
Figure 3: Sources of NTFPs Collection in CRNP Enclaves
Fig. 3 shows that 41.90%, 27.52%, 15.70% and 10% claimed to harvest forest resources
from communal forest, park area, fallow land and farms respectively. The percentage of
women that encroach into the park may be more than 27.52% since some of them are not
willing to admit to this because of fear of apprehension and possible prosecution.
The women, through focus group discussion, argued that until they are fully incorporated
into the management of the park, management has no right to prevent them from
exploiting the forest resources of the area. This incorporation signifies the need for
22
participatory approach in the Park management for sustainability as practiced in Kenya,
Tanzania and Kerala (Schreckenberg and Luttrell 2009).
Though 550 respondents representing 45.45% of the women were aware of the legislation
that established the Cross River National Park (Table 4), and prohibits them from
encroaching into the protected area, focus group discussions revealed that they have not
stopped due to lack of alternative means of livelihood. Education of women plays an
important role in awareness of park's laws and policies (Table 4) as Tetra-Choric
correlation analyses for the variables proved significant [rt (1.0000) > SE
rt
(0.0456)].
Table 4: Relationship Between Awareness of Legislation Governing the Protection of
Wildlife Resources and Educational Status of Women in CRNP, Nigeria
Although majority of the respondents (70.08%) submitted that women do not have access
to land in the communities (Table 5), there is significant difference (p>0.05) among
communities in relation to their responses. Many women do not have access to land in
Mfaminyen (85.45%) and Abidjan (80.20%) as compared to Ojor-Nkonembo (58.80%)
and Iko-Esai (58.23%). According to Asiabaka and Nwakwasi (2013), women in
developing nations are generally noted to lack access to land and other natural resources.
However, the womenfolk still remain important in land utilisation. Thus, increasing
access to land and other natural resources will enhance women's contribution to
development. This is very important because this indicates independent means of
Educated Not educated Total
Aware of legislation 460(38.02) 90(7.44) 550(45.45)
Not aware of legislation 70(5.79) 590(48.76) 660(54.55)
Total 530(43.80) 680(56.20) 1210(100.00)
Figures in parentheses are percentages
Tetra-Choric Correlation Analyses for Table 4 showed that correlation coefficient (rt)= 1.0000
and Standard error of rt (SE
rt
) = 0.0456. rt > SE
rt
, result is significant for rt and therefore accepted.
Table 5: Womens Access to Land in the Enclaves of CRNP, Nigeria
Community Yes No Total
Mfaminyen 16(14.55)
*32.91
94(85.45)
*77.09
110(100.00)
Ojor-Nkonembo 103(41.20)
*74.79
147(58.80)
*175.21
250(100.00)
Abijang 101(19.80)
*152.58
409(80.20)
*357.42
510(100.00)
Iko-Esai 142(41.77)
*101.72
198(58.23)
*238.28
340(100.00)
Total 362(29.92) 848(70.08) 1210(100.00)
Figures in parentheses are percentages; * = Chi-square (x
2
) expected values. x
2
cal
= 75.22, x
2
tab
= 7.81 at 3 df.
Decision: There is significant difference in responses from the communities in relation to women's access to land.
Edet et al.
23
pursuing their economic agenda and empowerment. According to Pamma et al. (2000),
access of women to land enhances their contribution to resource conservation, as the
womenfolk in agrarian societies were largely responsible for gathering medicinal and
food plants. Women are also deemed knowledgeable about the resources they use, their
location, means of domestication and propagation. Women's contribution to NTFPs
conservation and food production will depend on access to land. Households, through
women's efforts, depend on forest resources such as food, medicinal plants, fruits, etc. It
is therefore necessary to encourage communities to support empowering women through
access to land, as this is likely to encourage biodiversity conservation. This can be
achieved through the review of existing land tenure laws and policies. For instance in
Tanzania, the Land Act and Constitution are progressive and mandate equality for men
and women (Asiabaka and Nwakwasi 2013). Land projects that incorporate legal reform
must consider family law and as well as land law to have an impact on women (FAO
2011). If women do not have access to communal lands of the area, there is likelihood for
them to encroach into the park's land to meet their economic needs. Women's access to
resources and their ability to manage them is a key issue worthy of attention in the study
area if the resources are to be sustained. Therefore, the solution to this problem lies in
providing opportunities to women to take care of resources for the sustenance of future
generations.
Conclusion
This study revealed that biodiversity conservation in protected areas lies on all
stakeholders including women; hence rural women should be fully involved in all stages
of biodiversity conservation in Cross River National Park. Rural women depend on the
forest for domestic and economic needs. Conservation of biological resources of the area
will guarantee sustainable supply and enhance the rural women quality of life. For this
goal to be achieved, management of the park should be on participatory approach with all
the stake holders of the Park as partners in conservation activities, hence planning should
be relevant to women.
It is an indisputable fact that the forest of Cross River National Park, Oban Hills Division
and environs plays significant role in the day-to-day life of the average rural woman and
her family. For the women and their families, the resources of the forest are very valuable
as they provide income, food, medicine, cosmetics, household materials, kitchen utensils
as well as materials for spiritual and cultural purposes.
In order to achieve sustainable management of forest resources through women in Cross
River National Park, gender issues should not be neglected. Women's position as users
and preservers of protected areas must be acknowledged in planning, designing and
implementing management strategies. Finding alternatives to firewood as predominant
fuel source as well as improved livelihoods and environmental education for women are
the strategies identified as gender considerations for the management of the park. Also a
24
vigorous family planning programme should be embarked upon to enlighten women on
the consequences of large families depending on limited resources. The rural women in
the area should be encouraged to propagate NTFPs such as Gnetum spp (African salad)
and mushrooms. Encouraging women farmers to cultivate them under well managed
agro-forestry systems can easily expand the supply of NTFPs and increase their income.
Traditional local leadership involving women should be integrated into the management
of the park. More women of the area should be recruited into the services of the park to
give them a sense of belonging. The facilitation of the emergence of small-scale
industries for women in the area is recommended. This is necessary to diversify the
occupational base of the women in order to reduce the pressure on the park's land.
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Edet et al.
27
Species Diversification in Coastal Shrimp Farming of
Bangladesh: Farmers' Innovations and Experiences
Md. Latiful Islam*, Hindol Kumar Pal**, Md. Arif Choudhury***, Yahya
Khairun***, and Md. Jahangir Alam****
Abstract
A study was conducted to identify the agro-aquaculture crop diversification in coastal South-
western part of Bangladesh. A total of 134 different types of farms were surveyed using pre-
developed questionnaires. The research found that the area has adapted diverse aquaculture
farming systems to maximise the utilisation of lands. Four types of aquaculture system are being
practiced in the area like tiger shrimp (S) culture (8%); tiger shrimp-finfish (S-F) culture (7%);
tiger shrimp-freshwater prawn concurrent (S-P) culture (19%); and mixed culture of tiger shrimp-
freshwater prawn and fin-fishes (S-P-F) (66%). There were no significant differences (p>0.05) in
production and economic returns among the farming systems. Contribution of finfish was 44% and
23% to aquacultural gross return in practice- S-F and practice- S-P-F, respectively with significant
difference (p<0.05). No harmful chemicals are being used in shrimp-prawn farming systems in the
area. The study recommends further improvement of culture practices in scientific manner through
conducting region based research, setting up of participatory demo-farms and training need
assessment to enhance skills and awareness of the aquaculture farmers.
Introduction
Due to the high population density of Bangladesh, farmers always try to adopt innovative
techniques to increase productivity and income for their livelihoods. Using a small piece
of land and available natural resources they continuously try to boost up production.
Paddy is widely cultivated as a cereal crop in the country. Among aquacultural
commodities, shrimp is the largest foreign currency earning sector in Bangladesh. Due to
poor infrastructural facilities, inadequate water management and disease outbreaks
shrimp production is not stable. In this situation, farmers step toward alternative culture
system, like, polyculture, crop rotation, crop integration and/or crop diversification
instead of monoculture of shrimp. These polyculture and crop rotation systems open a
new arena to develop an effective and sustainable aqua-agriculture system leading to the
best use of coastal land-water resources - those covered shrimp farms, reducing the
production risk of monoculture and keeping the culture environment congenial.
In recent years, many farmers in mono crop areas have changed a lot in farming pattern
with modification of peripheral canal (Islam et al. 2009) as shelter for fish/prawn and by
introducing high priced giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) alternating
with Boro rice cultivation. Since the late eighties, when there were possibly only a few
* Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Brackish Water Station, Paikgacha, Khulna- 9280 and Centre for
Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang, Malaysia
** Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Brackish Water Station, Paikgacha, Khulna- 9280
*** CEMACS, School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia USM), Penang, Malaysia
E-mail : arifait@yahoo.com
**** Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh
28
thousand farms covering only a few hundred hectares, the freshwater prawn farming has
gained significant popularity and the area has gradually extended from 6,000 ha in 1994
to some 30,000 ha in recent years (personal communication to National Shrimp Cell,
Department of Fisheries, Bangladesh) for freshwater prawn farming. Besides
incorporating freshwater prawn, very often they stock a variety of fishes depending on
water salinity. However, farmers in the coastal belt have innovated lots of culture
practices depending on the local natural resources to increase the productivity, but
information regarding these culture practices remain hidden due to proper documentation.
Some works have been done on the socio-economics of shrimp farming in the world
(Lebel et al. 2002) and in Bangladesh (Islam et al. 2005, Milstein et al. 2005, Ahmed
2006, DFID 2000). Insufficient information has been found on existing gher culture
practices in the coastal area. Gher farmers are experimenting with initiatives of need
based technology developed by their own, but there might be many short falls in concern
of scientific manner. Therefore, the present study was carried out to give an overview and
document existing culture practices, to find out their lapses and gaps and identify the
scope for future scientific development in gher farming in South-west Bangladesh.
Materials and Methods
Farming Systems in the Area
Coastal aquaculture in Bangladesh is characterised by low management and low
production. Stocking density is lower because of irregular feeding and fertilising ponds.
Farmers develop a deep wide trench inside the field to establish water-holding ditches
suitable for shrimp culture in the dry season or allow the shrimp to take shelter in the
trench. The aquaculture systems were categorised into four practices (Table 1) depending
on species combination.
Table 1. Categories of Aquaculture Systems in the Study Area
Culture Category
Practice-1 (S)
Practice-2 (S-F)
Only tiger shrimp (S)
Tiger shrimp (S)
+ finfish (F)
Description of Culture Systems
- the species English name is Giant Tiger Prawn (Panaeus monodon)
- multiple stocking and harvesting procedure of shrimp
- tiger shrimp and combination with freshwater finfish : rohu (Labeo
rohita), catla (Catla catla), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idela),
sarpunti (Puntiuus gonionotus) etc., to some hyposaline species,
like tilapia (Tilapia mossumbica), parsia (Liza parsia), kharkuno
(Rhinomugil corsulla), bata (Mugil cephalus),
- For finfish, one harvesting was found in December
Practice-3 (S-P) Tiger shrimp +
freshwater prawn (P)
Practice-4 (S-P-F) Tiger shrimp +
freshwater prawn +
finfish
- shrimp and Freshwater Giant Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii)
- for freshwater prawn harvesting starts from September and
continues until December
- combination of shrimp, prawn and fin fish
Islam et al.
Bay of Bengal
29
Data Collection
Data related to farming practices were collected from the south-western coastal part of
Bangladesh (Fig.1). In total 134 farm-owners were interviewed from 12 Upazilas (sub-
districts) under three major shrimp culture districts of the south-western coastal region
(Table 2) during the period of March 2009-February 2010. Simple random sampling
techniques were applied for selecting the respondents. In each case, Upazila head quarter
was regarded as centre and data were collected from 4 distinct sides (transect crossing) of
the Upazila head quarter. The survey questionnaire was designed in MS excel and tested
in the field. The survey was done through direct interview of the gher owners, direct
observation, transect walk, participatory rural appraisal and bio-physical features
described by PPM&E (2004).
Figure 1: Area Map Showing Coverage Upazillas (1. Satkhira Sadar; 2. Tala; 3.
Debhata; 4. Asasuni; and 5. Kaligang; 6. Koira; 7. Paikgacha; and 8. Dumuria; 9.
Mollarhat; 10 Fakirhat; 11. Bagerhat sadar; and 12. Morelgang) for Sampling
Table 2: Details of Sampling Sites for Data Collection
Name of District Upazillas Included Interviewed Farmers
Satkhira 1. Satkhira sadar; 2. Tala;
3. Debhata; 4. Asasuni; and
5. Kaligang
Khulna 6. Koira; 7. Paikgacha; and
8. Dumuria
Bagerhat
42
38
54 9. Mollarhat; 10 Fakirhat;
11. Bagerhat sadar; and
12. Morelgang
Species Diversification in Coastal...
30
Data Analysis
The whole data were computerised in database and analysed statistically by using MS
Excels and SPSS following Nhan et al. (2006), Stevenson et al. (2006) and Milstein et al.
(2005) for characterising farming type. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) Duncan's multiple
range test and independent sample T-test was applied for assessing the differences among
different farming activities.
Results
Information obtained from the baseline data indicated about three distinct types of gher
utilisation in the coastal shrimp farms are shown in Fig. 2. Depending on aquaculture
farming systems four types of cropping patterns were observed like Practice-1=only tiger
shrimp (S); Practice-2=tiger shrimp + finfish (S-F); Practice-3=tiger shrimp + freshwater
prawn concurrently (S-P); tiger shrimp + freshwater prawn + finfish at a time (S-P-F)
(Fig. 2). Among these culture system S-P-F (65.68%) is the dominant group followed by
S-P (18.66%), S (8.21%) and S-F (7.47%).
Figure 2: Status of Aquaculture Practices in South-west Coastal Ghers
Details of gher management and operational courses are given in Table 3. In total, 47%
farm operators were found to operate ghers in their own lands whereas 38.1% operators
use lease land (Table 3). Most of the ghers were designed with peripheral canal (78.3%)
in one or more than one side with various depths to support alternate aquaculture-
agriculture practices.
110%
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Shrimp Districts
Bagerhat Khulna Satkhira
C
u
l
t
u
r
e

P
r
a
c
t
i
c
e
(
%
)
Islam et al.
31
Table 3: Description (in%) of General Information of Gher and Respective
Operational Courses in Three Shrimp Districts.
Mostly nearby canal systems are being used for water sources in the gher culture which is
around 49.3%. Some farms (26.9% gher) use neighbouring farms as their water source
where no canal is connected with the ghers. Rivers (in 11.9% gher) and ground water (in
11.9% gher) are also being used for alternative sources of gher water. Most of the farmers
use many kinds of inputs like supplementary lime (90%), fertilisers (87%) and feed
(60%) which are shown in Table 3. A few farmers never use any inputs.
Utilisation of inorganic inputs in Practice-3 (S-P) and Practice-4 (S-P-F) was
significantly (p<0.05) higher than those of other type of aquaculture practices (Table 4).
No significant differences were observed in the farms area, water depth, total lime uses
and usage of total organic fertilisers (Table 4).
District District Particul-
ars
Bager-
hat
Khulna Satkhi
-ra
Tot-
al
Particul-
ars
Bager-
hat
Khuln
a
Satkhi
-ra
Tot-
al
Ownership Gher washing/flushing
Lease in 35.2 47.4 33.3 38.1 No 100.0 89.5 95.2 95.5
Own 55.6 34.2 47.6 47.0 Yes 0.0 10.5 4.8 4.5
Mixed 9.3 18.4 19.0 14.9 Water screening
Presence of canal No 14.8 71.1 9.5 29.1
No Canal 7.4 28.9 33.3 21.6 Yes 85.2 28.9 90.5 70.9
Yes 92.6 71.1 66.7 78.4 Tilling
Canal-location No 33.3 47.4 14.3 31.3
Single
side
1.9 18.4 16.7 11.2 Yes 66.7 52.6 85.7 68.7
Double
side
48.1 31.6 35.7 39.6 Liming
Triple
side
24.1 13.2 9.5 16.4 No 11.1 15.8 2.4 9.7
All sides 18.5 7.9 4.8 11.2 Yes 88.9 84.2 97.6 90.3
Water source Fertilisation
Other
gher
38.9 5.3 31.0 26.9 No 18.5 18.4 2.4 13.4
Ground
water
0.0 31.6 9.5 11.9 Yes 81.5 81.6 97.6 86.6
Canal 57.4 34.2 52.4 49.3 Feed supply
River 3.7 28.9 7.1 11.9 No 22.2 52.6 50.0 39.6
Gher drying Yes 77.8 47.4 50.0 60.4
No 0.0 23.7 0.0 6.7
Yes 100.0 76.3 100.0 93.3
32
Table 4: Features of Gher and Main Input use During Culture Practice (Mean and
SD) for Four Aquaculture Practices (S, S-F, S-P, and S-P-F)
Farmers in the area use different densities of post-larvae of shrimp and prawn in pond
stocking which are presented in Table 5. Stocking density of shrimp was found similar
among four culture practices (Table 5), but it seems to be high (39934- 46200/ha) in contrast
to their management system. Stocking density of prawn was recorded similar among the
respective practices, but it was very low (4494-5691/ha) in contrast to tiger shrimp density
(Table 5). Stocking density of finfish was significantly different (p<0.05) between the
respective practices with higher stocking density (7461 individuals/ha) in S-F category
(Table 5). No significant differences (p>0.05) were observed in total stocking density among
the culture practices. All farmers in the area follow successive stocking and harvesting
procedures of shrimp and do not use any chemicals during shrimp culture period.
Table 5: Details of Stocking Density (Mean and SD) Under Four Types of
Aquaculture Practices (S, S-F, S-P, and S-P-F)
The average farms productions among the group are presented in Table 6. No significant
differences (p>0.05) were observed in production of shrimp, and prawn and finfish
among the culture systems. Average highest production of shrimp was recorded in
Practice-1(223 kg/ha) followed by Practice-3 (202 kg/ha), Practice-4 (168 kg/ha) and
Practice 2 (165 kg/ha) (Table 6). Higher production of prawn was recorded in Practice-4
(111 kg/ha) followed by Practice-3 (100 kg/ha), though it was also not statistically
Culture
practice and
No. of
observation
Area (ha) Water
Depth
(cm)
Total Lime
used
(Kg/ha/yr.)
Total
in-organic
fertilizer
(Kg/ha/yr.)
Total
organic
fertilizer
(Kg/ha/yr.)
Practice-1
N=11
Mean
SD
1.2191
1.6044
59.5727
10.6805
87.269
59.821
26.05
cd

35.74
110.00
223.61
Practice-2
N=10
Mean
SD
.8780
.5201
59.4360
24.3098
123.025
91.898
53.46
abc

53.13
293.97
451.16
Practice-3
N=25
Mean
SD
1.222
1.1594
60.3488
8.2069
151.394
83.598
100.79
a

68.37
176.10
186.71
Practice-4
N=88
Mean
SD
.8923
.9549
59.4009
12.8735
177.829
136.321
93.65
ab

81.39
252.50
265.70
a
Different superscript in same column indicated significant difference (p<0.05) and a>b>c t
Culture
practice and
No. of
observation
Shrimp
stocking
density
(No./ha)
Prawn
stocking
density
(No./ha)
Finfish
stocking
density
(No./ha)
Total
stocking density
(No./ha)
Practice-1
N=11
Mean
SD
46200
17587
0
0
0
0
46200
17586
Practice-2
N=10
Mean
SD
43884
13907
0
0
7461
a

5976
51345
17867
Practice-3
N=25
Mean
SD
39934
13192
4494
3052
0
0
44429
13937
Practice-4
N=88
Mean
SD
40043
15693
5691
5601
3913
b

7404
49648
18104
a
Different superscript in same column indicated significant difference (p<0.05) and a>b>c
Islam et al.
33
significant (p>0.05). Significant amounts of bi-catch were harvested from Practice-1 and
Practice-3, which were supposed to be entered into gher during water intake from canal
and river sources. The bi-catch production was significantly higher in Practice-1(198
kg/ha) than Practice-3 (154 kg/ha). Total aquaculture productions in different culture
systems were statistically insignificant (p>0.05) with apparently higher production in
Practice-4 (583 kg/ha) followed by Practice-3 (457 kg/ha), Practice-2 (447 kg/ha) and
Practice-1(421 kg/ha).
Table 6: Details of Production (Mean and SD) Under Four Aquaculture Practices
(S, S-F, S-P, and S-P-F)
Economic returns of aquaculture practices are presented in Table 7. Total aquacultural
variable cost was significantly higher (p<0.05) in Practice-4 than other three types of
practices. The reason of higher cost is due to additional expenditures of buying prawn
and fish seeds. Both gross and net return seems to be statistically insignificant (P>0.05)
among the existing culture practices. But gross return was apparently higher in Practice-4
followed by Practice-3, whereas, aquacultural net return was apparently higher in
Practice-3 only. Prawn contributes about 35.04 and 34.51% to aquacultural gross return
in Practice-4 and Practice-3, respectively. But, contribution of finfish was 43.65% and
22.65% to aquacultural gross return in Practice-2 and Practice-4, respectively, with
significant difference (p<0.05) among respective culture practices.
Table 7: Details of Economic Return (Mean and SD) Under Four Aquaculture
Practices (S, S-F, S-P, and S-P-F)
Culture
practice
and No. of
observation
Shrimp
production
(kg/ha)
Prawn
production
(kg/ha)
Finfish
production
(Kg/ha)
Bicatch
(kg/ha)
Total
Aquacultural
production
(Kg/ha)
Practice-1
N=11
Mean
SD
223.14
128.11
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
197.62
a

