Economics of rainfed and irrigated Bt cotton production in Maharashtra

The economics of rainfed and irrigated Bt cotton production in Maharashtra have been studied based on a survey conducted in Nanded district during the year 2005–06. The data have been collected from 48 rainfed and 48 irrigated Bt cotton growers. Cost concepts, namely cost ‘A’, cost ‘B’ and cost ‘C’, have been used for cost evaluation. The yield has been found as 14.93 q/ha on the rainfed Bt cotton farm, and 27.30 q/ha on the irrigated Bt cotton farm. The cost ‘C’ has been observed as Rs 26921/ha and Rs 40556/ha on the rainfed and irrigated farms, respectively. The net profit on the irrigated farm has been worked out as Rs 20185/ha which is three-times more than that on the rainfed farm (Rs 6270/ha). Output-input ratio has been found as 1.23 on the rainfed and 1.50 on the irrigated farms. The cost of production of Bt cotton was Rs 1730/q on the rainfed farm and Rs 1410/q on the irrigated farm. It could be inferred that higher productivity per hectare and lower cost of production per quintal have resulted into higher profitability of Bt cotton under the irrigated condition.