Remarkable Achievement in Castor Productivity in Gujarat: The Contribution of Research Investment As Reflected by TFP

The present study has analyzed the growth in TFP of castor crop and its sources in the state of Gujarat from 1990–91 to 2014–15. The Tornqvist Theil Index has been used to calculate the total output index, total input index and TFP index. The contribution of TFP to output growth was found high about 82 per cent for castor in Gujarat during 2001–02 to 2011–12. In the past two and half decades from 1990–91 to 2014–15, the TFP of castor has remained moderate, about 1.49 per cent, which is credited to the release of varieties, viz. GCH-2 in 1985, GCH4 in 1986, GCH-5 in 1994, GCH-6 in 2000, GCH-7 in 2006 and GC-3 in 2009. The per unit cost of castor production has shown annual decline in the range of 0.62 to 1.40 per cent in study period. During 1990–91 to 2011–12, the area, production and productivity of castor in India have increased by 1.19 per cent, 3.38 per cent and 2.17 per cent per annum. The growth in productivity remained slow about 1.79 per cent per annum during 1990s but gained momentum in 2000 when it increased at 6.45 per cent per annum.