149.18
420.76
229.73
Practice-2
N=10
Mean
SD
164.68
202.56
0.00
0.00
282.57
230.76
0.00
0.00
447.25
297.66
Practice-3
N=25
Mean
SD
202.39
101.47
100.47
59.39
0.00
0.00
154.36
b

97.59
457.23
165.49
Practice-4
N=88
Mean
SD
167.61
97.03
110.79
91.97
304.87
200.59
0.00
0.00
583.27
307.21
a
Culture
practice
and No. of
observation
Total
Aquacultural
variable cost
(000Tk./ha)
Total
Aquacultural
gross return
(000Tk./ha)
Total
Aquacultural
net return
(000Tk./ha)
Contribution
of prawn to
Aquacultural
gross return
(%)
Contribution
of finfish to
Aquacultural
gross return
(%)
Practice-1
N=11
Mean
SD
52.30
b

19.99
90.98
44.69
38.68
54.14
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
Practice-2
N=10
Mean
SD
65.01
b

20.31
83.27
73.25
18.26
69.93
0.00
0.00
43.65
a

21.94
Practice-3
N=25
Mean
SD
71.86
b

33.07
134.07
48.00
62.22
58.89
34.51
17.27
0.00
0.00
Practice-4
N=88
Mean
SD
104.47
a

