Resource Use Productivity of Staple Food Crop in Maharashtra

This study has examined per hectare changes in resource-use levels and their efficiency in a selected staple food crop, viz. wheat. The changes (per hectare) in the cost and return structure have been estimated for the selected crop. The zonewise cross-sectional data of two points of time, viz. 1991–92 and 2008–09, were used for estimating the resource-use efficiency. At the overall level, the per hectare resource-use gap analysis has shown the per cent gap in use of seed for wheat crop as negative, indicating its excess use. The per cent gaps for manure, and N, P and K fertilizers had decreased over a period of 18 years. During 1991–92 and 2008–09, at the overall level, the independent variables like human labour, N and P fertilizers were found positively significant and bullock labour and N fertilizers were observed to be significant. At the overall level, the per hectare total cost of cultivation and gross profit had increased by 267 per cent and 94 per cent, respectively, over the base year. The B:C ratio for wheat crop was more than unity in the year 1991–92 and less than unity in 2008–09, which shows a loss in this crop. The study has observed that there is scope to increase the use of manures and fertilizers to augment the average productivity of wheat in Maharashtra.