Department of Agricultural Economics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore - 641 003, Tamil Nadu
The economics of usage of bio-inputs in sugarcane has been studied to identify the determinants of adoption of bio-inputs and suggest alternate measures for their increased use in sugarcane cultivation in the western zone of Tamil Nadu. The data have been collected with the help of a wellstructured, pre-tested interview schedule from 30 adopters and 30 nonadopters. Garret's ranking technique has been used to analyze the sources of bio-inputs, problems in adopting the bio-control methods of pest management along with tracing the suggestions for improvement in the bio-input usage. To assess the determinants of probability of adoption of bio-inputs, multi-nominal logit model has been used. The results have revealed that access to bio-inputs, adequate information from the sugar mill, no health hazards, and farm size have significant positive influence on probability of adoption of bio-inputs in sugarcane. Farming experience and education have also been found to influence the level of adoption of bio-inputs positively. Target-based policy support, improving the shelf-life of bio-inputs through agricultural research, encouraging private sector participation in production, easing the stringent registration norms and institutional credit, price fixation for of bio-inputs and organization of farmer's co-operatives have been suggested for mass adoption and meeting the global demand of organic food products.