40.04
141.17
78.71
36.70
72.44
35.04
18.02
22.65
b

11.89
a
(US$1=70BDT)
34
Discussion
Shrimp farming in Bangladesh has been practiced traditionally since 1980's in the rice
cultivable lands in the South-western part. Unplanned development and inadequate of
farmers' knowledge are responsible for these low production rates. During the last few
decades the farming area has expanded rapidly which contributed to the augmentation of
total production despite per unit low production rate. The result of this study focused on
different information regarding farm management and various types of modification of
farms (Table 2). A similar study was conducted by Islam (2005) in south-eastern and
south-western area of Bangladesh. The result indicates that Shrimp-Salt culture has higher
economic benefit which was 156,639 BDT/ha (US$2237/ha), followed by Tk.77,365
BDT/ha (US$1105/ha) from only shrimp, 64,873 BDT/ha (US$927/ha) profit from
shrimp-rice culture, and Tk.29,127/ha (US$427/ha) from only rice culture. Shrimp-salt
culture is practiced in only south west area. Our study reported the profit 62,220 BDT/ha
(US$887/ha) from Practice-1 (S) farming system in south-eastern area which was a little
less than the previous study. Production from south-western region is higher because many
commercial farms are concentrated in that area. Water management facilities in shrimp
farming areas are not yet well developed. A major portion of the farms (26.9%) are
dependent on neighboring farms for necessary water supply (Table 2), which created
problems in starting in due time, sometimes faced water crisis during culture period, often
caused water logging at rice growing season and also caused culture environment
degradation and increased disease out break. This kind of water system also create social
crisis in several areas and make an impression that aquaculture therefore adversely
affecting the livelihoods of people (DFID 2000). To minimise the unwanted water crisis
during culture cycle most of the farms (78.4%) had peripheral canal either in one side or
each sides (Table 2). These peripheral canal and/or trench is a proven technique to support
fishes in integrated rice-fish farming system (Haroon et al. 1992, Kohinoor et al. 1995) in
freshwater region, it provide extra benefit of integrated rice-fish/prawn culture during the
low saline period in the coastal region to promote total farm output (Alam et al. 2006)
under alternate rice-shrimp system. It has a significant role in rice-fish alternate system
(Islam et al. 2009) by supporting shelter at any abrupt change in climate condition,
especially at higher temperature. As inputs, they use low quality feed supplement which
depends on their wish, choice and ability to afford, without considering nutritive
requirement of shrimp, prawn or fin-fishes. Farmers have had a tendency of using organic
fertilisers (Table 3), especially cow dung during farm preparation, that often caused
culture environment degradation, abundance of disease forming microbes and caused low
quality shrimp products, which is prohibited by foreign customers.
In this study we found significant difference (p<0.05) in stocking density of finfish
species within two respective culture practices. Depending on the natural resources,
especially on water salinity, farmers like to stock diversified type of fin fishes, from
exclusively freshwater species, like rohu (Labeo rohita), catla (Catla catla), grass carp
(Ctenopharyngodon idela), sarpunti (Puntiuus gonionotus) etc., to some hyposaline
species, like tilapia (Tilapia mossumbica), parsia (Liza parsia), kharkuno (Rhinomugil
corsulla), bhangan (Mugil cephalus), etc. Most of the farmers follow multiple stocking
and harvesting procedure of shrimp. For freshwater prawn, selective harvesting is done
from September and is completed by December. Farmers keep small sized prawn in their
Islam et al.
35
pond and allow them to grow up to March-April and harvest before stocking with fresh
post larvae. For finfish, one harvesting is done before December to avoid slow growth in
the winter. Farmers rarely use harmful chemicals and/or drugs at farm preparation leading
to grow out period, which indicates a good practice to produce biological shrimp.
In late 1990's coastal shrimp farms were used only for monoculture of shrimp. Farms
were very big in size and operated by rich men. Various social conflicts between shrimp
farmers, rice farmers and land owners were existed in Bangladesh (Islam et al. 2004) due
to lease value payment in time, salinity intrusion, shortages of animal feed (Ahmed
2006). Now that scenario has been changed. Majority of farms has been operated by the
land owner with partial lease in system. Splitting of big farms ensured involvement of
marginal farmers in farm operation and reduced social conflict that has been described by
Islam et al. (2005). Combination of agriculture-aquaculture may reduce the land use
conflicts and vegetables and fruits can be produced on embankments which ensure
involvement of women to take care of the vegetable farms (DFID 2000) and hence reduce
employment crisis (Karim 2003) in the coastal region.
Conclusion
Findings of this study focused a diversified type of aquaculture practices and land
utilisation in the south-west coastal gher, which has been mainly innovated by the
farmers in the area. It has various limitation in farm preparation, maintaining proper
stocking densities considering soil-water productivity, species combination and proper
management at grow out period which resulted for low production. This study
recommends further research on specific area for proper species combination, stocking
density, feeding, fertilising and improvement of management system.
Acknowledgement: This paper was written from the findings of baseline survey on
''Concurrent Culture of Shrimp (Penaeus monodon) and Prawn (Macrobrachium
rosenbergii) in Brackish Water Environment'' a research project carried out by Brackish
water Station of ''Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI)'' funded by the ''Shrimp
Research Centre Establishment Project in Bagerhat District (SRCEPBD)'' for which we
are grateful.
References
Ahmed, Z. 2006. 'Profile and Livelihoods of Shrimp Producers in Bangladesh.' In Shrimp
Farming and Industry; Sustainability Trade and Livelihood edited by A. A. Rahman,
B. Pokrant, A. H. G. Quddus & M. L. Ali, 341-353. Bangladesh Center for
Advanced Studies: The University press Limited.
Alam, M. J., M. L. Islam, S.B. Saha, T.P. Tuong and O. Joffre. 2006. 'Improving the
Productivity of the Rice-Shrimp in the South-west Coastal Region of Bangladesh.'
Bangladesh J. Fish. Res. 93-105.
DFID (Department for International Development). 2000. 'Northwest Fisheries Extension
Project-2, Livelihood Review'. Livelihood Assessment of Communities and
Households and Technical Assistance of Aquaculture Technologies and Methods.
Vol. I, DFID, Dhaka, June 2000.
36
Haroon, A. K. Y., S. Dewan, S. M. R. Karim. 1992. 'Rice-Fish Production Systems in
Bangladesh,' In Rice-Fish Research and Development in Asia edtited by C. R. dela
Cruz, C. Lightfoot, B. A. Costa-Pierce, V. R. Charangal, M.P. Bimbao, 165-171.
ICLARM Conf. Proc.
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/sed/docs/sdsem/lebel_ambio0206.pdf URL 5.08.2008
Islam, S. 2005. 'Studies on the Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts of Shrimp
Farming in Bangladesh.' Ph.D Thesis. BAU, MYn.
Islam, M. L., M. Moniruzzaman, M. J. Alam and A. F. M. Shofiquzzoha. 2009. 'Effect of
Peripheral Canal on Growth, Survival and Production of Shrimp (Penaeus
monodon) in Traditional Rice-Shrimp Culture System in South-West coastal Region,
Bangladesh.' Journal of Bangladesh Agriculture University 7(1): 169-174.
Islam M.S., A. Milstein, M. A. Wahab, A. H. M. Kamal, and S. Dewan. 2005. 'Production
and Economic Return of Shrimp Aquaculture in Coastal Ponds of Different Sizes
and with Different Management Regimes.' Aquaculture International, 13:501-518.
Islam, M. L., M. J. Alam, S. Rheman, S. U. Ahmed, and M. A. Mazid. 2004. 'Water
Quality, Nutrient Dynamics and Sediment Profile in Shrimp Farms of the
Sundarbans Mangrove Forest, Bangladesh.' Indian Journal of Marine Science,
33(2):170-176.
Karim, M. R. 2003. 'Present Status and Strategies for Future Development of Shrimp
Culture in Bangladesh.' In Environmental and Socio Economic Impact of Shrimp
Farming in Bangladesh edited by M. A. Wahab. 2003. Technical Proceeding BAU-
NORAD workshop, 5 March 2002, BARC Centre, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Bangladesh
Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh. 101p.
Kohinoor, A. H. M., S. B. Saha, M. Akhteruzzaman, and M. V. Gupta. 1995. 'Suitability
of Short Cycle Species Puntius gonionotus (Bleeker) for Culture in Rice Fields.'
Journal of Inland Fisheries Society of India, 27(1): 60-64.
Lebel, L., N. H. Tri, A. Saengnore, S. Pasong, U. Bautama, and L. K. Thoa. 2002.
'Industrial Transformation and Shrimp Aquaculture in Thailand and Vietnam:
Pathways to Ecological, Social, and Economic Sustainability.' Ambio 31(4): 311-323
Milstein A., M. S. Islam, M. A. Wahab, A. H. M. Kamal, S. Dewan. 2005.
'Characterization of Water Quality in Shrimp Ponds of Different Sizes and with
Different Management Regimes using Multivariate Statistical Analysis.' Aquaculture
International, 13:501-518.
Nhan D.K., A. Milstein, M.C.J. Verdegem and J.A.V. Verreth. 2006. 'Food Inputs, Water
Quality and Nutrient Accumulation in Integrated Pond Systems: A Multivariate
Approach.' Aquaculture 261:160-173.
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Learning for Impact in Rural Development.' Wageningen University Research, IAC.
Stevenson, J. R., X.T. Irz, R. G. Alcalde, J. Petit, and P. Morissens. 2006. 'A Typology of
Brackish Water Pond Aquaculture Systems in the Philippines.' Working paper 1.
Research project R 8288 Under AFGRP. Reading UK: University of Reading.
Islam et al.
37
Role of Institutions and Support Systems in Promoting Organic
Farming - A Case of Organic Producer Groups in India
Ch. Radhika Rani
*
and A. Amarender Reddy
**
Abstract
Organic farming has started slowly making inroads into the Indian agriculture,due to
increased cost of inputs of conventional agriculture coupled with environmental and
health concerns associated with it. The present organic farming in the country is mostly
export oriented. Catering the needs of the export market requires the producers to meet
quality specifications. However, being small in nature, in terms of holding, they tend to
lack collective action and their exposure to support systems is limited. Institutions are
therefore required for aggregating their produce and enhancing the bargaining power. The
paper is an attempt to understand the role of institutions and support systems to promote
organic farming through a case of Organic Producer Groups (OPG's) in Uttarakhand.
The study was done in Nainital district in Uttarakhand. Three OPG's in three villages
were studied and compared with non organic producers. It is observed that, though the
support systems were favouring the producer groups, there is a long way to go. Federating
the OPG's into supply co-operative , for upscaling their activities, is an option.
Introduction
Organic farming is regarded
1
asthe ecologically most consistent process of development,
of all those approaches seeking sufficient agricultural production while simultaneously
conserving natural resources. About 0.65% of total agricultural land of the world is under
organic agriculture which is being practiced in more than 130 countries (Willer et al.
2008). Its annual growth rate has been about 20% for the last decade (Lotter 2003),
accounting for over 31 million hectares of area and generating over 26 billion US dollars
in annual trade worldwide (Escobar and Hue 2007). Among the different countries, major
part of the area under organic agriculture is located in Australia (41.5%) followed by
Argentina (12.29%) and UK (3%) (IFOAM 2002).
The practice of considering organic farming as a complimentary to sustainable
agricultural practices has started in many developing countries very recently i.e almost
two decades back. However, organic farming is native to developing countries like China
and India. It has sustained the agriculture of these countries for a long time. In India, it
has taken a back pace for some time, when the modern system of farming is introduced
with the concept of intensive agriculture to produce more. When the ramifications of
intensive agriculture through chemical fertilisers and pesticides were seen from late 80's
with decline in soil fertility, increased usage of fertilisers to get the same yield and
thereby the increased cost of production, it is increasingly felt, that the modern system of
farming is becoming unsustainable (Sharma 2001). The necessity of having an alternative
*
Assistant Professor, NIRD, Hyderabad, E-mail : radhikacherukuri123@gmail.com
**
Principal Scientist, Department of Agricultural Economics, IARI, Hyderabad
1
See UNDP 1992
38
agriculture method which can function in a friendly eco-system while sustaining and
increasing the crop productivity is realised therefore. Organic farming which was
recognised as the best known alternative to the modern agriculture has started slowly
making inroads into the conventional agriculture. Due to increased cost of farming
coupled with environmental and health issues, producers in the country realised it as a
potential alternative for meeting food demand, maintaining soil fertility and increasing
soil carbon pool. The country at present occupies 13
th
position as far as the area under
organic agriculture with 528,171 hectare area which accounts to 0.3% of total agricultural
land (Pandeyetal 2012) and stands at second place with respect to total number of
certified organic farms (44,926).
Though the organic farming is being promoted in the country from 2000 onwards ,as a
state policy through National Organic Program by the Ministry of Commerce initially
and since then the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development
Authority (APEDA) through the National Program for Organic Production (NPOP)
(Bhattacharyya and Chakraborty 2005), it is mostly catering the export markets unlike the
developed economies where the retail market is now growing by about 20% (Narayanan
2005). The Indian organic farming industry is almost entirely export oriented, running as
contract farming under financial agreement with contracting firms, and as per the latest
report (Ramesh et al. 2010), about 585,970 tones of organic products worth US$ 6.8
million are being exported from India.
Catering the needs of the export market requires the producers to meet the specifications
regarding quality, fair trade practices etc. But how the organic producers, could equip
themselves with the needs of the market, what type of support systems are needed for an
informed decision making by them, are the matters of concern. They, being small in
nature, in terms of holding, tend to lack collective action and their exposure to services is
limited. It is also observed that (Kherallah and Minot 2001) individual marketing of small
quantities of produce weakens the small holders bargaining position and often exposes
them to price exploitation by traders. Therefore, there is a need to support them through
institutions , as institutions do play a role in building the organisations or social capital and
they have been formulated to govern relationships between individuals or group of people
involved in transactional activities (North 1990). "Institution" refers to different types of
organisations, markets, contracts, cultural norms and informal or formal rules that define
rights of access to goods and services, as well as access to the management of a given
space or to its natural resources (Ostrom 2005). The institution under study here is Organic
Producer Group (OPG) and the paper attempts to understand the efficacy of support
systems to the organic producerswhen they are part of an institution.The observations and
findings in the paper are based on NAIP
2
research study conducted by the author.
Objectives
1) To analyse the efficacy of institutions and support systems in promoting organic
cultivation.
2) To explore the possible interventions to enhance the adaptability by the farmers.
2
National Agricultural Research Project on "Public Private Partnership in Agriculture based Livelihoods"
conducted by NIRD in consortium partnership with NAARM, MANAGE, IIM Lucknow.
Rani and Reddy
39
Methodology
Organic Farming as per USDA is the production system which avoids or largely excludes
the use of synthetically compounded fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulators, and
livestock feed additives. The Uttarakhand state has been promoting organic farming as a
state policy through an organisation called Uttarakhand Organic Commodity Board
(UOCB). The district Nainitalin which the UOCB has been promoting organic farming
through OPG's was selected for the study. There were eight development blocks in the
district, out of which three blocks were selected, situated in three different regions i.e.,
the Ramagarh block in the hilly area, Kotabagh block situated on foot hills nearby to
Haldwani main market and the Ramnagar block situated in a forest fringe area. Selection
of villages was based on information provided by UOCB regarding the formation of
OPG's. The village Supi was selected in Ramgarh block, Sayath village was selected in
Kotabagh block and Manikantpur village was selected in Ramnagar block. All the
organic producers in a village belongs to one Organic Producer Group (OPG).Therefore,
there were three OPG's among the sample producers. Information was obtained from
individual producers to observe the support systems provided to them as a part of OPG.
Information was also obtained from the control producers i.e non organic producers for
comparison regarding the support systems provided. The method of selection of
producers was purposive.The total sample households were 90 out of which 65 were
organic producers and 25 were nonorganic producers.
3
In an attempt to examine the reasons for the shifting of producers towards organic farming,
the crops which have the cropping area of more than 10 per cent each under organic and
inorganic cultivation were selected. To know the difference between means of yield and net
income of both the producers i.e. organic and inorganic producers 't' test was used.
Various questions regarding the support systems provided fort the Organic Producer Group
(OPG),were asked and summarised below. These questions were based on 'Likert Ranking
Scale'. The following rankings were given by the producers for the support systems.
3- Support is high
2- Support is moderate
1- Support is low
At the aggregate level the following was the criteria considered.
> 1 - Support is low
1-2 - Support is moderate
2-3 - Support is high
Study Findings
a) Respondents Profile
The descriptive results for the demographic characteristics show that majority of the
producers (around 60 per cent) of both the categories belong to the productive age group
3
The sample varies depending on the number of producers in an OPG in the village. In Supiand Manikanthpur
villages the number of organic producers who were part of OPG were 20 and 15 respectively. Whereas, the
total number of sample producers in the village sayat were 30 out of which all the producers were growing
some crops organically and some other crops inorganically. Complete shift towards organic farming was not
observed in this village.
Role of Institutions and Support...
40
of 40-60. This shows that age has no relevance with the adoption of organic farming
practices. The status of education was taken for only the house heads. The education level
of the sample producers was generally low. In case of organic producers, around 3 per
cent of the house heads have never attended to school and 72 per cent of the house heads
have completed the higher secondary level. In case of non organic producers, the number
of house heads who have studied upto higher secondary level education were 84 per cent.
Household size ranges from a minimum of four people to a maximum of 16 with a mean
of 4.5 in case of non organic producers and 6.8 in case of organic producers. As the
system of organic farming depends on family labour availability, this, explains the reason
to some extent the choice of shift from non organic to organic by the organic producers.
As organic farming is also seen as an intensive farming method the average farm size is
also considered. It is observed that the average farm size in case of organic producers was
0.37 ha whereas, the same in case of non organic producers was 0.52 ha. The information
regarding the total number of milch, draft animals including calves was obtained from the
sample producers. The information was viewed not only from the point of asset structure
but also from the point of availability of organic manure to the producers. It is observed
that on an average 6.3 number of animals were been raised by the organic producers and
4.7 animals by the non organic producers.
b) Shift in Cropping Pattern : Factors Influencing the Shift
The shift in cropping pattern towards organic farming was more in the case of potato,
apple, bengal gram and green gram. The shift was more significant in case of bengal
gram and green gram. Both institutional and non institutional factors (technical) seems to
have influenced the shift. For example, the producers who were accustomed to grow
grams (pulses) under organic in these areas were shifted to inorganic cultivation for
various reasons. When there was an advocacy for organic farming and when they were
informed that their produce will be demanded by the buyers with premium price if it is
available in scale, they have shifted back to cultivating these crops organically and selling
through OPG. They have observed that there was a decline in yield of the crops in the
initial years, this was compensated with decreased cost of cultivation of crops. The major
costs incurred in organic cultivation of these crops were cost of seed and labour. The case
was not similar for other crops. Potato is one of the major crops during kharif season
4
.
The producers have gradually shifted the cultivation of this crop into organic despite the
better price, to mitigate the risk of low yield in the initial years. The producers have been
experimenting with organic cultivation of soyabean and paddy. They have been gradually
shifting seeing the experience of other producers. The respondents observed that, among
the vegetables tomato, cabbage and cauliflower that were grown under organic
cultivation were more susceptible to pests and diseases, which could not be controlled
with bio pesticides. In addition to the low yield, these crops have fetched low price in the
market due to the pest and disease infestation. Therefore, except these vegetables, the
producers have shifted the other vegetables to cultivate organically. So here technology
seems to be a limitation for shifting of some of the crops to organic cultivation. We need
a bio input technology for resistance against pests and diseases for the crops such as
tomato, cabbage and cauliflower.
4
Kharif season crops are better known as monsoon crops in Indian sub continent (India, Pakistan Sri Lanka, Nepal).
Rani and Reddy
41
Table 1 : Cropping Pattern in the Study Villages
c) Yield and Net Income
The yield and net income of organic crops in terms of percentage change over non
organic crops is presented in Table 2. Only the organic crops which have shown a
significant percentage change over inorganic crops were considered. The Actual Producer
List (APL) of every organic crop will be generated by the OPG at the time of sowing and
conveyed to the UOCB
5
. Based on the list (APL), prospective buyers will come to an
assessment regarding the quantity of organic crop that will be available with OPG's in the
villages so that they could procure the crop in bulk by offering premium price. This is the
reason dueto which though there was not much yield increase, there was a significant
increase in net income forsome of the crops.
It is observed that there was an increase in yield and net income of organic potato
compared to inorganic potato. Though the yield increase was not significant, the
producers have been gradually shifting to organic cultivation of potato because of the
significant increase in net income. significant difference was observed in case of bengal
gram with a an increase in yield by 79 per cent and net income by 45 per cent compared
to its non organic crop. In case of apple, though there was an increase in both yield and
net income, it was not significant. The reason being, there was not much demand for
organic apples by the buyers. The farmers have been supplying limited quantity of
organic apples to a local apple juice factory with a premium price and they were selling
the remaining produce in the local market at a price equal to that of inorganic apples.
The increase in yield and net income of organic paddy was more than the inorganic paddy
by 13.5 per cent and 41 per cent respectively. However, the increase was not much
significant. The decrease in yield of organic soya bean was by 150 per cent and
significant at 5 per cent level, whereas, the net income was more with 23 per cent and
significant at 10 per cent level. The percentage decrease in yield and net income of
organic mustard was significant at 5 per cent level. Bengal gram and mustard were more
susceptible to pests and diseases and the respondents observed that the existing bio agents
could not control them. This is the reason for which the yield of these crops has declined.
Crop Kharif Rabi
Organic Inorganic Organic Inorganic
Potato 13.87 8.23 - -
paddy 8.96 17.43* - -
Bengal gram 11.62** 3.38 10.07 8.86
soyabean 11.23 13.45 - -
apple 6.30 2.78 - -
Green gram 8.12** 3.38 - -
Wheat - - 47.66 62.34*
Vegetables 39.03 35.89 25.59 17.66
Mustard - - 6.78 11.14*
** -- 5 % level significance, *-- 10 % level significance
Note : Figures in Table 1 indicate percentage of crop area, out of total area under cultivation
5
The functions of UOCB will be seen in detail, in later parts of this article.
42
Table 2: Yield and Net Income of Organic Farmers in Terms of Percentage Change
over Inorganic Farmers
Support Systems for Organic Producers Group
a) Technology Support
The UOCB has been organising the organic producers to form into OPG's and the OPG's
at village level were organised into federations at the Panchayat level
6
. The information
regarding technology based support systems that are being provided to the OPG's is given
in Table 3. Forming into groups has enhanced their bargaining position and strengthened
their social capital. Therefore, this activity i.e organising the producers into groups was
ranked high by the producers. Followed by this, theprocess technology provided by the
UOCB to OPG and in turn to the individual producers seems to be of much relevance
tothem and it was ranked high by them.The OPG's have been trained in the preparation of
various organic products like vermi compost, vermin wash, nadef pits, BD compost etc,
The department of agriculture has been providing the machinery like grading machines,
solar driers, alu chip cutter, alu slicer, weighing machines etc at free of cost to the OPG
members in the villages. However, the respondents felt that, in addition to these, they also
may be supplied the bio inputs at free of cost or with subsidy, to withstand the financial
burden of initial gestation period of yield reduction of some of the crops with organic
farming. Therefore, they have given moderate rating for the input supply by the
department of agriculture. The major hurdle to enable the sale of any organic commodity
is to undergo the process of certification of organic farms. Certification is an important
tool responsible for labeling of consumer products thereby fostering a trust in consumers
regarding the sustainable organic harvest and legal origin of the produce. Certification
through external agencies is an expensive and complicated exercise, which seldom can be
operationalised by producers' alone. Government of Uttarakhand has authorised
Uttarakhand State Seed and Organic Production Certification Agency (USS & OPCA) for
organic certification. For facilitation of certification to small landholders through group
certification process, UOCB has established the process Internal Control System (ICS).
The producers were trained to maintain farm dairy in which they furnish information
regarding the area under the organic crop, cropping practices and production of the crop.
Kharif Rabi
Yield Net Income Yield Net Income
Supi
Potato +4.5* +8 ** - -
Apple +5.6* +28* - -
Sayat
Bengal gram - - +79* +45**
Manikantpur
Paddy +13.5* +41* - -
Soyabean -150** +23* - -
Mustard - - -94.7** -150**
** -- 5 % level significance, * -- 10 % level significance
6
A Gram Panchayat is a local self-government institution at the village level.
Rani and Reddy
43
Part of the premium to be paid by the producers for group certification was being borne by
the department of agriculture. The respondents were satisfied with the process of group
certification and have given a high rating for this. The information regarding quality
standards to be maintained for their products to make them eligible for exports, was not
known to all the producers. Grading was not done by them at farm level. They were
dumping the remaining product in the local market after the first grade product was being
taken away by the traders from outside. The respondents observed that exposure visits
need to be arranged to them through OPG's for a wider exposure to processing facilities
and marketing and therefore, given moderate rating for the present activities related to
providing training on maintaining quality standards and arranging exposure visits.
Table 3: Technology Support Systems
b) Information Services
Table 4 provides the details regarding the information services. The UOCB compiles the
information regarding the new products, specification of the standards of the inputs,
technologies for the production. Development and incubation of ideas, products as well
as future strategies are also the important activities of the Board which were disseminated
to the OPG'sand this was ranked high by the producers. Organic specific extension such
as gestation period to be maintained for the crops to be certified, certification procedures,
group certification process etc. was also ranked by the producers as high. The producers
were not much aware about the simple processing methods that could be taken up at the
farm level after harvesting etc. Therefore, this service was moderately ranked by them.
Most of the information regarding the buyers was through master trainers recruited at the
village level by UOCB. Therefore, the producers have not much choice except to rely on
them for the information. No information was observed regarding the price reporting
services or any directory of buyers. Therefore, the respondents have given moderate
rating for these. Information regarding the crop insurance was also ranked moderately by
them as most of them were not aware about it.
44
Table 4: Information Support Systems
c) Marketing Support
Table 5 provides the details regarding the marketing services. The marketing cell of
UOCB undertakes registration of the buyers which indicates the history of the buyers and
demand from the buyers. The quality cell of UOCB overviews the Actual Farmers List
(AFL) based on acreage on that particular year, and maintains the information regarding
the production particulars of different crops for a particular season and also about
Organic Producers Groups. The role of board in marketing is limited in providing
information of buyers and OPG's to each other and in facilitating their meeting. The
actual decision making will be by the stakeholders themselves. The UOCB provides the
information about the buyers as and when they register with UOCB. Therefore, the
respondents expressed satisfaction about the information of buyers provided by the
UOCB and ranked high. However, they expressed that UOCB needs to maintain the
Directory of Buyers so that they can approach them directly rather than through the
master trainers.The other services such as storage, grading and packing were moderately
ranked by the producers. The produce will be collected by the buyers at fixed collection
points within the village itself. As there was no transportation facility, the producers have
been relying on those buyers who were approaching them. Therefore, the respondents
have provided moderate ranking for the transportation facility.
Table 5: Market Support Systems
Rani and Reddy
45
Support Systems for Non-organic Producers
Most of the support systems that were available to the organic producers in terms of
technical, informational and marketing were not within the reach of non organic
producers mainly due to lack of organisational building. The only source of extension
was through the department of agriculture. Though the department of agriculture has been
providing them some of the services such as supply of subsidised seeds, arranging them
the exposure visits or providing the extension services, only few could avail these
services. Therefore, all these services were moderately ranked by the non organic
producers.
Conclusions
The results show that the producers engaged in organic production were typically small
in holding size and they are in the productive age group. It is clear that support systems
were more in favour of producers who formed into an institution i.e producer groups. The
producer groups under study though were provided with the support systems such as
technical information, marketing through trainings, IEC activities, group certification
and arranging buyer seller meetings etc., there is a long way to go. There is an initial
three years gestation period for the organic producers during which the crop cannot be
sold with the premium price. The cost of organic production in the form of reducing yield
and obtaining the same price in the market as that of non organic produce during the
gestation period, is to be borne by the organic producers. The producers though have
been preparing some of the concoctions at their own level, for some other products they
were relying on the market. This cost-price squeeze puts financial pressure on producers
to sustain for a longer period. To enhance the adaptability of the organic farming, it is
necessary to ease out the technical and institutional constraints. Federating the OPG's
into a supply co-operative is an option for upscaling the activities of producer groups.
Encouraging the producers to form into institutions through group based subsidy
programmes is also needed.
References
Bhattacharya, P. Chakraborthy. 2005. 'Current Status of Organic Farming in India and
other Countries.' Indian Journal of Fertilisers 1(9) : 111-123.
Escobar, M. E. O. and N. V. Hue. 2007. 'Current Development in Organic Farming.' In:
Recent Research Development in Soil Science 2 edited by S. G. Pandalai. Research
Signpost,Kerala, India. pp. 29-62.
IFOAM (2002) 'IFOAM Norms - Basic Standards for Organic Production and
Processing, IFOAM Accreditation Criteria for Bodies certifying Organic Production
and Processing Including Policies related to IFOAM Norms. IFOAM Guarantee
System'. http://www.ifoam.org/standard/norms/cover.html.
Kherallah, M. and N. Minot. 2001. 'Impact of Agricultural Market Reforms on
Smallholder Farmers in Benin and Malawi.' IFPRI Collaborative Research Project.
International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC.
46
Lotter, D. 2003. 'Organic Agriculture.' Journal of Sustainable Agriculture 21: 1-63
Narayanan, S. 2005. 'Organic Farming in India: Relevance, Problems and Constraints.'
Financing Agriculture 43: 16-22.
North, D. 1990. Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance.
Cambridge UniversityPress, Cambridge, UK.
Ostrom, E. 2005. 'Doing Institutional Analysis: Digging Deeper than Markets and
Hierarchies.' In Handbook of New Institutional Economics, edited by C. Mnard and
M. Shirley. Dordrecht: Springer. 2005.
Pandey, J., U. Pandey, K. Shubhashish and R. Pandey. 2008. Inter-species Variations in
Soil Fertility Stability in Organic Farming. Plant Arch. 8: 61-63.
Ramesh, P., N. R. Panwar, A. B Singh, S. Ramana, S. K. Yadav, R. Shrivastava and A.
SubbaRao. 2010. 'Status of Organic Farming in India.' Current Science 98: 1090-
1194.
Sharma, A. K. 2001. A Handbook of Organic Farming. Agrobios, Jodhpur, India
Shiferaw, B., G. Obare and G. Muricho. 2006. Rural Institutions and Producer
Organisations in Imperfect Markets: Experiences from Producer Marketing Groups
in Semi-arid Eastern Kenya. ICRISAT
Willer, H., M. Yussefi-Menzler and N. Sorensen. 2008. 'The World of Organic
Agriculture-statistics and Emerging Trends 2008.'
http://orgprints.org/13123/4/world-of-organic-agriculture.
Rani and Reddy
47
Mapping Food Price, Agricultural Productivity and Poverty
Changes by Development Domains in Nigeria: Implications
for Sustainable Agricultural Development and Poverty
Reduction Policies
Olawale Emmanuel Olayide
*
and Tunrayo Alabi
**
Abstract
Poverty remains the major obstacle to economic development in Nigeria. Worse still, rising food
prices and low agricultural productivity are major threats to feeding the teeming population of the
most populous nation in Africa - Nigeria. The understanding provided by agricultural resources
mapping enhances better policy targeting and development planning. This study used trends and
spatial data on food prices, agricultural productivity and poverty levels. Food prices, agricultural
productivity and poverty levels were mapped by development domains in Nigeria. It was found that
food price has significant effect on poverty levels. The poverty change analysis revealed that some
development domains witnessed improvement in poverty reduction. The study revealed the nexus in
price, productivity and poverty by development domains. The findings of this study have
implications for implementation of sustainable agricultural development strategies in Nigeria.
Therefore, policies on food price stabilisation, productivity increases and poverty reduction are
recommended for implementation on the basis of the evidence of desirable sustainable agricultural
policy outcomes.
Introduction
Poverty remains the major obstacle to economic development and achievement of the
development agenda in Nigeria. The government of Nigeria identifies agriculture as the
engine of economic growth and development (FGN 2001). Nigeria's agricultural policy
and the Presidential Initiatives support self-sufficiency in cereal production especially
maize and rice (FMAWR 2008 and Olomola et al. 2008). Besides, rising price of cereals
pose a major threat to feeding the teeming population of Nigeria. With concerted
agricultural policy interventions by the government of Nigeria, it is expedient to analyse
food price, agricultural productivity and poverty nexus with a view to identifying areas of
development changes as well as other areas of interventions and priority setting
(Kristjanson et al. 2005). We, therefore, analyse and map changes in farm gate prices of
major cereals (rice and maize), agricultural productivity (yields) and poverty by
development domains in Nigeria.
Maize and rice are the major cereals grown in all agricultural regions in Nigeria. The
crops also have high market opportunities to ignite economic growth in Nigeria
(Manyong et al. 2005 and NBS 2007). Generally, the crop sub-sector is the major driver
of agricultural gross domestic product growth in Nigeria (Nkamleu et al. 2007, CBN
*
Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria, Centre for Sustainable Development,
University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria, E-mail address: waleolayide@yahoo.com
**
GIS Unit, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria
48
2007). However, a comparative analysis of agricultural productivity (cereal yield)
situation in Nigeria with what prevails in some selected developing and developed
countries are presented in Table 1. The content of the table reveals that Nigeria, despite
its comparative advantage in terms of natural resource endowment and suitable
agroclimatic resources for agricultural production (Manyong et al. 2005), lags behind in
terms of agricultural productivity. Low cereal yields have implications for high food
prices and high poverty rates for any nation (World Bank 2008).
Table 1: Cereal Yields, Input Utilisation, and Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria
and Selected Countries, 2000-2003.
The Nigerian cereal yield figure of 1,206 kg per ha is about half the yield in South Africa.
The yield of cereals in Nigeria is so low that it is just about one seventh of what is
obtained in the Netherlands, one fifth of the yield in USA and one-third the yield in
Indonesia and Argentina. The low yield is attributed to low level farm technology despite
support from government and international support agencies (Akinyosoye 2005).
Agricultural productivity affects the standard of living of a nation through reduced (low)
food prices (for buyers) and more incomes for farmers (for net sellers). Higher levels of
productivity means increase in agricultural production (output) and release of surplus to
other sectors of the economy or industries (Akinyosoye 2005), and creates an economic
environment for agricultural profitability and sustainable livelihoods (Nkamleu 2004).
Additionally, agricultural productivity has been identified as a key driver of growth and
development in Nigeria (CBN 2007, World Bank 2008). There seems to be consensus in
literature (World Bank 2008 and Oni et al. 2009) that agricultural productivity reduces
poverty by increasing farmer's income, reducing food prices and thereby enhancing
increments in consumption. Besides, rice and maize are two major cereals identified by
the Nigeria's Presidential Initiatives as food security (or poverty reduction) crops
(FMAWR 2008).
Effective sustainable agricultural development policies are those targeted to agricultural
production (productivity) activities, geared towards domestic market (stabilising food
prices) and impact on welfare (poverty reduction) status of the people (Manyong et al.
Country
Nigeria
South Africa
Brazil
Argentina
Indonesia
Malaysia
Netherlands
USA
United Kingdom
Canada
Continent
Africa
Africa
South America
South America
Asia
Asia
North America
North America
Europe
Europe
Cereal yield (kg/ha)
1206
2332
2665
3448
3915
2860
7460
5794
6981
3035
Sources: Akinyosoye, 2005.
Olayide and Alabi
49
2005). The context of sustainable agricultural development as defined by this study is one
that ensures moderate food price change, increased productivity, and poverty reduction.
Establishing the nexus in food price, agricultural productivity and poverty status that this
study was undertaken is consistent with the objective of identifying the regions or
development domains of most desirable sustatainable agricultural development policy
outcomes for better targetting of interventions and priority setting for sustainable
agricultural development in Nigeria.
Methodology
Coverage of the Study
Nigeria is located approximately between Latitudes 40 and 140 north of the equator and
between Longitude 20
o
2' and 140
o
30, east of the Greenwich Meridian. To the north,
Nigeria is bordered by the Republics of Niger and Chad; to the east by the Republic of
Cameroon, to the south by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west by the Republic of Benin.
Nigeria is located in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in the western part of Africa on the
Gulf of Guinea. Nigeria has a population of over 140 million people with a population
growth rate of 3.2 per cent, the largest in sub-Sahara Africa. Nigeria has a total surface
area of 923, 770 km
2
. About 35 per cent of the land mass is arable while 15 per cent is
used as pasture land, 10 per cent as forest reserves, another 10 per cent for settlements
and the remaining 30 per cent is composed of water bodies or simply uncultivable
(Diagne et al. 2009).
By virtue of its location, Nigeria enjoys a warm tropical climate with relatively high
temperatures throughout the year and two seasons, the dry and wet seasons. Based on the
climatic conditions, the following vegetation types are recognised in the country: the
mangrove and fresh water swamps, the rain forest (RF), the Guinea savanna (GS), the
Sudan savanna, and the Sahel savanna in the south-north transect. Between the rain and
the forest and the RF and the GS is a modified vegetation transition consisting of light
deciduous forest and derived savanna. The southern forest, that is, both the swamps and
the rain forest, constitute the country's main source of wood. The derived savanna zone,
about 250 km wide, was once the northern part of the forest zone, but became
transformed by such activities as agriculture into a vegetation type consisting largely of
deciduous trees and grasses. Most of the remaining part of the country is the Sudan
savanna, accounting for more than 25 per cent of the surface area, and expanding at the
expense of the GS. At the northeast and northwest corners of the country is the Sahel that
ordinarily does not account for more than 5-10 per cent of the surface area, but is now
growing larger at the expense of the Sudan zone (FRN 2007).
The country has 6 geopolitical zones, 36 States, the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and
774 Local Government Areas (LGAs). Basically, the analyses in this study were based on
State-level mapping and regarded as development domains following Manyong et al.
(2005), Kristjanson et al. (2005) and Olayide et al. (2008).
Mapping Food Price, Agricultural...
50
Data Sources and Analytical Methods
Data were extracted from the publications of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS 2005
and 2007). A multiple of analytical methods were employed to analyse the dataset. These
analytical methods include descriptive statistics (averages and percentages), mapping of
food price change, agricultural productivity change and poverty change. Farmgate price
for maize and rice was obtained in naira (Nigerian currency) per kilogramme.
Agricultural (land) productivity was measured as output in kilogrammes. Poverty level is
the number of people with income/expenditure below the poverty line (obtained by
method of Food Energy Intake (FEI) by calculating the required minimum annual
expenditure per equivalent adult in naira on food to attain 2900 calories per day).
Geographic Information System (GIS) package was used to create maps of the variables
(that is, changes in farm gate price, agricultural productivity (yields), and poverty levels).
The bottom-line is that most people absorb and interpret maps relatively easily. Maps help
magnify messages to higher level policy makers and help in better understanding spatial
pattern of policy impacts and targets. This is in view of the fact that GIS targeting through
the combination of different datasets is becoming an important tool in priority setting and
in planning agricultural policy for development, be it national or regional. Similarly, we
know that the impact of agricultural investments can be maximised by targeting them to
areas where biophysical conditions are optimal for selected agricultural enterprises to
maximise the economic possibilities (Manyong et al. 2005, NBS 2007, Legg 2007 and
Olayide et al. 2008). Therefore, a GIS mapping of the changes in cereals farm gate price,
productivity (yields) and poverty by development domains was undertaken. Data on farm
gate price, production outputs and land area cultivated as well as poverty incidence data
were obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS 2007).
We computed the price change (for maize and rice), productivity change and poverty
change for the two periods: 1996 and 2004. Overall, we identified two patterns of change
for price, productivity and poverty. That is, high (H) or moderate (M) price change. The
price change is said to be moderate if percentage change in price is less than 100 per cent
and high if greater than 100 per cent. Productivity is said to decrease (D) if percentage
change in productivity is negative and increase (I) if productivity change is positive.
Poverty decreases (D) if poverty change is negative and increases (I) if poverty change is
positive. The mapping and overlay of the three variables of price, productivity, and
poverty changes for maize and rice were undertaken.
Results and Discussion
The results reveal the changes that have occurred in terms of policy objectives on food
prices, productivity increases and poverty reduction in Nigeria. On the change in poverty
(Table 2), the results show that there was slight reduction in the levels of poverty in some
States in Nigeria while the poverty situation (and to a large extent food security status
since poverty line was obtained by method of Food Energy Intake (FEI) by calculating
the required minimum annual expenditure per equivalent adult in naira on food to attain
2900 calories per day) had worsened in others. Specifically, the poverty situation
worsened in nine States, namely: Adamawa, Bauchi, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos,
Niger and Yobe.
Olayide and Alabi
51
Table 2. Poverty Incidence by Development Domains (States), 1996 & 2004
Year State
1996 2004
Poverty incidence
Poverty reduction
(% change)
Inference on
poverty status
Abia 56.20 22.27 -60.37 Reduced
Adamawa 65.50 71.73 9.51 Increased
Akwa Ibom 66.90 34.82 -47.95 Reduced
Anambra 51.00 20.11 -60.57 Reduced
Bauchi 83.50 86.29 3.34 Increased
Bayelsa 44.30 19.98 -54.90 Reduced
Benue 64.20 55.33 -13.82 Reduced
Borno 66.90 53.63 -19.84 Reduced
Cross River 66.90 41.61 -37.80 Reduced
Delta 56.10 45.35 -19.16 Reduced
Ebonyi 51.00 43.33 -15.04 Reduced
Edo 56.10 33.09 -41.02 Reduced
Ekiti 71.60 42.27 -40.96 Reduced
Enugu 51.00 31.12 -38.98 Reduced
Gombe 83.50 77.01 -7.77 Reduced
Imo 56.20 27.39 -51.26 Reduced
Jigawa 71.00 95.07 33.90 Increased
Kaduna 67.70 50.24 -25.79 Reduced
Kano 71.00 61.29 -13.68 Reduced
Katsina 77.70 71.06 -8.55 Reduced
Kebbi 83.60 89.65 7.24 Increased
Kogi 75.50 88.55 17.28 Increased
Kwara 75.50 85.22 12.87 Increased
Lagos 53.00 63.58 19.96 Increased
Nassarawa 62.70 61.59 -1.77 Reduced
Niger 52.20 63.90 22.41 Increased
Ogun 69.90 31.73 -54.61 Reduced
Ondo 71.60 42.14 -41.15 Reduced
Osun 58.70 32.35 -44.89 Reduced
Oyo 58.70 24.08 -58.98 Reduced
Plateau 62.70 60.37 -3.72 Reduced
Rivers 44.30 29.09 -34.33 Reduced
Sokoto 83.90 76.81 -8.45 Reduced
Taraba 65.50 62.15 -5.11 Reduced
Yobe 66.90 83.25 24.44 Increased
Zamfara 83.90 80.93 -3.54 Reduced
F.C.T 53.00 43.32 -18.26 Reduced
Nigeria 65.60 54.40 -17.07 Reduced
Note : Poverty incidence is the number of people with income/expenditure below the poverty line
(obtained by method of Food Energy Intake (FEI) by calculating the required minimum annual
expenditure per equivalent adult in naira on food to attain 2900 calories per day).
Source: NBS, 2005. Poverty Profile for Nigeria.
52
Agricultural productivity is important in reducing poverty in an agrarian nation like
Nigeria (World Bank 2008). Results in Table 3 shows evidence that productivity has
potential for reducing poverty levels in Nigeria. Specifically, productivity in maize
contributed significantly (p<0.10) to poverty reduction in 1996.
Table 3: Relationship Between Productivity and Poverty Level in Nigeria, 1996 and 2004
Maps of Price-Productivity-Poverty Nexus
The map showing change in farmgate price of maize by development domains (Map 1)
reveals that only 5 States - Kaduna, Imo, Abia, Rivers and Akwa Ibom have less than 100
per cent increase in price (moderate price change) of maize. This implies that 86 per cent
of the states in the country experienced high increases in farmgate price of maize. This
situation is also a reflection of the ineefective agricultural policy for food price
stabilisation in the country.
Year Crop Productivity
(average
yield)
Poverty
(average
incidence of
poverty)
Correlation
coefficient
Probability
(level of
significance)
1996 1.59 65.6 -0.317 0.052
2004
Maize
1.66 54.4 -0.267 0.105
1996 2.10 65.6 -0.166 0.320
2004
Rice
2.13 54.4 -0.135 0.418
Source: Computed from data from NBS, 2005. Poverty Profile for Nigeria and Agricultural Survey
Reports, NBS, 2007.
Map 1: Map Showing Price Change in Maize by Development Domains
Olayide and Alabi
53
Ten States out of 37 had less than 100 per cent increase in the price of rice (Map 2). The
States are Jigawa, Borno, Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, Delta, and Benue States.
These results have implications for rice production policy and programmes as well as
priority targeting by development domains in Nigeria.
Overall, Maps 1 and 2 reveal that States with less than 100 per cent price change implies
better welfare for net buyers in the States. Besides, the results on price change suggest that the
price of maize and rice vary uniquely by States and that policy to address price of agricultural
commodities should be both development domain (State) and commodity-specific.
Map 2: Map Showing Price Change in Rice by Development Domains
Map 3: Map Showing Productivity Change in Maize by Development Domains
54
Yield improvement as revealed by the productivity in maize (Map 3) shows that most of
the States experienced productivity increase in maize. Specifically, 20 States - Sokoto,
Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Yobe, Bauchi, Plateau, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, Lagos,
Ondo, Ekiti, Kogi, Edo, Delta, Enugu, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom - experienced increase in
productivity of maize.
Productivity (yields) of rice decreased in some development domains (Map 4). The States
concerned are Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, Plateau, Kwara, Ekiti, Kogi, Ondo, Ogun, Edo,
Delta, Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi and the Federal Capital Territory. The implication is
that agricultural policy aimed at enhancing productivity growth should focus on these
States, since improvement in agricultural productivity is desirable for poverty reduction.
Map 4: Map Showing Productivity Change in Rice by Development Domains
Map 5: Map Showing Poverty Change by Development Domains
Olayide and Alabi
55
The result of poverty change analysis is presented in Map 5. The result reveals that
Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Kogi, Jigawa, Yobe, Bauchi, Adamawa, and Lagos States
experienced increase in poverty incidence. Hence, there is need to target poverty
reduction programmes in these States.
Poverty is a rural phenomenon in Nigeria. Agricultural policy should focus on reducing
poverty and improving farm incomes through improved productivity and stable food
prices. The overlay of price, productivity and poverty changes of the cereals (maize and
rice) revealed two patterns of change and the nexus of policy outcome variables. The
most desirable policy outcome is moderate price change (M), increased productivity (I)
and decreased poverty (D) - MID, while the least desirable policy outcome is high price
change (H), decreased productivity (D) and increased poverty (I) - HDI. Other variants
are in-between these two extremes.
Following from the agricultural policy outcomes of moderate price change (M), increased
productivity (I) and decreased poverty (D) - MID, therefore, only Kaduna, Rivers, and
Akwa Ibom fulfill this expectation for maize (Map 6). The second best scenario is the
case of high price change, increased productivity and decrease in poverty levels (HID) in
the States of Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Plateau, Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, Edo,
Delta, and Enugu. These development domains should be made to sustain and scale up on
these desirable policy outcomes. However, the critical and least expected scenarios of
agricultural policy outcomes of high price, decreased productivity and increased poverty
level - HDI, are found in Kebbi, Niger, Jigawa and Adamawa.
Map 6: Map Showing Price, Productivity (Maize) and Poverty Change
by Development Domains
56
The situation of the policy outcomes for rice is revealed in Map 7. Borno, Oyo, and
Benue fulfill the expectations for moderate price, increased productivity and reduced
poverty level-MID. The critical and least expected scenarios of agricultural policy
outcomes of high price, decreased productivity and increased poverty level - HDI, are
found in Niger, Kwara, and Kogi. The second best scenario is the case of high price
change, increased productivity and decrease in poverty levels (HID) are Sokoto, Zamfara,
Kano, Gombe, Taraba, Nassarawa, Osun, Bayelsa, Rivers, Abia, Cross River and Akwa
Ibom. These development domains should be made to sustain and scale up on these
desirable policy outcomes.
Conclusion
This study analysed and mapped changes in farm gate price, agricultural productivity of
cereals (maize and rice) and poverty levels by development domains in Nigeria. The
interrelations of high food prices and low productivity influenced the poverty levels in
the development domains. We found that food price has significant effect on poverty
levels. The food price analysis showed high instability of food prices. The poverty change
analysis revealed that some States witnessed improvement in poverty reduction. The
study revealed important connectedness in price, productivity and poverty by
development domains. Following from the sustainable agricultural policy outcomes
Map 7: Map Showing Price, Productivity (Rice) and Poverty Change
by Development Domains
Olayide and Alabi
57
standpoint of moderate price change (M), increased productivity (I) and decreased
poverty (D) - MID, Kaduna, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom fulfill this expectation for the maize
crop scenario while Borno, Oyo, and Benue fulfill the expectations for moderate price,
increased productivity and reduced poverty level-MID, for the rice crop scenario.
Overall, the findings suggest the need for sustainable agricultural development policy in
Nigeria based on comparative advantage and competitive advantage of agricultural
commodities. Therefore, policies on food price stabilisation, productivity increases and
poverty reduction are recommended for the purpose of deepening desirable agricultural
policy outcomes, better targeting of interventions and sustainable agricultural
development.
References
Akinyosoye, V.O. 2005. Government and Agriculture in Nigeria: Analysis of Policies,
Progarmmes and Administration. Mcmillian Nigeria. 598 pp.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). 2007. Statistical Bulletin 16.
Diagne, A., S.A. Adekanmbi, F.P. Simtowe and G. Biaou. 2009. 'The Impact of
Agricultural Technology Adoption on Poverty: The Case of Nerica Rice Varieties in
Benin'. Paper Presented at the 27
th
Conference of the International Association of
Agricultural Economists. August 16-22, 2009. Beijing, China.
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of Agriculture and Rural Development, Abuja, Nigeria.
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Security Programme (2008-2011). Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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Desertification Abuja. Nigeria.
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Results. Federal Republic of Nigeria official Gazette. No. 4. Economic
Commission for Africa and the United Nation (ECA). 94.
Kristjanson, K., M. Radney, I. Baltenweck, J. Ogutu, and A. Notenbaert. 2005.
'Livelihood Mapping and Poverty Correlates at a Meso-level in Kenya.' Food Policy
30: 568-583.
Legg, C., 2007. 'Targeting Agricultural Research for Development in Tanzania: An
Example of the Use of GIS for Ex Ante Impact Assessment at IITA.' In: Assessing
the Impact of Agricultural Research on Rural Livelihoods: Achievements, Gaps, and
Options. Edited by A.D Alene, M.V. Manyong, S. Abele, and D. Sanogo. Scientific
papers presented at the 26 th Conference of the International Association of
Agricultural Economists, 12-18 August 2006, Brisbane, Australia. IITA, Ibadan,
Nigeria. 80 pp.
Manyong, V.M., A. Ikpi, J.K. Olayemi, S.A. Yusuf, B.T. Omonona, V. Okoruwa, and
F.S. Idachaba. 2005. Agriculture in Nigeria: Identifying Opportunities for Increased
Commercialization and Investment. IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria. 159.
58
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). 2005. Poverty Profile for Nigeria. Federal Republic
of Nigeria.
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2005/2006. Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Nkamleu, G.B. 2004. 'Productivity Growth, Technical Progress and Efficiency Change in
African Agriculture.' African Development Bank.
Nkamleu, G.B., O. Coulibaly, D. Sanogo, V.M. Manyong, and A.D. Alene. 2007. 'Ex post
Impact Assessment of Agricultural Research in sub-Saharan Africa: the IITA
experience.' In Assessing the Impact of Agricultural Research on Rural Livelihoods:
Achievements, Gaps, and Options edited by A.D. Alene, M.V. Manyong, S. Abele,
and D. Sanogo. Scientific papers presented at the twenty-sixth conference of the
International Association of Agricultural Economists, 12-18 August 2006, Brisbane,
Australia. IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Olayide, O.E., A.D. Alene, A. Ikpi, G. Nziguheba and T. Alabi. 2008. 'Application of
Geographic Information Systems in Socioeconomic Analysis: A Case of Integrated
Soil Fertility Management in the Savannas of Nigeria.'9th International Conference
on Precision Agriculture (ICPA), held at the Hyatt Regency Technology Center in
Denver, Colorado, USA from July 20-23, 2008.
Olomola, A.S., S.O. Titilola, V.A. Adeyeye, B.O. Akanji, T.O. Oni, O.O. Ogundele, A.A.
Carim-Sanni, and C. Akujobi. 2008. Assessment of the Presidential Initiatives on
Agricultural Commodities in Nigeria. Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic
Research (NISER), Ibadan, Nigeria.
Oni, O., E. Nkonya, J. Pender, D. Philips, and E. Kato. 2009. Trends and Drivers of
Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria. International Food Policy Research Institute.
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Olayide and Alabi
59
*
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, East West University, A/2 Jaharul Islam City, Aftabnagar,
Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh. Email: bkbarmon@yahoo.com
Technological Change in MV Paddy Production in
Bangladesh: An Empirical Analysis of the Application of
Traditional and Granular Urea
*
Abstract
The application of modified granular urea in modern variety (MV) paddy production is becoming
increasingly getting popular in Bangladesh. The aim of the present study is to estimate the impacts
of technologically modified granular urea on MV paddy production in Bangladesh. Primary data
were used and collected randomly through a comprehensive questionnaire. The findings of the
study indicated that comparatively and significantly less amount of granular urea was required in
per hectare MV boro and aman paddy production than traditional urea. However, the yield
(production per hectare) of MV boro and aman paddy was significantly higher in the application of
granular urea than traditional urea in MV paddy cultivation. Moreover, pesticide cost of per
hectare MV paddy cultivation was also significantly less in farms that used granular urea than in
farms that used traditional urea. As a result, on an average, production cost of per hectare MV boro
and aman paddy cultivation was comparatively less due to the application of granular urea than
traditional urea. Consequently, net profit was significantly higher for MV paddy farms which used
granular urea than farms which used traditional urea. The results of Cobb-Douglas production
function, marginal value of products (MVPs) and marginal factor cost (MFC) ratio tests showed
that the farmers did not use input resources efficiently and optimally in MV boro and aman paddy
cultivation in the application of both granular urea and traditional urea. The farmers had an ample
opportunity to get optimal (maximum) level of output using optimal level of scarce inputs in
granular urea as well as in traditional urea used MV in paddy cultivation. The technological
change in MV boro and MV aman paddy have brought about 10.64% and 7.62%, respectively,
productivity difference between the method of the application of granular urea and traditional
normal urea. The major component of this productivity difference was due to the application of
granular urea in MV boro materials and aman paddy cultivation which contributed to 9.29% and
5.23%, respectively. Therefore, it could be concluded that the granular urea had significant impact
on MV paddy production in Bangladesh.
Introduction
Bangladesh is an agricultural country with scarcity of land. The country's population
density is one of the highest compared to other nations of the world. In contrast to the
nation's immense population, there is only about 11.53 million hectares of cultivable land
(BBS 2012). Being the single largest contributor towards the production sector of the
economy, agriculture generates approximately 20.24% to the total gross domestic product
(GDP) and accommodates about 48.1% of the total labour force of the country (BBS
2012). In addition, factors such as population growth, industrialisation and other
infrastructural developments have become the prime elements towards visualising a
declination in cultivable land area. More specifically, the persistent declination in
cultivable land portrays a declining trend of per capita land availability from 0.13 hectare
60
to 0.06 hectare during the past few decades (1960 to 2000); unfortunately, this trend is
still continuing (Hossain et al. 2006, Quasem 2011).
The population growth has declined rapidly from 2.17% to 1.5% per year over the last
four decades; however, the nation's population is still growing at a rate of two million
people every year (BBS 2012). This indicates that the supply of rice production needs to
be increased by applying more and more sophisticated and advanced technological inputs
in MV paddy production to meet the high demands of the growing population. Bangladesh
has already made a remarkable progress in sustaining rice production over the last three
decades through the adoption of modern varieties (MV) of paddy, despite the declining
availability of arable land. Rice is the dominant staple crop in Bangladesh. The crucial role
of rice in Bangladesh's economy is manifested in terms of area, production and
consumption. About three-fourth of the total cultivated area is devoted to the production of
rice and a large number of farmers' families (13 million) are engaged in rice production.
About 80 per cent of the total fertiliser (domestic production and imported) is used in the
rice crop production (Balcombe et al. 2007, Bangladesh Bank 2010).
The government of Bangladesh has been trying to emphasise on the agriculture sector
and has provided many subsidies in key inputs like fertilisers and irrigation. Although
substantial advancement has taken place in the food grain production, its productivity is
still lower compared to many neighbouring countries. This deviation may be attributed
mainly to low use of technological inputs. Ignorance of farmers and non acquaintance of
farmers with the modern technologies are other factors that results in low per unit
productivity. Thus, many farmers do not operate at a potential level.
Although Bangladesh has excellent cultivable land, the yield per acre of rice is one of the
lowest among the rice producing countries of the world (Balcombe et al. 2007). The yield
is low because the technique of production is still outdated in many areas. However,
introduction of the MVs of rice in Bangladesh has already created a remarkably good
impact in the economy and this phenomenon has given a good amount of confidence to
the farmers. Now-a-days they have become used to looking for the MVs for as many
crops as possible.
There are some national and international organisations and researchers who have
conducted research regarding the impacts of MV paddy farming on household income,
labour demand, poverty alleviation and food self-efficiency in South Asia. Some
literatures concluded that the green revolution has significantly increased rural household
income and reduced poverty and created inequality of income distribution through MV
paddy and wheat production in Asia (Hossain 1988, David and Otsuka 1994, Huang et al.
2005, Rosegrant and Evenson 1992, Hossain et al. 2000, Datta et al. 2004, Saleth 1991,
Selvarajan and Subramanian 1981). Some literatures also summarised that technological
progress in MV rice cultivation is crucial for sustaining food security in Bangladesh
(Asaduzzaman 1979, Hossain et al. 1994, Hossain et al. 2006). Also a large number of
research works have been conducted on the influencing socio-economic factors of the
adoption of HYV paddy (Bera and Kelly 1990, Rahman and Thapa 1999, Rahman 2002)
and estimation of technical efficiency of MV paddy production in Bangladesh (Coelli et
al. 2002). The growth of rice output remains a central concern and has very limited
Barmon
61
TFC X P Q P Q P
i xi
- - + =

