Cost Structure and Magnitude of Profit in Wheat Cultivation

Wheat is the second most important food grain crop after rice in India on area and production. Uttar Pradesh occupies the first position in wheat production in India. Wheat plays a vital role in the agricultural economy of the state and is a staple commodity in the diet of the people. Etah district is situated in the north-east of the Agra and bounded by Aligarh and Mainpuri districts. A two-stage stratified random sampling was used in the study for the selection of villages and wheat farmers. The findings of the research indicated that in cost A1, the expenditure on manures and fertilizers was highest in all farm categories. The overall percentage of cost A1 in total cost was 51.12 per cent. The imputed value of family labor was highest for marginal followed by small and large farm category. The total cost on an overall basis was ` 21763.29 per hectare. Both gross return and net return were highest for large farm group. The return per rupee was 1.191, 1.208, 1.258 and 1.214 on the limited, small, large and overall basis.