Resource use and allocative efficiency in organic ginger cultivation- an economic assessment from Hill zone of West Bengal

The study was conducted to analyze the technical and resource use efficiency of organic ginger cultivation based on primary data collected from 80 organic ginger growers in hill zone of West Bengal. The multistage sampling technique was employed to select the respondents, further classified into three categories viz. A, B and C based on their land holding. On overall basis, the total cost (Cost C2) of cultivation estimated at Rs 153054.38 of which seeds and labour constitutes 73.34 per cent. The cost of production (Rs q-1) against Cost C3 revealed Rs 3363.55, Rs 3069.61 and Rs 2743.38, respectively for A, B and C category farms showing inverse relationship with land holding. Positive relationship was observed between net income and size of farms. The technical ratio revealed 2.59 and 1.53 against Cost A1 and Cost C3 at overall. In relation to allocative efficiency, explanatory variables could explain 57.52 per cent variation of income at overall basis. The inputs seed and irrigation become significant at 1 per cent level of probability. Organic fertilizers were over utilized by B and C category farmers while irrigation and seeds were underutilized by all categories of farms. Low price of output, high emergence of weeds, diseases and pest attack, climatic hazards and poor marketing network were the major constraints.