. . .
2 2 1 1
potential to expand cultivation of the arable land for paddy and use of irrigation
(Alauddin and Hossain 2001, Hossain 2002).
The quantitative analysis of agricultural production systems has become an important
step in the formulation of agricultural policy. In general, the adoption of new or improved
method of agricultural crop cultivation can shift the production function. In other words,
production can be increased with new technology by using same quantities of resources
that were used in old technology by using fewer quantities of inputs. The recent
breakthrough in rice cultivation, through the application of granular urea in MV paddy,
lacks proper consideration and feasible implementation in reality. Furthermore, the
impact of the application of technologically advanced modified granular urea on MV
paddy production in Bangladesh has been paid less attention. Therefore, the present study
compares and contrasts the input costs, inputs use and returns of paddy cultivation in the
method of the application of granular urea and traditional normal urea. Moreover, this
study also decomposes the contribution of resources to the productivity differences
between the two methods of paddy cultivation. The findings of the present study are
expected to be helpful benchmark information for economists, researchers, as well as
policy makers and will provide useful information for the further development of MV
paddy farming in Bangladesh.
Methodology of the Study
Sources of Data
To compare the economics of MV paddy production with the method of granular urea
and traditional urea and quantifying the contribution of technology and inputs into the
estimated productivity differences due to the application of granular urea, Shimlagachi
village in Sharsha upazilla of Jessore district was selected. This village was purposively
selected because the farmers in these villages have adopted the use of granular urea along
with traditional urea in MV paddy production. Initially, a detailed list of farmers who
used granular urea and conventional traditional urea in MV paddy production was
collected from the upazilla agriculture office. Primary data were used in this study. The
information on various inputs and outputs of MV paddy production and the socio-
economic information of farmers were collected through comprehensive questionnaire. A
total of 200 farmers were randomly selected from the study village of which 100 farmers
used traditional urea and another 100 farmers used granular urea in their MV boro and
aman paddy cultivation.
Analytical Framework
Profitability Analysis
The estimation of profit of MV paddy cultivation under the method of the application of
granular urea and traditional urea is as follows:
Technological Change in MV...
62
Where,
= Profit for the advanced technology (granular urea) /normal practice under study;
P1=Per unit price of the crop (paddy) grown;
Q1=Quantity of output (paddy) obtained;
P2=Per unit price of by-product (straw);
Q2=Quantity of by-product obtained (straw);
Pxi= Per unit price of the ith (variable) input,
Xi= Quantity of the ith input used for the crop, and
TFC = Total fixed cost.
The miscellaneous expenditure in the model will include the expenditure on land revenue
and rent, interest on working and fixed capital and depreciation.
Resource Use Efficiency
The resource use efficiency will be assessed by comparing marginal value product
(MVP) with factor cost of the resources. The marginal product (MP) will be estimated
from the parameters of Cobb-Douglas production function and the geometric mean levels
of the output and input.
Neo-classical theory states that the resources would be efficiently used in agricultural
production farming where marginal value product (MVP) is equal to their marginal factor
cost (MFC) under perfect competition market. In general, the producers would choose the
input levels that maximise the economic profit (TR-TC). The marginal value product
(MVP) of an input would be estimated, the coefficient of production elasticity is
multiplied by the output-input ratio of the geometric mean level, which can be shown in
the following formula.
The marginal value products (MVPs) of various capital inputs were compared with their
respective prices. If MVP of an input is higher than the MFC (market price of that input),
then increase in input in production system raise output that increases profit. If MVPs of
inputs are negative, then there are possibilities of reduction of these inputs and so the
production is carried out in the second stage of production function and the marginal
productivities of these inputs become negative. On the other hand, positive MVPs
represent the possibility of further increase in inputs to raise output as well as profit.
If the input resources are efficiently used then profit will be maximised in MV boro and
aman paddy where the ratio of MVP to MFC will tend to be 1 (one) or in other words
MVP and MFC for each inputs will be equal.
In order to test the resource use efficiency in MV boro and aman paddy production the
ratio of marginal value product (MVP) to the marginal factor cost (MFC) for each input is
compared and tested for its equality to 1; i.e., (Gujarati 1965).
Barmon
63
) 1 .......( ln ln ln ln ln ln ln ln
7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 i
u X b X b X b X b X b X b X b A Y + + + + + + + + =

