Optimum crop production programme for farmers in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh

The present study examines the possibilities and prospects of increasing net farm returns and employment by improving resource allocation. The study was carried out in Punganur mandal of Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh. Farmers were categorized into small (<2 ha of dry land), medium (2–4 ha of dry land) and large (>4 ha of dry land) making a total sample of 120 farmers using probability proportional to size. Linear programming was used to develop optimum plans. A few variations were incorporated in the basic model to attain the study objective. In model 1, the cash availability of farmers was restricted to owned funds. In model 2, there was a complete relaxation of the loan amount available to farmers. The optimization models showed a tendency towards the most profitable enterprises. A rational use of presently available resources at existing technology with restricted capital (model 1) showed that there is scope for reorganizing the resources to increase the net farm returns to the extent of 58.4%, 35% and 24.8% among the small, medium and large farmers respectively. Adequate borrowing at existing technology (model 2) facilitated small, medium and large farmers to realize net returns higher by 9.5%, 11.7% and 19.4% over model 1. The existing technology with relaxed borrowing provided higher employments (Models S₂, M₂ and L₂).