) 2 ( .......... ] ln ln [ ] ln [ln ] ln [ln
7
1
i i i
TU TU GU
i
GU TU GN TU GN
X b X b A A Y Y - + - = -

=

) 3 ......( ] ln [ln ln ] [ ] ln [ln ] ln [ln
7
1
7
1
i i i i i TU GU
i
GU TU TU
i
GU TU GN TU GN
X X b X b b A A Y Y - + - + - = -

= =
Decomposition Analysis
Solow (1957) developed decomposition analysis to evaluate the effects of technological
change on output growth in US agriculture. Bisaliah (1977) extended the framework of
decomposition analysis to examine the impact of technological change in Indian
agriculture. Recently the farmers in India are practicing a new technologically advanced
MV rice cultivation system which is known as System of Rice Intensification (SRI).
Basavaraja et al. (2008) used this decomposition analysis to examine the impact of
technological change in rice cultivation in India. In this study, the output decomposition
analysis model as developed by Bisaliah (1977), is used to measure the contributions of
technology and resource use differentials to the total productivity differences between the
application of granular urea (new practice of granular urea) and traditional urea
(traditional practice of urea) in MV paddy cultivation. It was observed from various
studies that introduction of technology has significantly enhanced land productivity
(Balakrishna 2012, Kiresur et al. 2011). It is expected that the technology of the method
of granular urea in MV paddy cultivation will result in changes in input-use pattern,
which in turn will affect the land productivity. Hence, increase in land productivity in
MV paddy is not only due to adoption of the granular urea method but also due to the
changes in use of factors in production. The following output decomposition model was
used in this study. The Cobb-Douglas production function in logarithmic form for MV
paddy production is:
Where,
Y = Output in kg/ha,
X
1
= Seeds (kg/ha)
X
2
= Land reparation cost (taka/ha)
X
3
= Irrigation cost (taka/ha)
X
4
= Cost of pesticides (taka/ha)
X
5
= Urea (kg/ha)
X
6
= Cost of other fertilisers (taka/ha)
X
7
= Human labour (man-day/ha)
U = Error term
The difference in the natural logarithms of MV paddy output between the methods of the
application of granular urea (new practice of granular urea) and traditional urea
(traditional practice of urea) may be written as
Where, 'GN' and 'TU' represent the production functions of MV paddy under the methods
of the application of granular urea (new practice of granular urea) and traditional urea
(traditional practice of urea) in MV paddy production, respectively.
Adding and subtracting in the above equation and rearranging the terms
yields the following decomposition model:
64
i
u X D d X D d X D d X D d X D d X D d
X D d cD X b X b X b X b X b X b A Y
+ + + + + + +
+ + + + + + + + =
] ln [ ] ln [ ] ln [ ] ln [ ] ln [ ] ln [
] ln [ ln ln ln ln ln ln ln ln
7 7 7 6 6 6 5 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2
1 1 1 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1
The above model was involved in decomposing the logarithmic ratio of per hectare
productivity of MV paddy under the methods of the application of granular urea (new
practice of granular urea) and traditional urea (traditional practice of urea). This is
approximately a measure of percentage change in per hectare output between the two
methods - the application of granular urea (new practice of granular urea) and traditional
urea (traditional practice of urea). The left hand side of the equation (3) indicates the
difference in the per hectare productivity of MV paddy production in the method of the
application of granular urea and traditional urea methods, while the right hand side
decomposes the difference in productivity into changes due to technology as well as
input use.
The first bracketed expression on the right hand side is a measure of percentage change in
output due to a shift in scale parameter of production function (neutral technology). The
second bracketed expression is the difference between output elasticities each weighted
by natural logarithms of the volume of that input used under the traditional urea method,
a measure of change in output due to shift in slope parameters (output elasticities) of the
production function (non-neutral technology). The third bracketed expression is the
natural logarithms of the ratio of each input of the method of the application of granular
urea to traditional urea methods, each weighted by output elasticity of that input. This
expression is a measure of change in output due to differences in the per hectare
quantities of inputs used and the given output elasticity of these inputs under the method
of the application of granular urea technology in MV paddy cultivation.
To examine whether the parameters of the production functions defining the two methods
of MV paddy production are different, which is an essential component of decomposition
analysis, intercept and slope dummies will be introduced into the log linear production
function, which is specified as follows.
D =Intercept dummy which takes value '1' if it is the method of granular urea in MV
paddy cultivation and value '0' otherwise.
D1lnX1, D2lnX2, D3lnX3, D4lnX4, D5lnX5, D6lnX6 and D7lnX7 are slope dummies of X1,
X2, X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 respectively taking value '1' if it is the method of granular urea
in MV paddy cultivation and value '0' otherwise.
Bangladesh's Scenario of MV Paddy Production
MV Paddy Production System in Bangladesh
Currently three different types of paddy are being produced in Bangladesh in three
distinct seasons: aus (April to August), transplanting aman (T. aman) (August to
December), and boro (January to April). Among them, aus and T. aman paddy are
produced in rain fed water and MV boro paddy is produced in irrigated water (ground
water or rivers and canals). Modern varieties of paddy were introduced in Bangladesh for
the boro and aus season in 1967 and aman season in 1970 (Hossain et al. 2000). In 2011,
only 45.78% of the area was irrigated under MV paddy production in Bangladesh, (BBS
Barmon
65
2011). Irrigation and chemical fertilisers are not used for local aus and T. aman paddy
production because the paddy fields go under water. Farmers transplant MV boro paddy
from mid-January to mid-February and harvest them from mid-April to mid-May.
Farmers usually use chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and irrigation for boro paddy
production. Along with paddy crops, farmers also cultivate oil seeds, potato, and
vegetables in a comparatively higher land during the winter season.
Production and Application of Granular Urea in MV Paddy Production in Bangladesh
A sophisticated machine is used to transform the normal urea into granular urea in
Bangladesh which is called "Brequater". The Agricultural Ministry of Bangladesh has
provided Brequater for the transformation of normal urea in every upazilla. The farmers
in the locality go to the upazilla agricultural office to transform the normal urea into
granular urea. Usually farmers subsequently place a piece of granular urea in the mid
point of four plants of each column and row of MV paddy cultivation. The farmers in the
study area use it only once during paddy cultivation. On the other hand, the farmers top
dress the traditional normal urea 3-4 times during the paddy cultivation.
Results and Discussions
Inputs used in MV Paddy Production
Seeds, irrigation, chemical fertiliser and land preparation equipment are the main inputs
of MV paddy production since the introduction of the green revolution. As most of the
agricultural cultivable land has already been used in crop cultivation, mainly in MV
paddy production, the farmers are trying to increase the maximum level of output by
using the method of trial and error for the available scarce inputs and technologies that
were already adopted in MV paddy cultivation in Bangladesh. Recently the farmers are
using granular urea, as one of the major inputs instead of traditional urea, for MV paddy
production in some parts of Bangladesh. As the present study wants to estimate the
impacts of granular urea in MV boro and aman paddy production, the comparison
between main inputs used in MV boro and aman paddy production under the two
production practices that used granular and traditional urea in Bangladesh are discussed
in this section.
Chemical Fertiliser
Farmers use various types of chemical fertilisers to enhance the soil fertility that will
assist in producing maximum rice yield. The farmers' practice of inorganic fertiliser
management varied widely across and within the villages, as did the cropping patterns
and seasons, soil textures, and geographical areas. Chemical fertilisers such as urea, triple
super phosphate (TSP), muriate of potash (MP), gypsum and zinc sulfate are commonly
used in MV paddy production in Bangladesh. The main inputs used in per hectare MV
boro and aman paddy production under two practices (method of the application of
granular urea and traditional urea) are presented in Table 1 and Table 2.
Tables 1 and 2 show that on an average, the farmers used only 164 kg and 124 kg of
granular urea in per hectare MV boro and aman paddy cultivation respectively, whereas
319 kg and 247 kg of traditional urea was used in MV boro and aman paddy cultivation.
66

Table 1. Inputs used in per hectare MV Boro paddy production under two practices
Particulars Granular urea Normal urea Ratio
A. Inputs used in MV paddy production:
Chemical fertiliser:
(i) Urea (kg) 163.8 318.7 0.51
(ii) TSP (kg) 140.6 141.5 0.99
(iii) MP (kg) 125.3 112.9 1.11
(iv) Gypsum (kg) 112.8 108.7 1.04
(v) Zinc (kg) 10.4 10.9 0.96
Hired labour:
(vi) Hired male labour (man-day) 113.4 95.6 1.19
(vii) Hired female labour (man-day) 3.7 20.0 0.18
Family supplied labour:
(viii) Family supplied male labour (man-day) 64.6 57.4 1.13
(ix) Family supplied female labour (man-day) 19.0 23.0 0.83
B. Boro paddy production (kg) 7164.0 6475.0 1.11
Source: Field Survey, 2013.
Notes
(ii) 1US$=83.60 Taka, May, 2013.
(i) Average farm size was 0.98 ha and 0.91 ha for normal urea and granular urea users
MV paddy producers.
In other words, the farmers used half of the granular urea compared to traditional urea in
per hectare MV boro and aman paddy cultivation. However, the sampled farmers used
other chemical fertilisers such as triple super phosphate (TSP), murate of potash (MP),
zypsum and zinc in similar proportions in per hectare MV paddy cultivation. The amount
of chemical fertiliser used in paddy production per hectare also varied significantly within
the same farming system. In the study villages the farmers usually use comparatively less
amount of chemical fertilisers in aman paddy than in boro paddy cultivation.
Labour Input
The utilisation of labour in agricultural sectors depends on many factors, such as cropping
patterns, cropping intensity, irrigation, and other intensive agricultural activities
(Suryawanshi and Kapase 1985). The green revolution has changed the agricultural land
and labour productivity, and it has had considerable impact on labour demand and/or
employment in developing countries. The adoption of new technology has substantially
increased total agricultural employment and has significantly contributed to the household
income by increasing labour demand in developing countries (Estudillo and Otsuka 1999).
The diffusion of modern technology has increased the size of the labour market by
increasing the demand for hired labour in Bangladesh (Hossain et al. 1990). However,
Alauddin and Tisdell (1995) argued that modern agricultural technology increased labour
demand four-fold from the 1960s to the 1980s in the dry season but the labour demand
was stagnant in the wet season. The employment-generating effects of modern agricultural
technology have slowed down in recent years in Bangladesh. The green revolution has
increased labor absorption at its early stage but the labour absorption decreased in most
developing countries after the adoption of the new labour-saving chemical and mechanical
innovations (Jayasuriya and Chand 1986).
Barmon
67
Table 2. Inputs Used in per hectare MV Aman Paddy Production Under Two Practices
A. Inputs used in MV paddy production:
Chemical fertiliser:
(i) Urea (kg) 123.6 246.5 0.50
(ii) TSP (kg) 103.1 113.0 0.91
(iii) MP (kg) 93.2 90.9 1.02
(iv) Gypsum (kg) 78.5 73.3 1.07
(v) Zinc (kg) 5.6 5.8 0.97
Hired labour:
(vi) Hired male labour (man-day) 109.7 92.7 1.18
(vii) Hired female labour (man-day) 2.8 23.3 0.12
Family supplied labour:
(viii) Family supplied male labour (man-day) 66.4 57.2 1.16
(ix) Family supplied female labour (man-day) 17.7 23.1 0.76
B. Aman paddy production (kg) 5242.0 4865.0 1.08
Notes:
(ii) 1US$=83.60 Taka, May, 2013.
MV paddy producers.
The temporarily hired and family supplied male and female labour used in MV boro and
aman paddy cultivation is also shown in Tables 1 and 2. These two tables show that the
farmers, who used granular urea instead of traditional urea, used comparatively higher
temporarily hired and family supplied male labour (man-day) in both per hectare boro
and aman paddy cultivation. The main reason was that the application of granular urea is
a more labour-intensive technology than the application of the method of top dressing
traditional urea in paddy production. However, the farmers, who used granular urea
instead of traditional urea, used less temporarily hired and family supplied labour in both
boro and aman paddy cultivation.
Yield of MV Paddy Production
The yield produced per production of MV boro and aman paddy is also shown in Tables
1 and 2. It appears from tables that per hectare yield of both MV boro and aman paddy
production using the method of application of granular urea was significantly higher than
the method of application of traditional urea. It is interesting to note that yield production
per hectare varied significantly within and between the two practicing methods in the
study areas.
Cost and Return of MV Paddy Production
The cost of and returns from MV boro and aman paddy production under the method of
application of granular and traditional urea are discussed in this section.
Per Hectare Cost of MV Paddy
The cost of items associated with the MV paddy cultivation includes the cost of seed,
irrigation, pesticides, land preparation (bullock and power tiller), hired labour and chemical
68

Table 3. Costs and Returns of per hectare Boro Paddy Production Under Two Practices
A. Variable costs of MV paddy production: (Taka) (Taka)
(i) Seedling cost 1873.6 1874.6 1.00
(ii) Irrigation cost 22888.7 22581.8 1.01
(iii) Pesticides cost 2416.9 3574.0 0.68
Chemical fertilisers:
(iv) Urea 3599.6 6425.0 0.56
(v) TSP 3082.6 3109.4 0.99
(vi) MP 1894.5 1682.9 1.13
(vii) Gypsum 663.2 637.9 1.04
(viii) Zinc 1593.2 1707.2 0.93
Labours
(ix) Hired male labour 22679.1 19116.3 1.19
(x) Hired female labour 88.0 2488.1 0.04
B. Opportunity cost/Fixed cost
(xi) Family supplied male labour 12660.5 11481.8 1.10
(xii) Family supplied female labour 2946.8 3205.5 0.92
(xiii) Opportunity cost of land 29,824.2 29,836.7 1.00
C. Total costs (variable and fixed costs) (A+B) 106,211 107,721 0.99
Revenue from paddy production
(i) Paddy 131345.9 112453.8 1.17
(ii) By-product of paddy 11491.1 10494.5 1.09
D. Total revenue (i)+(ii) 142,837 122,948 0.86
E. Net profit (D-C) 36,626 15,227 0.42
Notes:
(ii) 1US$=83.60 Taka, May, 2013.
MV paddy producers.
fertilisers. Gross return from MV paddy farming includes revenue from paddy and
byproduct straw. Total cost includes the variable costs and fixed costs. The opportunity
costs of home supplied seeds, family supplied labourers (both male and female) and self-
owned land was calculated based on the current market price in the locality.
The per hectare costs, gross revenue, and profit of MV boro and aman paddy farming are
presented in Tables 3 and 4. The tables show that per hectare production cost of MV boro
paddy cultivation was almost same in both practices but the cost of urea and pesticides
were different. The main reason for this was that compared to the method of application
of traditional urea, half urea was used in MV boro paddy cultivation using the method of
the application of granular urea. So, the cost of urea was also less in the method of
granular urea compared to traditional urea. Another reason may be that during the
application of granular urea in paddy cultivation the soils moved more topsy-turvy than
during the application of the method of traditional urea. As a result, the insects fly to
other paddy fields. Therefore, it is assumed that based on this hypothetical concept the
farmers used comparatively less amount of pesticides in MV boro paddy production
using the method of the application of granular urea than the method of the application of
traditional urea. Most probably this was also the reason for the requirement of
comparatively more hired labour in the method of the application of granular urea than
traditional urea in MV paddy production.
Per Hectare Return of MV Paddy
Gross revenue is calculated by multiplying the total volume of production of enterprises
with the farm-gate price. Net profit is calculated by subtracting total production cost
(fixed and variable costs) from gross revenue. As mentioned earlier that on average, per
Barmon
69

Table 4. Costs and Returns of per hectare Aman Paddy Production Under Two Practices
A. Variable costs of MV paddy production: (Taka) (Taka)
(i) Seedling cost 1437.2 1604.8 0.90
(ii) Irrigation cost 7758.0 6410.8 1.21
(iii) Pesticides cost 2239.5 2998.4 0.75
Chemical fertilisers:
(iv) Urea 2691.6 4954.2 0.54
(v) TSP 2269.1 2475.2 0.92
(vi) MP 1408.9 1356.9 1.04
(vii) Gypsum 601.4 379.6 1.58
(viii) Zinc 610.5 636.4 0.96
Labours:
(ix) Hired male labour 22095.0 18547.5 1.19
(x) Hired female labour 49.8 3002.8 0.02
B. Opportunity costs/Fixed costs:
(xi) Family supplied male labour 13477.3 11436.8 1.18
(xii) Family supplied female labour 2490.7 3261.1 0.76
(xiii) Opportunity cost of land 28,333.0 28,344.9 1.00
C. Total costs (variable and fixed costs) (A+B) 85,462 85,409 1.00
Revenue from paddy production
(i) Paddy 79280.0 71815.7 1.10
(ii) By-product of paddy 10866.7 10861.6 1.00
D. Total revenue (i)+(ii) 90,146.8 82,677.3 1.09
E. Net profit (D-C) 4,684.8 -2,731.9 -1.71
Notes:
(ii) 1US$=83.60 Taka, May, 2013.
MV paddy producers.
hectare production of MV boro paddy was higher using the method of application of
granular urea compared to the method of application of traditional urea, the revenue was
also higher in the practice of granular urea than traditional urea (Table 3). As average
total cost of per hectare boro paddy production was same for the two adopted practices,
net profit of per hectare MV boro paddy was also higher (2.41 times) in the method of
application of granular urea than traditional urea.
Similarly, on an average the total cost was almost same in case of MV aman paddy
cultivation using both the method of application of granular and traditional urea (Table
4). However, the cost of urea and pesticides was comparatively less in the method of
application of granular urea than the traditional urea like in the case of MV boro
production. However, it is interesting to see that the per hectare production cost of aman
paddy cultivation was higher than total revenue under the method of application of
traditional urea. As a result, the net profit of per hectare aman paddy cultivation using
traditional urea is negative whereas net profit of per hectare aman paddy using granular
urea is positive. In other words, in the study area the farmers earned positive and negative
profit of the cultivation for per hectare MV aman paddy using the method of application
of granular urea and the method of traditional urea respectively.
Efficiency Measure and Resource Use Efficiency of MV Paddy Production
The estimation of the efficiency measures and resource use efficiency of MV boro and
aman paddy production under the method of application of granular urea and the
traditional urea in the Cobb-Douglas production function, and marginal value product
(MVP) and marginal factor cost (MFC) are briefly discussed in this section.
70
Table 5: Summary Statistics of the Sampled Variables in per hectare MV Boro and Aman Paddy Production in Jessore District
Name of varables Mean SD Min Max Mean SD Min Max
Paddy grain (kg) (Y) : Boro 7164.65*** 462.13 6287.27 9281.21 6475.89*** 630.68 4790.30 8976.6
: Aman 5242.09*** 570.92 4191.52 7484.85 4871.14*** 382.64 3892.12 5987.88
Seed (kg) (X
1
) : Boro 36.34*** 3.92 11.22 37.42 35.40*** 6.44 11.22 44.91
: Aman 36.90*** 1.92 29.94 37.42 39.82*** 6.23 29.94 39.54
Land preparation (taka) (X
2
) : Boro 6145.06*** 609.2 3742.42 7484.85 6115.12*** 898.33 3368.18 8233.33
: Aman 5774.56*** 1012.41 3742.42 6736.36 5936.23*** 1167.41 2993.94 8981.82
Irrigation cost (taka) (X
3
) : Boro 22888.67*** 4969.7 8981.82 29939.39 22581.79*** 5764.5 8981.82 29939.39
: Aman 7758.05*** 7264.01 2245.46 74848.48 6410.77*** 1787.03 2993.94 9730.30
Pesticide cost (taka) (X
4
) : Boro 2416.86*** 1427.49 748.48 6736.36 3574.02*** 1930.1 1496.97 14969.7
: Aman 2239.47*** 1124.8 748.48 5613.64 2998.43*** 1363.96 748.45 7484.85
Urea (kg) (X
5
) : Boro 163.77*** 7.7 127.24 189.12 318.70*** 67.9 134.72 449.09
: Aman 124.47*** 5.28 89.82 127.24 246.48*** 61.56 112.27 374.24
Other fertiliser (taka) (X
6
) : Boro 7285.49*** 970.4 3547.82 9730.30 7180.07*** 1132.92 4490.91 10553.64
: Aman 5207.70*** 1549.7 2799.33 14932.27 5201.90*** 1031.41 2769.39 7559.7
Labour (man-day) (X
7
) : Boro 195*** 35.0 103 270 185*** 30.0 124 258
: Aman 192*** 36.0 75 243 185*** 26.0 126 286
Notes (i) The figures in parentheses indicates the information of MV aman paddy production
(ii) Sample size of both MV boro and aman paddy production was 100.
(iii) *** denotes significant at 1% level.
Granular urea using MV paddy production farm Normal urea using MV paddy production farm
Summary Statistics of Inputs and Output of Cobb-Douglas Model
The descriptive statistics of value of the key variables in the Cobb-Douglas production
are presented in Table 5. The inputs and outputs of MV paddy production under the
practices of granular and traditional urea were calculated in terms of monetary unit
instead of quantitative units mainly because the present study estimates the resource use
efficiency based on the coefficients of Cobb-Douglas production function.
The table reveals that considerable variation exists among the farmers in terms of
production practices. The input and output data were obtained on per hectare basis in the
farm survey. The average per hectare production (Y) of MV boro paddy under the
practices of granular and traditional urea was about 7,164 kg and 6,475 kg, respectively
and it significantly varied among the farms. On the other hand, the average yield that
used granular and traditional urea for MV aman paddy production was about 5,242 kg
and 4,871 kg, respectively and it also significantly varied among the farms.
The average use of paddy seed (X1) per hecatre for boro and aman paddy cultivation was
almost same in both practices and widely varied among the farms. The mean land
preparation cost (X2) of MV boro and aman paddy cultivation was almost same in both
practices even though a wide variation exists among the farms. The main reason was that
the farmers almost used same modes of cultivator (power tiller) for plowing the paddy
fields.
Barmon
71
Irrigation and pesticides are the main inputs for MV paddy cultivation. Cost of pesticides
is an important input for MV boro and aman paddy production. The mean irrigation cost
(X
3
) per hectare for both MV boro and aman paddy cultivation under the practice of
granular urea was significantly smaller than the practice of traditional urea and it widely
varied among the farms. The mean pesticide cost (X
4
) per hectare for MV boro and aman
paddy production under the practice of granular urea was significantly less than under the
method of application of traditional urea and it significantly varied among the farms. The
causes of comparatively less pesticide cost in the method of granular urea have been
discussed earlier.
Chemical fertilisers such as urea, TSP, MP, gypsum, Zn are also the main inputs of MV
paddy production. As the present study estimates the impact of granular urea on MV
paddy cultivation, we have separated the cost of urea from the costs of other chemical
fertilisers-TSP, MP, gypsum, and Zn. The mean usage of urea (X
5
) was significantly
smaller in MV boro and aman paddy cultivation under the practice of granular urea than
traditional urea and a wide variation exists among the farms. The main reason was that a
comparatively small amount of granular urea than traditional urea is required to produce
MV paddy. The mean cost of other fertilisers (X
6
) was also smaller in MV paddy
cultivation under the method of granular urea than traditional urea.
The average number of human labour (X
7
) per hectare for MV paddy production under the
practice of granular urea was also relatively smaller than the practice of traditional urea.
Productivity and Decomposition Analysis
In order to test the difference in the structural relationship in the parameters defining the
production functions for the two methods, the log-linear Cobb-Douglas production with
both intercept and slope dummies was estimated by the ordinary least square (OLS)
method. The empirical results of the Cobb-Douglas production of MV boro paddy
cultivation under the method of the application of granular urea and traditional normal
urea are presented in Table 6. The estimated production function explained about 71 per
cent variation in MV boro paddy output due to variation in all the resources put together
showing a good fit of the model. The intercept dummy and slope dummies of pesticides
and granular urea were significantly different from zero, indicating that the production
parameters of pesticides and urea in the methods of the application of granular urea and
traditional urea in MV paddy production were not same. However, all other parameters
were also not same in the two production functions but they were not statistically
significant. The positive estimate of intercept dummy implied that the output of the
method of the application of granular urea was significantly higher than that in the
traditional method for a given level of resources. Table 6 also shows that the elasticity
coefficients of the production with respect to each input under the method of granular urea
were comparatively higher than the traditional urea method in MV paddy production.
For decomposing the productivity difference between the method of the application of
granular urea and traditional urea in MV boro paddy cultivation, the parameters of the per
hectare production functions and the mean levels of input use for the two methods were
also estimated separately. The estimates provided in Table 6 shows that 71 and 78 per
cent of variation in paddy output, respectively, in the method of the application of
72
Table 6. Estimated Production Functions of MV Boro Paddy with Intercept and Slope Dummies
Pooled Granular urea Normal urea
8.240*** 9.425*** 8.241***
(0.747) (0.902) (0.851)
-0.154*** -0.131*** -0.154***
(0.033) (0.038) (0.037)
0.083** -0.029 0.083*
(0.042) (0.058) (0.049)
0.0304 0.071*** 0.0304
(0.0245) (0.026) (0.028)
-0.017 0.027* -0.017
(0.019) (0.0154) (0.022)
-0.053 -0.269*** -0.053
(0.031)* (0.159) (0.038)
0.102 0.052 0.102*
(0.052)** (0.063) (0.060)
-0.078* 0.032 -0.078
(0.049) (0.0388) (0.058)
Dummy:
1.1855***
(0.510)
0.0232
(0.056)
-0.111
(0.0824)
0.044**
(0.025)
0.0405
(0.039)
-0.236***
(0.1055)
-0.050
(0.093)
0.110
(0.067)
R
2
0.73 0.71 0.78
F-value 12.82 4.23*** 6.17***
Notes (i) Figures in parentheses are stadard errors.
(ii) ***, ** and * indicate significant at 1%, 5% and 10%, respectively.
Pesticides (taka)
Irrigation (taka)
Urea (kg)
Other fertiliser cost (taka)
Labour (man-day)
Urea (kg)
Labour (man-day)
Intercerpt
Seeds (taka)
Land preparation (taka)
Production elasticity
Particulars
Intercerpt
Seeds (taka)
Pesticides (taka)
Irrigation (taka)
granulation urea and traditional urea were explained by the independent variables. The
intercept term in the case of granular urea was significantly higher than that for the
traditional urea in MV boro paddy cultivation. This virtually signified that there was an
upward shift in production function due to technological advancement change associated
in the method of granular urea in MV boro paddy cultivation. The production elasticity
coefficient granular urea was negative (-0.269) for MV boro paddy production under the
method of the application of granular urea and it was statistically significant at 1% level
and on the other hand, it was negative (-0.053) and it was statistically insignificant for
MV boro paddy cultivation in the application of traditional urea. This indicates that
farmers used excess urea in per hectare MV boro paddy production under the method of
granular urea. In other words, the farmers have an opportunity to produce same amount
of MV boro paddy using less amount of granular urea compared to the method of
traditional urea in the study area.
Barmon
73

Table 7. Estimated Production Functions of MV Aman Paddy with Intercept and Slope Dummies
Pooled Granular urea Normal urea
6.824*** 8.480*** 6.824***
(0.725) (1.072) (0.626)
-0.0163 0.159 -0.0163
(0.0398) (0.183) 0.0344
0.136*** 0.00004 0.1367***
(0.054) (0.0001) (0.0474)
-0.0145 -0.0445** -0.0145
(0.0280) (0.0229) (0.0242)
0.0605*** 0.0714*** 0.0605***
(0.0211) (0.0247) (0.0182)
-0.0492 -0.449** -0.0492
(0.0418) (0.227) (0.0361)
0.0509 0.113*** 0.0509
(0454) 0.0465 (0.0392)
0.0039 0.101* 0.0039
(0.0669) (0.0569) (0.0578)
Dummy:
1.503
(1.199)
0.175
(0.168)
-0.1212*
(0.0748)
0.0099
(0.0304)
-0.0304
(0.034)
-0.392**
(0.201)
0.0653
(0.0616)
0.0963
(0.084)
R
2
0.35 0.28 0.22
F-value 6.70*** 5.08*** 3.82***
Notes (i) Figures in parentheses are stadard errors.
(ii) ***, ** and * indicate significant at 1%, 5% and 10%, respectively.
Pesticides (taka)
Irrigation (taka)
Urea (kg)
Labour (man-day)
Urea (kg)
Labour (man-day)
Intercerpt
Seeds (taka)
Particulars
Production elasticity
Intercerpt
Seeds (taka)
Pesticides (taka)
Irrigation (taka)
The production elasticity coefficient of irrigation was positive and statistically significant
at 1% level for the method of the application of granular urea in MV paddy production.
On the other hand, the production elasticity coefficient of seeds was also negative
(statistically significant at 1% level) and other fertiliser cost was positive (statistically
significant 10%) for the method of traditional urea in MV paddy cultivation. The major
contribution to output came from the combined effects of granular urea and irrigation for
the method of the application of granular urea in MV boro paddy production.
The estimated parameters of the linear type Cobb-Douglas production function of MV
aman paddy are shown in Table 7. The production elasticity coefficients of irrigation (-
0.0445) and urea (-0.449) were negative and pesticides cost (0.0714), other fertiliser cost
(0.113) and labour (0.101) were positive and all the elasticity coefficients were
statistically significant for the method of the application of granular urea of MV aman
74
paddy production. This indicates that the farmers also used excess urea along irrigation
cost for MV aman paddy like MV boro production under the method of the application
granular urea in MV aman paddy cultivation. In other words, the farmers could produce
same amount MV aman paddy using less amount of granular urea.
On the other hand, the land preparation cost (0.1367) and pesticide cost (0.0605) were
positive and they were statistically significant for MV aman paddy under the method of
the application of traditional urea. The coefficient of urea was negative but it was not
statistically insignificant for MV aman paddy cultivation. This indicates that the farmers
of MV aman paddy cultivation also used slightly excess urea but it had not significant
impact on MV aman paddy cultivation in the method on traditional urea.
Intensification of Resource use Efficiency of MV Paddy Production
The marginal value products (MVPs) of various capital inputs were worked out at the
geometric mean (GM) levels for the method of application of the granular urea and the
traditional urea in MV boro and aman paddy cultivation and were compared with their
respective prices.
Marginal factor cost (MFC) of all inputs is expressed in terms of an additional taka spent
for providing individual inputs in Cobb-Douglas production. Therefore, to calculate the
ratio of MVP to MFC the denominator would be one and consequently the ratio would be
equal to their MVP of an input in the production process. The marginal value product
(MVP) and the ratio of MVP to MFC of MV boro and aman paddy cultivation under the
method of application of granular urea and the traditional urea are presented in Tables 8
and 9. The figures in Tables 8 and 9 show that none of the marginal value products
(MVPs) of inputs was equal to one, indicating that the sampled farmers in the study area
failed to show their efficiency in using the resources both in the method of application of
granular and traditional urea used for MV boro and aman paddy cultivation.
The MVP and MFC ratios of seed cost (-25.83) and granular urea (-11.77) (significant at
1% level) were negative and greater than one which indicates that the farmer who used
granular urea applied significantly excessive granular urea along with seed cost for MV
boro paddy cultivation in the short-run keeping the use of other resources at a constant
level. Similar conclusions were also made on MV aman paddy cultivation in the method
of application granular urea. However, in case of farmers who use granular urea, the ratio
of MVP to MFC for labour (1.18) was positive and greater than unity which indicates that
the farmers who used granular urea did not utilise the opportunity of fully using the
inputs in MV boro paddy cultivation. So, there was a little opportunity for the farmers to
increase production by using labour input. However, the ratio of labour (-2.13) was
negative and greater than one for MV aman paddy production, indicating that the farmer
who used traditional normal urea in MV boro paddy used excessive labour. In other
words, the farmers could have an opportunity to produce same amount of paddy using
less number of laborers. Nevertheless, MVP-MFC ratios for irrigation, pesticide cost,
land preparation and other fertilisers cost were positive and less than one indicating that
profit could be maximised in the short-run by using less quantity of these resources for
MV boro paddy cultivation who used granular urea. Similar conclusions were also made
in MV boro cultivation except land preparation cost using traditional normal urea.
Barmon
75
The ratios of MVP to MFC for MV aman paddy cultivation under the method of the
application of granular and traditional normal urea are presented in Table 9. In case of
granular urea user farmers for MV aman paddy cultivation, the MVP and MFC ratios of
seed costs (29.09), and labour (3.54) were positive and greater than unity and they were
statistically significant, indicating that the farmers had ample opportunity to increase MV
aman paddy production to increase these two inputs in cultivation in the short-run
keeping the use of other resources at a constant level in the study area. On the other hand,
the ratio of granular urea (-9.124) was negative but greater than unity which indicated
that excessive use of granular urea had gone beyond the economic optima. In other
words, the farmers who used granular urea could produce same level of output of MV
aman paddy using fewer amounts of granular use only. The ratios of irrigation cost (-
0.013) was negative while it were positive for pesticide cost (0.134) and other fertiliser
cost (0.102) which indicated that there were no greater opportunity of increasing
production by increasing more or less use of pesticides, irrigation and other fertiliser cost
inputs in MV aman paddy production in the study area.
On the other hand, in case of farmers who use traditional urea in MV aman paddy
cultivation, the ratios of seed cost (-1.99) were negative but greater than unity which
indicated that the farmers had an opportunity to use fewer amount of seeds input to get
maximum output of MV aman paddy cultivation. The ratios of irrigation (-0.011) and
urea cost (-0.972) were negative, however, it were positive for land preparation cost

Name of variables Coefficients MPV MVP/MFC Coefficients MPV MVP/MFC
Seed (X
1
) -0.131*** -25.827 -25.827 -0.154*** -21.878 -21.878
Land preparation cost (X
2
) -0.029 -0.034 -0.034 0.083* 0.075 0.075
Irrigation cost (X
3
) 0.071*** 0.022 0.022 0.0304 0.021 0.021
Pesticide cost (X
4
) 0.027* 0.080 0.080 -0.017 -0.040 -0.040
Urea (X
5
) -0.269*** -11.768 -11.768 -0.053 -2.232 -2.232
Other fertiliser cost (X
6
) 0.052 0.051 0.051 0.102* 0.103 0.103
Labour (X
7
) 0.032 1.176 1.167 -0.078 -2.130 -2.130
Notes: (i) MVP=Marginal value product, MFC=Marginal factor cost, MFC=1 for each inputs
(ii) ***, ** and * indicate statisticaly significant at 1%, 5% and 10%, respectively.
Granular urea Normal urea
Table 8. Resource Use Efficiency in Cobb-Douglas Production for Both Granular and Normal Urea Use in Boro Paddy Cultivation

Name of variables Coefficients MPV MVP/MFC Coefficients MPV MVP/MFC
Seed (X
1
) 0.159 29.087 29.087 -0.0163 -1.994 -1.994
2
) 0.00004 0.000 0.000 0.1367*** 0.112 0.112
Irrigation cost (X
3
) -0.0445** -0.013 -0.013 -0.0145 -0.011 -0.011
Pesticide cost (X
4
) 0.0714*** 0.129 0.129 0.0605*** 0.098 0.098
Urea (X
5
) -0.449** -9.124 9.124 -0.0492 -0.972 -0.972
6
) 0.113*** 0.102 0.102 0.0509 0.048 0.048
Labour (X
7
) 0.101* 3.535 3.535 0.0039 0.103 0.103
Notes: (i) MVP=Marginal value product, MFC=Marginal factor cost, MFC=1 for each inputs
(ii) ***, ** and * indicate statistically significant at 1%, 5% and 10%, respectively.
Granular urea Normal urea
Table 9: Resource Use Efficiency in Cobb-Douglas Production for Both Granular and Normal Urea Use in Aman Paddy Cultivation
76
(0.112), pesticide cost (0.098), other fertiliser cost (0.048) and labour (0.103) but less
than unity. This implied that the farmers had no ample opportunity to reduce these inputs
to maintain the same level of MV aman paddy production. Therefore, it may be
concluded that the farmers did not efficiently and optimally use the input resources in
both the methods of application of the granular urea and the traditional urea in MV boro
and aman paddy cultivation and this hindered the generation of maximum level of output
of paddy grain in the study area.
Productivity Difference Analysis
Using the decomposition model, the productivity difference between the method of the
application granular urea and the method traditional normal urea was decomposed into its
constituent sources and the results are presented in Table 10. The results of the
decomposition analysis revealed that there was not much discrepancy between the
observed difference and the estimated difference both for MV boro (10.64% and 11.43%)
and MV aman (7.62% and 8.87%) under the method of the application of granular urea
and traditional urea, respectively. It can further be inferred that between technological and
input use differentials, which together contributed to the total productivity difference of
the order of 10.64% for MV boro and 7.67% for MV aman paddy whereas it were 9.29%
and 5.23% MV boro and MV aman paddy. This implied that MV boro and aman paddy
productivity could be increased by 9.29% and 5.23%, respectively, if the farmers could
use granular urea instead of traditional normal urea along with the same level of resource
use that used in the traditional normal urea in MV boro and aman paddy cultivation. An
increase in productivity exclusively from technological improvement is brought about
through a shift in the scale and/or slope parameters of the production function.
The contributions of differences in inputs use between the method of the application
granular urea and traditional normal urea in MV boro and aman paddy cultivation to the
productivity difference were meager at 4.56% and 3.66%, respectively. The larger
quantity of urea used in MV boro and aman paddy under the method of the application of
granular urea has helped to increased yield of paddy by 18.85% and 15.53% instead in
the method of traditional urea in MV paddy cultivation. Similarly, the other main inputs
like other chemical fertilisers and irrigation to increase MV paddy yield under the method
of the application granular urea in MV paddy cultivation. This implied that the farmers
who applied granular urea instead of traditional normal urea in MV boro and aman paddy
cultivation obtained higher output by spending slightly more on these inputs in the same
production environment in the study area.
Table 10: Decomposition of Output Difference Between the Method of Granular
Urea and Normal Urea in MV Paddy Cultivation
Boro paddy
cultivation
Aman paddy
cultivation
Source of difference
Percent
contribution
Percent
contribution
Observed difference in output [lnY
GU
-lnY
TU
] 10.64 7.62
Barmon
77
Conclusions and Policy Options
Rice is the main staple food of the people in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh
has been trying to achieve food self-sufficiency using the scarce input resources
efficiently and optimally in production processes using our limited land resources to meet
the continuous increase in food demand resulting from a resonating increase in
population growth. In this regard the farmers are always trying to use trial and error
technique to use the inputs efficiently in paddy cultivation. Granular urea is one such trial
and error technique of modified urea that is being used recently in MV paddy cultivation
in Bangladesh.
The findings of the study indicated that the farmers used half of the granular urea
compared to traditional urea in per hectare MV paddy cultivation. However, other
chemical fertilisers such as triple super phosphate (TSP), murate of potash (MP), zypsum
and zinc were used in more or less similar proportions in per hectare of MV paddy
cultivation. The amount of chemical fertiliser used in paddy production per hectare of
MV paddy cultivation also varied significantly within the same farming system. The
farmers used comparatively more temporarily hired and family supplied male labour in
both per hectare of MV boro and aman paddy cultivation that used granular urea instead
of traditional urea.
Per hectare production cost of MV boro and aman paddy cultivation were significantly
lower in case of the method of application of granular urea than the application of
traditional urea. As yield of MV boro and aman paddy was significantly higher in farms
that used granular instead of traditional normal urea, the revenue as well as net profit was
Source of contribution
Due to difference in technology
i i i
GU TU
i
GU TU GU
X b b A A ln ] [ ] ln [ln
7
1
- + -

=

9.29 5.23
Due to difference in input use
] ln [ln
7
1
i i i
TU GU
i
GU
X X b -
=
Seed (X
1
) 2.13 -2.31
2
) 0.22 -0.25
Irrigation cost (X
3
) 1.26 3.45
Pesticide cost (X
4
) -2.44 -3.54
Urea (X
5
) -18.85 -15.53
6
) 2.76 0.023
Labour (X
7
) 1.84 0.043
Due to all inputs 4.56 3.66
Estimated difference in output 11.43 8.87
78
also higher for the farmers who used granular urea instead of traditional urea. As a result,
the farmers who used granular urea earned household income that is more than three
times higher than the farmers who used traditional urea in MV boro and aman paddy
cultivation in the study area.
The results of the Cobb-Douglas production function show that granular urea had
significant negative impact on boro while positive impact on aman paddy production. On
the other hand, traditional urea had significant positive impact on boro and negative
impact on aman paddy cultivation in the study area. These results indicated that the
farmers could produce same level of output (paddy grain) from MV boro paddy
cultivation using comparatively fewer amount of granular urea that was not possible
using traditional urea.
The results of the ratios of MVP to MFC showed that none of the marginal value products
(MVPs) of inputs was equal to one, indicating that the farmers did not optimally use the
input resources in both the methods of application of the granular urea and the traditional
urea in MV boro and aman paddy cultivation and this hindered the generation of
maximum level of output of paddy grain in the study area. The technological change in
MV boro and MV aman paddy have brought about 10.64% and 7.62%, respectively,
productivity difference between the method of the application of granular urea and
traditional normal urea. The major component of this productivity difference was due to
the application of granular urea in MV boro and aman paddy cultivation which
contributed to 9.29% and 5.23%, respectively. The remaining 1.35% and 2.39%
difference in output for MV boro and aman paddy were due to difference in quantities of
input used, respectively. Therefore, it may be concluded that the granular urea has
significant impact on MV paddy production as well as on the household income of the
farmers in the study area.
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Barmon
81
Grassroot Democracy and Empowerment of People:
Sharing the Indian Experience on Local Governance
Mona Kaushal
*
Abstract
The history of local governance as a catalyst for socio, economic, cultural and political
transformation dates back to the 15
th
century B.C. and is thus as old as Indian civilisation itself.
When India became independent, perhaps one-third of the villages of India had traditional local
political bodies - the Panchayats and many of them were far from flourishing conditions. Realising
the potential of the system, the government initiated the process of Constitutional amendment to
give sanctity and uniformity to the Panchayati Raj system so that it can be immune from political
interference and bureaucratic indifference and therefore made a historic landmark - Act of 73
rd

Amendment to the Constitution designed to democratise and empower local political bodies - the
Panchayats and to transform representative democracy into participatory democracy. The central
aim of this paper is to share the enriching and variable experiences of India in the system of rural
local self-government for Rural Development with a focus on the 73
rd
Amendment, which has
become a watershed in deepening democracy and evolution of a third tier of constitutionally
guaranteed stratum of the Government in India.
Introduction
The first sign of a healthy democracy is that collective decisions are made by the people
who are most affected by them. Decentralisation is the prime mechanism through which
democracy becomes truly representative and responsive. The linking mechanism between
administrative effectiveness and participation is the delegation of authority to the people
at the grassroots. Thus, decentralisation brings administration closer to the people. For a
country like India, a majority of whose population lives in rural areas, it is not enough if
decentralisation of governance at the local level remains a mere creed, but it is an
operational imperative. The perceived benefits of decentralisation range from stimulation
of economic growth, alleviation of rural poverty, strengthening the civil society and
reducing the responsibilities of the centre (Manor 1999). For, political accountability is
often greater at the local level (Seabright 1996). After independence, the focus of
government shifted from regulatory to welfare administration and the crucial challenge
before the government was the upliftment of the millions of downtrodden. Schemes for
rural development could not have succeeded if the rural population had not participated
in their formulation and implementation. This participation was ensured through the
creation of a network of local government organisations. As Gandhi often pointed out,
India lives in villages and unless village life can be revitalised the nation as a whole can
hardly come alive. When India became independent in 1947, perhaps one third of the
villages of India had traditional Panchayats and many of them were far from flourishing
conditions. Though various steps were taken by successive governments to revitalise the
system, Gramswaraj through village Panchayats remained as a distant dream till 1992.
*
Senior Research Fellow, Department of Public Administration, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India.
E-mail: monakaushal16@gmail.com
Vol. XXIII, No. 2, December 2013 Note
82
Bureaucratic apathy, indifference of the people, lack of political will, lack of uniformity
etc were the main factors behind the failure of the system. Box 1 below gives an idea of
the various commissions and committees that have inspired contemporary thinking about
Panchayati Raj in India. Perhaps the most important among these, particularly since
independence were the B.R. Mehta Committee (1957), the Asoka Mehta Committee
(1978), Hanumantha Rao (1983), the G.V.K. Rao Committee (1985) and the Singhvi
Committee (1986). An enduring issue that features in all of these assessments is the
notion that the Panchayats have been weakened or undermined on many fronts. Such
realisations were instrumental in the drive to give the Panchayats constitutional status in
the 73
rd
Amendment. In terms of structure, composition, electoral procedures, powers,
functions, work procedures and resources, there was, before the 73
rd
Amendment,
considerable variations across the state level. These were, "a result of peculiarities of
historical evolution of institutions of local self-government, differences in rural setting
and varying politico-administrative judgment regarding the most suitable size for
devolution."
2
Box 1: Milestones in Indian Decentralisation
1882 The Resolution on Local Self-Government.
1907 The Royal Commission on Decentralisation.
1957 Balwantrai Mehta Committee - an early attempt to implement the Panchayat
structure at district and block levels.
1963 K. Santhanam Committee - recommended limited revenue raising powers for
Panchayats and the establishment of State Panchayati Raj Finance Corporations.
1978 Asoka Mehta Committee - appointed to address the weaknesses of PRIs, concluded
that a resistant bureaucracy, lack of political will, ambiguity about the role of PRIs,
and lite capture had undermined previous attempts at decentralisation,
recommending that the District serve as the administrative unit in the PRI structure.
1985 G.V.K. Rao Committee - appointed to address weaknesses of PRIs, recommended
that the block development office (BDO) should assume broad powers for
planning, implementing and monitoring rural development programmes.
1986 L.M. Singvhi Committee - recommended that local self-government should be
constitutionally enshrined, and that the Gram Sabha (the village assembly) should
be the base of decentralised democracy in India.
1993 The 73
rd
Amendment to the Indian Constitution - PRIs at district, block and village
levels are granted Constitutional status. The Gram Sabha is recognised as a formal
democratic body at the village level. The 74
th
Amendment, granting Constitutional
status to municipal bodies, is passed soon after.
1
Henry Maddick, Panchayati Raj: A Study of Rural Local Government in India (London: Longman, 1970)
Kaushal
83
Realising the potential of the PR system, the Rajeev Gandhi government initiated a
process of Constitutional amendment to give sanctity and uniformity to Panchayati Raj
system so that it can be immune from political interference and bureaucratic indifference
and his dream materialised in 1992, which introduced an amendment in the constitution
itself. The Amendment has heralded a new era for Panchayati Raj. They have been
provided additional legitimacy and vitality. The 73
rd
Amendment Act has added a new
Part in the constitution- Part Nine - consisting of 16 Articles and the 11
th
Schedule. The
functions of the Panchayati Raj institutions have been clearly spelt out in Article 243G of
the Constitution, read with Article 243 ZD and the 11
th
Schedule.
2
The PRIs are supposed
to be genuine institutions of local self government, not adjuncts to the implementing
agencies of State governments. The constitution, which describes them as institutions of
local self-government, says that this [status] is [given to them] for two specific purposes:
planning for economic development and social justice and implementing these plans.
Moreover, it says that this process of empowering them through devolution in order to
enable them to plan and implement their own programmes of neighborhood economic
development and social justice will be governed by the laws of the legislatures of the
States. The Constitution says in the 11
th
Schedule that this empowerment shall relate or
could relate to the 29 subjects listed in the Schedule. Any form of Panchayati Raj that falls
short of this cannot be described as genuine Panchayati Raj.
3
Role
The main role of these institutions lies in the participation that they draw from the
grassroots in the democratic process and hence contribute to the strengthening of
democracy (Johnson et al. 2003).They also serve as an ideal channel of communication by
communicating the desires and aspirations of the local inhabitants to the higher echelons
of the government and similarly help in bringing people closer to the plans and
programmes of the national government. Next, the studies in some countries have also
shown that a large number of national leaders have been those who have graduated from
the school of local government and hence these institutions provide a nursery for the
future leadership of the country. Perhaps the greatest merit of local institutions is that they
have an immense educative significance and are an instrument of political and practical
education through which the people could be trained to take an intelligent share in
administration of their own affairs. Local bodies play a very dynamic role in providing
services which are local in nature and also enable the utilisation of local resources and
help in affecting economies, avoiding wastages and plugging leakages. The local bodies
also share the burden of the centre and regional governments and hence enable them to
concentrate on national issues, and thereby help them to increase the efficiency of the
general administration of the country. It is these institutions which, by their individual
attention and close supervision, keep the local services not only just going, but also
provide them efficiently and quickly (Bardhan and Mukherjee 2000). Since the centrally
administered programmes are not need sensitive, i.e. a uniform approach is adopted in
implementing these programmes, hence it is these local bodies which enable the
successful implementation of the plans. The local bodies also facilitate better policy
making by providing realistic feedback of the ground level realities (Sitaram 2002).
2
D.D.Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (Agra: Wadhwa and Company Law Publisher, 2003)
3
Interview with Mani Shanker Iyer, Frontline, The Hindu, May21-June 3 2005.
Grassroot Democracy and Empowerment...
84
Features of the Historic 73
rd
Constitutional Amendment Act
The system of Local Government existing now is the result of the 73
rd
Constitutional
Amendment Act, 1992 which incorporated suggestions from various states. It seems a
pattern of nation building from the village level is emerging. The idea is that integrated
grass roots level development should be entrusted to the village bodies instead of being
imposed from the top. The major positive features of the Act are as follows:
The 73
rd
Amendment makes Gram Sabha as the foundation of PRI system.
4
Article
243A provides that a Gram Sabha may exercise such powers and perform such
functions at the village level as the Legislature of a State may, by law, provide. Gram
Sabha means a body consisting of persons registered in the electoral rolls relating to a
village comprised within the area of Panchayat at the village level.
Article 243 B visualises a three-tier PRI system. It provides that in every state there
shall be constituted Panchayats at the village, intermediate and district levels. Small
states with population below 20 lakh have been given the option to not constitute the
intermediate level. Article 243 C further provides that subject to the provisions of these
part legislatures of state government may by law make provisions with respect to the
composition of the Panchayats.
5
Seats shall be reserved for Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes in proportion to their
population.
Article 243I provides for the establishment of a Finance Commission for reviewing
financial position of Panchayats. The Governor of a state shall within one year from
the commencement of the Act, constitute a Finance Commission. It shall be the duty of
the Finance Commission to the principles, which should govern:
The distribution between the State and the Panchayats of the net proceeds of the
taxes, duties, tolls and fees leviable by the State, which may be divided between
them under this Part and the allocation between the Panchayats at all levels of their
respective shares of such proceeds;
4
D.D.Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (Agra: Wadhwa and Company Law Publisher, 2003)
5
Constitution of India, 73rd Amendment Act, 1992. www.indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend73.htm
Kaushal
85
The determination of the taxes, duties, tolls and fees which may be assigned to, or
appropriated by, the Panchayat;
The grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from the Consolidated Fund of the State;
The measures needed to improve the financial position of the Panchayats; and
Any other matter referred to the Finance Commission by the Governor in the
interests of sound finance of the Panchayats.
Conduct of all elections to the Panchayats shall be vested in the State Election
Commission.
Provision of reservation of seats for women.
Provision for the devolution of powers and responsibilities upon Panchayats at the
appropriate level with respect to the preparation/implementation of plans for economic
development and social justice.
Article 243 H empowers the legislature of the state may authorise the Panchayats to
levy, collect and appropriate taxes, duties tolls and fees in accordance with such
procedure and subject to such limits and assign to a Panchayat such taxes, duties, tolls
and fees levied and collected by the State Government for such purposes and subject to
such conditions and limits. More over the article provides for making such grants-in-
aid to the Panchayats from the Consolidated Fund of the State. The PRIs are entitled
for Constitution of such Funds for crediting all moneys received, respectively, by or on
behalf of the Panchayats and also for the withdrawal of such money from the funds.
6
Analysis
Creation of these institutions raised significant hopes initially, as decentralisation was
expected to achieve higher economic efficiency, better accountability, resource
mobilisation, lower cost of service provision and higher satisfaction of local preferences.
But despite their potential and promise, have they delivered? Though providing a
framework for decentralised rural development, trends so far suggest that the Panchayati
Raj system has not been able to enhance participation and empowerment. Various studies
conducted on the working of the institutions of local government have brought out many
significant findings on their working, which can be summarised, with evidences as
follows:
There has been no consistency in the meetings of Gram Sabhas, and those are neither
held regularly nor have they succeeded in evoking participation from people. Often
such meetings were held only on paper. (Verma, 1990)
The criterion for selection/rejection of a beneficiary were fishy and never made clear to
them and often manipulated by the chief or officials and depended on the ability of the
beneficiaries to pay bribes.
Heterogeneous and unequal societies often throw up leaders who had little concern for
them.
6
Constitution of India, 73rd Amendment Act, 1992 www.indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend73.htm
86
Trivial issues and factional fights at the local level often divert the energies of the
elected leaders from working for the public welfare.
Though there have been periods and cases where the enlightened Heads have been able
to deliver and accelerate the pace of development, generally however this has not been
the case. The quality of delivery of benefits to the poor was low, with significant
leakages upto the extent of even 70%. Most officials had the propensity to make
money, and in almost all the cases the beneficiaries had paid 'commission' to the
officials for availing the benefits.
Reservation for women in these institutions has no doubt created a space for women
and has given them the opportunity to share power with men. But, on the negative side
it has been found that women representatives are treated as mere 'puppets' in these
institutions. Most of them remain silent spectators to the proceedings of the meetings
and practically are mere 'de jure' heads with their husbands as 'de facto' heads. Lack of
awareness, experience, knowledge, skill, leadership quality, low level of education,
lack of exposure have been found to be few internal factors affecting their
participation.
Influence of caste on the functioning of these societies has also come to light.
Elite capture is a major drawback of decentralization and for providing services that
are in line with the preferences of the poor. It has been also observed by Pradhan
7
, the
extent of local elite capture depends on the levels of social and economic inequalities
within communities, traditions of political participation, voter awareness, fairness and
regularity of elections, transparency of local decision making process etc. For instance,
in states like Kerela, which have high literacy levels and hence more awareness among
the masses, local governance is more successful. Elite capture also arises out of the
lack of a system of checks and balances.
Why are the Panchayats Not Delivering?
Lack of Adequate Devolution
Excepting a few states, no other state has taken any positive steps towards devolving of
3Fs namely Funds, Functions and Functionaries to these institutions to enable them to
discharge their constitutionally mandated functions.
8
Not only that, adequate funds have
not been devolved to match the responsibilities placed on them. From Table 1 provided
below it can be easily realised that even after 20 years of the passage of the Act, the
devolution has been minimal.
7
Pranab Bardhan, 'Decentralization of Governance and Development,' Journal of Economic Perspective
Vol.16 No.4 (2002), 185-205
8
T.N.Chaturvedi, IIPA, Vol. 24, No.3, Jul-Sep 1978
Kaushal
87
Table 1: Status of Devolution of Funds, Functions and Functionaries to Panchayati
Raj Institutions Across the Indian States
Little Flexibility
Next is the issue of excessively strict legislative, administrative, financial and judicial
control exercised by the state government over these bodies to ensure proper performance
of their functions. This proves to be more of a curse than a boon, because instead of
providing guidance and support through the control mechanisms, the control turns out to
be negative and rigid, hence restricting the functioning of these bodies.
Too Much Control by Bureaucracy
Under the State laws, the State bureaucracy has been vested with wide powers of
suspension and dismissal of the Panchayati institutions, hence placing them in a position
of disadvantage. The instrument for the implementation of all major schemes has always
been the bureaucracy, hence depriving the PRIs of their core functions of planning and
implementation. Although there have been stray cases when the state governments have
involved the Panchayats in the implementation of developmental programs, but in the
case of Central government programs, these institutions have been generally compelled to
act as "concerned spectators" and have often been dispirited and demoralised.
Lack of Mass Participation
There is an acute lack of civic consciousness and public participation. The meetings are
held without a visible zeal or sense of purpose and often without an agenda. For instance,
the Gram Sabhas have remained mostly dormant and ineffective for several reasons
State Funds Functions Functionaries
Andhra Pradesh 5 17 2
Assam 0 29 0
Bihar 25 5 *
Jharkhand * * *
Gujrat 15 15 15
Haryana 0 16 0
Karnataka 29 29 29
Kerela 26 26 26
Madhya Pradesh 10 23 9
Chattisgarh 10 29 9
Maharashtra 18 18 18
Orissa 9 25 21
Panjab 0 7 0
Rajasthan 18 29 18
Tamil Nadu 0 29 0
Uttar Pradesh 4 12 6
Uttaranchal 0 11 11
West Bengal 12 29 12
Note: * Only functional control
Source: Website of Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India
88
including illiteracy and general public apathy. Also, no efforts are made to guide,
motivate and train the rural people and hence they lack the art of self-governance and
direction
9
. The weaker sections still feel that they do not have an adequate voice in the
meetings, which continue to be dominated by the richer strata of the rural community in
the tradition bound and caste ridden society (Reddy 2003)
Scarcity of Financial Resources
A very serious problem that plagues the functioning of these bodies is the inadequate
sources of income as compared to their functions. Generally the local governments can
impose certain new taxes, but the elected members of these bodies are reluctant to do so
for fear of displeasing their electorate. Besides, the administrative machinery at their
disposal is insufficient and ineffective. The staff, which is often underpaid, indulges in
corrupt practices which lead to a further loss of income. As a result, many urban bodies
are on the brink of bankruptcy, with virtually no money left for developmental work.
Status of Gram Sabhas
Empowering Gram Sabhas could have been a powerful weapon towards transparency,
and involvement of the poor and marginalised people. However, most of the State Acts
have not spelt the powers of Gram Sabha nor have any procedures been laid down for the
functioning of these bodies.
Socio-economic and Political Conditions
The existing socio-economic structure of the Indian society is a major factor which is
responsible for the limited success of PRIs. It is proved beyond doubt that the office
bearers at all the levels of PRIs are from the rich and dominant sections of the society,
who have interest in preserving the existing system and would not do anything that would
strengthen the position of the downtrodden in their areas. Thus the leadership of these
bodies has not let the benefits flow to the weaker sections of the area.
Political Interference
Hostility from the local and higher level political leaders towards these institutions has
always been a challenge for these institutions. These leaders have viewed these
institutions as threats to their influence. The state governments have been reluctant to
share their powers, as a result no real functions or funds were transferred to the PRIs. And
to cap it all, the state governments have always retained the powers of removing the
members of the PRIs and dissolving them and have often used these powers without a
valid reason. Besides, these have been politicised.
10
Suggested Reforms
Changing the Financial System
The current system of funding reinforces the dependency on government funding and is a
source of much corruption in local institutions. Panchayats hardly raise internal resources
and depend heavily on outside sources. Hence, the current funding system should be
reconsidered and more emphasis should be laid on the generation of internal sources by
9
Rumki Basu, Public Administration: Concepts and Theories (New Delhi: Sterling, 1990), 388-89
10
S.R. Maheshwari, Local government in India, Agra 1993, p.104
Kaushal
89
the Panchayats. This would not only reduce their dependency on the state and central
government funding but would also introduce more flexibility in the way Panchayats use
their resources. An innovative approach is therefore needed for taxation and fund
mobilisation for the Panchayats with an urgent need to transfer the function of levying of
taxes to these institutions.
Untied Grants
In addition, Panchayats would also need a share in the state revenues, and that the states
need to increase the share of transfers to PRIs as untied grants. The formula for transfer
should no doubt give weightage to population and poverty, but also to efficiency as well
so that there is incentive to them for increasing the sources of own revenue. Flow of
funds should be dependent on the good work or mobilisation done by the PRIs.
Link Devolution with Performance
A 'Devolution Index' can be prepared for all the States and at least some percentage of
allocation of centrally sponsored schemes in the Panchayat functional domain may be
linked with this Index. This Devolution Index will be prepared by the States themselves
on the basis of self assessment but would be available for further evaluation by the
academic bodies.
Audit of Panchayats
Devolution of Funds and corresponding Finances to the Panchayats is likely to lead to an
abuse of power. At the moment the auditing process is very weak, delayed and the quality
of the reports is very poor and hence their utility is doubtful. Accordingly, there is a need
for installing an independent and intensive monitoring and auditing of the spending, and
assessment of the Panchayat performance, involving a combination of citizen bodies,
representation of higher levels of government, journalists and the civil society members.
Gender Empowerment
Women empowerment is the pre-requisite for giving a real meaning to their participation.
Adequate training and capacity building are a pre requisite for it. Political empowerment
is not an end in itself. It is a means to achieve something, which is nothing but socio-
economic empowerment, where women gradually learn how to articulate their demands,
and thus enable them to act upon their visions of a better society and to make a
meaningful contribution to national and society development.
Connecting the Three Tiers
Currently, the three existing tiers are somewhat isolated from each and often end up
working cross purpose. Hence, there ought to be a system where there is an organic
linkage between these three tiers so that they work as an integrated whole.
90
Conclusion
Thus we see that the PRIs in India are weak and assuming that it will not be smooth sailing
for them even after the 73
rd
Amendment, they do have an important role to play in India's
development. Already the PRIs have several achievements to their credit. These institutions
have enhanced the political consciousness of the people and initiated the process of
democratic seed drilling in the Indian soil. There is a growing feeling of awakening in India
these past few years. There is a pulsating, energetic wave that rouses people from their
sleep, demanding that steps be taken towards betterment of this great nation of great
people. It would be an enormous step forward if this pulse found its way to the grassroots
levels. In the process of rural transformation, the time now is for each person to lend a
finger of cooperation if not with mind, then with body; if not with body then with wealth; if
not with wealth, then with encouragement or urging others to cooperate.
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National levels." American Economic Review 90(2):135-139
Bardhan, Pranab. 2002. "Decentralization of Governance and Development." Journal of
Economic Perspective 16 (4): 185-205
Basu, D.D. 2003. Introduction to the Constitution of India. Agra: Wadhwa and Company
Law Publisher.
Basu Rumki. 1990. Public Administration: Concepts and Theories. New Delhi: Sterling.
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Amendment Act.
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Johnson, C. and P. Deshingkar. 2003. "Grounding the State: Poverty, Inequality and the
Politics of Governance in India." Working Paper. Overseas Development Institute,
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Reddy, M. Gopinath. 2003. "Status of Decentalised Local Bodies: Post 73rd Amendment
Scenario." Economic and Political Weekly 36 (12): 22-29.
Sitaram, Shashikala. 2002. Interface of PRIs and Community Based Organisations in
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Publications
Kaushal
91
Author: Shinnakathan Asaithambi, Abdulkareem Mohamed Abdullah, Natarajan Kannan
Abhijeet Publications
Year : 2008, Pp. 152
Price : INR 380
"Rural development" has been among the most critical components of the official
discourse on social and economic change during the post-Independence period in India.
This is quite understandable. Given that at the time of India's Independence nearly 85%
of the Indian population lived in its more than half a million rural settlements, the "rural"
had to be among the foremost concerns of the emerging democratic state. "Rural" was not
merely a site of backwardness. It was where the soul of India lived, in its fields, in its
working kisans and in its traditions.
More than six decades later, nearly 70% of India's population continues to be rural.
However, over the years, particularly since the 1990s, the thrust and orientation of India's
economic paradigms and popular self-image has shifted away from its rural settlements
and farming population, towards the urban middle classes. Shifts in economic paradigms
have not simply been ideological. Seen in terms of economic aggregates, India's
development and expansion of markets has largely been in its metropolitan centres, away
from its rural areas and agrarian economies. This shift is also reflected in a gradual
decline of agriculture in the national economy in relative terms. Even when half of India's
working population formally remains engaged with land, the share of agriculture in the
national income has declined to less than 15%.
However, the rural life of India today is not only about this marginalisation of agriculture
in the national economy. The rural has had its own dynamics and has been experiencing
many changes, emanating from within and responding to those coming from the outside.
For example, the structure of the rural economy is no longer synonymous with agriculture
and its allied activities. Even when official numbers show a majority of rural workers
being employed in agriculture, the number of households that exclusively depend on
agriculture has been declining over the years. A much larger proportion of rural workers
today earn their livelihood from non-farm activities and through multiple economic
engagements. Many work outside the village, either as seasonal migrants or as daily
commuters, even when formally they continue to be residents of the rural. The rural areas
have also been undergoing social changes. Relational frames of caste and kinship are
rapidly changing. The gradual spread of education, particularly among the relatively
better-off sections of the rural populations, has spurred newer aspirations. Young people
growing up in rural areas aspire very differently from what their parents did just a few
decades back.
However, even when change is occurring everywhere, the trajectories have been quite
diverse across different regions of the country. The pace and quality of change also vary.
Rural India today is thus a complex and rapidly changing reality and needs constant
engagement and study by social scientists policymakers. Given that more than two-thirds
Book Reviews
1. Changing Face of Rural India*
*
Reprinted with permission from Economic and Political Weekly, India.
92
of India's population continues to be rural, understanding the dynamics of change hardly
requires any justification.
The first ever report on the status of India's rural development is a welcome attempt in
this direction. Even though the report is prepared by a consortium of research
organisations and is put together by IDFC Foundation it clearly has an official stamp. It
begins with a foreword by Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh and an
advisory council headed by Mihir Shah, a member of the Planning Commission, guided
work on the report. However, notwithstanding this official stamp, the tenor and tone of
the report is far from celebratory, or bureaucratic/official. The report identifies many
interesting and critical issues and proposes questions for further research and debate.
A New Rural India
The report has a total of seven chapters that cover a wide array of subjects, ranging from
the dynamics of rural social change, livelihoods and inclusion, to issues relating to
infrastructure, sustainability, local self-governance and the Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employ ment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Though like most official documents,
the report is structured around data, tables and pie charts (and a statistical annex), it also
has some very interesting qualitative discussions on different dimensions of rural life in
contemporary India. At one place the report also puts together some interesting stories of
local-level initiatives for change.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the qualitative discussion is presented in the first
three chapters of the report. The opening chapter on "Rural Dynamics" begins by
foregrounding the need to recognise that "a new rural India" is on the anvil. It underlines
that "contemporary rural India is vastly complex, subject to several new forces of
change". The complex and diverse ground realities of rural India today "do not neatly fit"
into any popular or simple characterisation, such as it being a land of deprivations and
agrarian crises or a site of resurging consumption, even when it recognises these as not
being insignificant facts of the present-day rural India.
In the popular imagination villages are often viewed as being similar and homogeneous
everywhere in the subcontinent. Available demographics tell a very different story. A
simple indicator of diversity would be the size of rural settlements. Even though India has
more than half a million villages, more than half of the total rural population (over 54%)
lived in a small proportion of relatively bigger sized (18,768) villages, which had
populations of over 2,000 in 2001. Many of these villages would have been enumerated
as urban centres during the next decadal census in 2011. The village is thus a fluid
category with diversity of size and social composition. The report acknowledges this and
rightly argues that in the fast changing realities of contemporary India, the "rural" ought
to be seen in its "changing and varied relationship" with the urban and not as its binary, as
is often done.
This fact about the active relationship of India's rural with the urban has become all the
more true today, with growing integration of different kinds of settlements through
expanding markets - of food, consumer goods and labour. The changing aspirations for
mobility through quality education and eagerness to diversify and move out of agriculture
suggest the growing desire for urban lifestyles among different sections of the rural
population. This, however, does not mean that rural India today is simply becoming
urban. On the contrary, as the report highlights, the economic distance between the two
remains significant and, in some sense, is increasing. Even though rural incomes rose in
Book Review
93
the recent past, the average monthly per capita expenditure of the rural people is merely
half of those living in urban India.
Relative Decline of Agriculture
The report extensively elaborates on the relative decline of agriculture in the rural
economy and its changing internal composition. For example, during 1993-94 - 2004-05
the number of rural households dependent on agriculture as the primary source of their
livelihood declined from 68% to 58%. The share of the non-farm sector in total rural
income went up quite significantly and accounted for 61% in the 2004-05. In other
words, despite it being a major source of employment, agriculture is becoming marginal
even to rural economic life.
The average size of the landholdings has also come down. By 2010, nearly two-thirds of
all the landholdings had shrunk to less than one hectare and another 18% were between
one and two hectares in size. Together, they cultivated 44% of the total operated area. On
the other end, less than 1% (0.7) of the holdings were large in size (holdings with 10
hectares and above) covering around 11% of the operated area. The average size of a
landholding had come down to mere 1.2 hectares by 2005-06. More importantly perhaps,
even when nearly 85% of landholdings were small and marginal, they were all being
integrated into the market economy through the growing popularity of commercial crops
and increasing use of modern technology. However, given the size of their farms, the
farmers find it hard to avail credit from formal sources and end up getting trapped in
vicious cycles of informal debt, a major cause of farmer suicides which are being
reported from different parts of the country over the past two decades.
Perhaps the most important and interesting part of the report is its ability to go beyond the
usual mappings of economic processes through available data sets. It identifies
dimensions of social change and larger processes within which rural development is
happening in India today. Though the ownership and non-ownership of agricultural land
continues to be an important aspect of rural power hierarchies, the growing
diversification of the rural economy is bound to have its own influence on social and
power relations. Power in today's rural India also emanates from "access to education,
urban jobs and link with urban elite".
These processes are also reconfiguring aspirations of the younger generations, gender
relations and even caste and community ties. As men migrate out of the village,
seasonally or as daily commuters, women begin to acquire more important roles in the
everyday life of families. Similarly, declining employment avenues in agriculture and
shrinking landholdings create new spaces for assertion by the traditionally marginalised
sections, the scheduled castes (SCs) and lower Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Growing assertions of the marginalised do not necessarily indicate any erasure of
inequality or levelling of playing fields. As the chapter on "Inclusion" highlights, social
inequalities continue to be very significant, across regions, social groups and
communities. Even though poverty figures for rural India have declined at the national
level, the decline has not been even across regions. On the contrary regional inequalities
have also been increasing. For example, in 1993-94 nearly half of all the rural poor lived
in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and
Uttar Pradesh. In 2011-12 this figure had jumped up to 65%.
Changing Face of Rural India
94
Similarly disparities across social groups also persist. Even when poverty levels have
declined, proportions of poor among those belonging to the scheduled tribe (ST) (47%)
and SC (42%) categories continue to be significantly higher than the rest (28%). In terms
of occupational categories, those listed as agricultural labourers are much poorer (49%)
than those self-employed in agriculture (26%) or listed as "others" (14%). This
deprivation and disparity is also reflected in access to basic facilities, such as drinking
water, latrine and electricity. Only 18% of all the rural households had access to all the
three and 20% did not have access to any of the three of these basic facilities. Among the
SC households, only 9% had access to all the three and 33% had access to none. In
contrast, in the "others" (mostly middle and upper castes) category the picture was just
the opposite (33% all and 11% none).
Given the nature of change being experienced in rural areas and newer aspirations for
mobility, the implications of such inequalities are socially more critical today than before.
Today they extend to access to quality education, healthcare, and other facilities and
infrastructure. The implications of these in terms of shaping the prospects for mobility of
future generations acquire newer meanings in a society that promises citizenship and
levelling of opportunity structures for every individual.
As mentioned above, the report has separate chapters on sustainability and infrastructure
and provides an extensive discussion of different dimensions of change and deprivations.
Questions of environment and sustainability have today become almost as important as
those of land and livelihood. The simple fact that India occupies only 2.7% of the world's
area with 17% of the world's population points to the obvious challenges of sustainability.
However, mainstream development thinking in India had so far not given it the kind of
importance it deserves. The report explores a variety of issues in relation to sustainability:
land degradation, water, forests, fisheries and the possible implications of climate change.
Similarly, the chapters on local self-government and MGNREGA examine a variety of
social and development dimensions of these initiatives.
Diversities and Complexities
Perhaps the most important aspect of the report is its ability to highlight the diversities
and complexities of social and economic change being experienced in rural India today.
By highlighting these complexities, the report also
Challenges the popular myth of the rural having been largely stagnant during the post-
liberalisation period. On the contrary, the Indian rural economy has seen some very
important shifts during the past two decades. These shifts have been accompanied by
changes in rural social relations and power hierarchies. There is a need to recognise this
and initiate a new kind of is course on the emerging realities of rural India. An
interesting revelation of the report is that the policy world in India is not blind to the
changing India. Perhaps the need is for the academic world to catch up with these
emerging realities and reframe questions for empirical research, policy and politics.
Surinder S Jodhka
Teacher at the Centre for Studies of the Social Systems
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi.
Book Review
95
In the book "Participatory Rural Development in Pakistan: experience of rural support
programs", Dr. Mahmood Hasan Khan comprehensively sheds light on the formations,
progressions, and outcomes of rural support programs (RSPs) and their partnerships with
rural communities in Pakistan. His studies are based on the experiences accumulated
from over two decades of visiting hundreds of villages, meeting with thousands of men
and women-individuals with different aspirations, ways of life, traditions and values-from
all corners of the country, and from the expertise and knowledge gained from studying
the myriad of literature pertaining to the subject over the years.
A vast majority of the population in Pakistan reside in rural areas, in typically agrarian
based economies consisting of self subsistent rural dwellers. This is also the poorest and
the most marginalised sector in the country. In light of this, the book highlights the
experiences of RSPs-both its successes and its shortcomings, to demonstrate how they
have contributed to the socioeconomic development of marginalised rural communities in
meaningful ways. This has been paramount in convincing governments and the
international donor community to acknowledge community organisations as part of the
serious, mainstream dialogue in the efforts to alleviate rural poverty. Dr. Khan critically
analyses the changes and outcomes of RSPs and raises a series of pressing questions.
Specifically, "what the RSPs and community organisations have done. How they have
done it. What they have achieved. And what they look forward to in the future."
The book meticulously narrates the endeavors of RSPs in helping to consolidate over a
million rural households into participatory organisations focusing on enhancing the
livelihoods and wellbeing of their communities. This entails effectively delivering a
variety of inputs and services that includes: building and developing physical
infrastructure; transferring improved technologies; and linking them with other service
agencies and organisation- particularly the public sector agencies, that otherwise fail to
reach them. Dr. Khan emphasizes that development encompasses not just as economic
freedom and development, but also as social, non-economic development, that includes
giving importance to issues of class, social stratification, gender issues, education, and
health care systems prevailing in rural communities in Pakistan.
The central point of the book is to elucidate how RSPs have supported communities in
different parts of Pakistan form participatory organisations that focus extensively on areas
such as building physical infrastructure; creating and improving the skill sets of rural
villagers; transferring technologies to improve management of natural resources, and
developing skills that enhance human capital. As the book points out, some of the most
notable achievements of RSPs have been the successful implementation of tens of
thousands of physical infrastructure schemes such as portable water supplies, drainage
and sanitation, irrigation, transport and communication, and basic education, among
many others. As Dr. Khan reveals with empirical data where available, these successes
Author: Mahmood Hasan Khan
Oxford University Press
Year : 2009; Pp. 534
Prce : INR 595
2. Participatory Rural Development in Pakistan:
Experience of Rural Support Programmes
96
have helped thousands of men and women in rural areas of Pakistan improve their
individual and community wellbeing throughout the years.
The book demonstrates that one of the most prominent contributions of these community
organisations has been to empower ordinary people to participate in making decisions
that directly affected their wellbeing, and which harnessed their resources and talents
collectively. This has also been a key aspect of the book regards its contribution to the
field of rural development studies.
Dr. Khan presents a case to elevate the most marginalised populations in Pakistan to the
center of the process of social mobilisation-an issue in which historically, rhetoric has
generally surmounted practice. This has been of particular importance to the rural poor
and particularly women, who have typically been the most disadvantaged groups. As Dr.
Khan asserts, "Getting together, participating and making decisions, doing new thing, and
working with outsiders are demonstrably necessary for confidence and empowerment."
The book thus emphasizes on people and how best to provide them with the means to
help realise their full human potential-the ability to realise core values such as
sustenance, self-esteem and freedom; factors that are crucial in the development of the
lives of people.
Furthermore, the book sheds light into the nuances that exist among different RSPs-in
terms of their size, outreach, financial autonomy, management and so on. Nonetheless, it
also highlights how each has adjusted their individual programmes according to
idiosyncratic financial and human resources; institutional capabilities; local
circumstances and environments-and provides a comprehensive evaluation of their
strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Thus, Dr. Khan's analyses bring
forward a series of profound questions. Do the poor get to meaningfully participate in the
programmes? Have the programmes made contributions to alleviating rural poverty? And
if so, then to what extent?
The book consists of twelve chapters. The first two chapters provide a historical context
of the socioeconomic transformation of Pakistan in the last six decades, focusing
extensively on rural poverty and the slowly emerging market economy developing among
rural communities. Furthermore, the book provides a review of the approaches and
experiences of rural development in Pakistan from a historical context, emphasizing
especially on government sponsored programmes, their experiences and their outcomes.
Chapter 2 discusses in-depth the organisational model underlying RSPs, both in theory
and in practice. Emphasis is given on the genesis and success of AKRSP and its lessons
and consequent replications that ignited a series of successful RSPs throughout the
country. The AKRSP approach of working in partnership with communities has made
remarkable changes in the lives of millions of people living in rural Pakistan and it has
served as a model for countless development programmes in the country.
Starting from Chapter 3, the stories of nine RSPs are discussed in consecutive chapters,
beginning with the AKRSP and including programmes such as the National Rural
Support Programme, Sarhad Rural Support Programme, Punjab Rural Support
Programme, among others, through to the Lachi Poverty Reduction Project in Chapter 11.
The last chapter analyses the Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN), and ends with
an analysis on the opportunities and challenges faced by RSPs in scaling up the process
of social mobilisation in Pakistan.
Book Review
97
What stands out most about the book is the in-depth analysis that Dr. Khan provides in
terms of presenting an intensive, objective evaluation of all organisational aspects of
RSPs and community organisation, in terms of their nurturing, quality and growth. Each
chapter includes examinations of governance and management of RSPs; detailed
descriptions of field operations; staff accountability and operational procedures;
approaches taken by the management; and in addition, offers a plethora of financial
statements, records, and relevant data relating to the RSPs. Each chapter concludes with
observations on the monitoring, evaluation and research evaluations made by consultants
and professionals in the field, and provides an analysis of the Best Practices achieved by
the respective programmes.
The book accomplishes presenting concrete evidence that new and improved skills do
make significant contributions to the wellbeing of individuals, and assist significantly to
the development of their productive capabilities, resources and basic social services of
their respective communities. Dr. Khan elucidates in great detail that rural support
programmes along with community organisations have effectively allowed for avenues of
self employment, higher incomes, improved housing, better health and nutrition, and an
altogether better quality of life for the poorest sectors of the population in Pakistan. This
book offers an approach that could be implemented and adopted by communities aspiring
to develop rural development programmes, and would constitute as an invaluable
resource for all scholars interested in the field of rural development.
Mishaal Sinha
Intern
ICD, CIRDAP
Participatory Rural Development in Pakistan...
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Vol. XXII, July 2012, No. 1
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Coastal Aquacultur e E ffluent Quality and E nvir onmental Management for Healthy
Coastal E cosystem - A Case Study of Pinang R iver , Balik Pulau in Penang I sland, Malaysia
Yahya Khairun, Nur Munira A., Nurul Ruhayu M. R. and Md. Arif Chowdhury
Contr ibution of I ndigenous K nowledge to Adapt with Climate Change: A Case Study
in K ien Giang Pr ovince, in the Mekong Delta
P. H. T. Van, P. X. Phu, N. V. Thai and T. V. Hieu
I mpact of Fisher y T r aining Pr ogr amme on the L iving-Standar d of the Fisher s: A
Case of Community Based Fisher y Management Pr oj ect in Bangladesh
Kazi Tanvir Mahmud, G. M. Shamsul Kabir, Md. Taufiqul I slamand David Hilton
Cash Cr op Cultivation and R ur al Food Secur ity: A Case Study of Agr icultur al
Pr omotion Zone in Moner agala Distr ict of Sr i L anka
Rupananda Widanage
T echnical E fficiency in Agr icultur al Pr oduction: T he Case of Chitwan, Nepal
Chandra Bahadur Adhikari
Book Review
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Vol. XXIII, July 2013, No. 1
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E valuation of Beneficiar ies Par ticipation in a Development Pr oj ect: A Study of
T ar aba State, Niger ia
Ukwapu C. Undiandeye, Peter I . Vosanka
Cointegr ation Analysis of R ur al Wheat Mar kets in Nor ther n Bangladesh
Mohammad I smail Hossain, Eleni Papadopoulou and Mst. Esmat Ara Begum
R ole of Medicinal and Ar omatic Plants in R educing Pover ty and Changing
L ivelihoods in the Mountains of Nepal
Bishnu Hari Pandit, Ramji Prasad Neupane, Naba Raj Pandit, Deepak Kumar Gautam,
Bishal K. Sitaula and Roshan M. Bajracharya
Book Review
Per sistence and Change in T r ibal I ndia
I ndex
Household Level Food Security, Food Crop Agriculture, and Rural Development:
Empirical Evidence from Moneragala District of Sri Lanka
Rupananda Widanage
Impact of Trade Liberalisation on Food Economy of Bangladesh: A Multi Market
Modelling Approach
Abu Hayat Md. Saiful Islam
Demand-driven Governance: A Contextual Agenda of Development
Narayan Bahadur Thapa
Technical Efficiency and Total Factor Productivity of MV Paddy Production under
Different Farming Systems in Bangladesh
The Role of Forests in Food Security of Sub-Saharan Africa in 21st Century
J. A. Soaga
Assessment of the Effectiveness of Lake Chad Research Institute Adopted Villages
Scheme in the Dissemination of Improved Farm Technologies in Borno State, Nigeria
S. B. Mustapha, M.M. Gwary, H.S. Nuhu and P.A. Samaila
A Case Study on the Present Status and Potentiality of Shrimp Farming in
Bangladesh
Mohammad Chhiddikur Rahman and M. Harun-Ar Rashid
Forest Carbon Concepts, Markets and Standards for SAARC
Ram A. Sharma
Book Reviews
Islamic Microfinance: A Tool for Poverty Alleviation
Empirical Study Using Different Models
Grassroots NGOs by Women for Women: The Driving Force of Development in India
118
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