1Deparment of Marketing, National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Vihar Lake, Mumbai-400087, Maharashtra, India
2Department of EES, Institute of Agriculture, Visva-Bharati, Sriniketan, Birbhum-731236, West Bengal, India
3Department of Agricultural Economics, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, PO Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia-741 252, West Bengal, India
*Address for correspondence: Jui Ray: Deparment of Marketing, National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Vihar Lake, Mumbai-400087, Maharashtra, India. E-mail: juirayndri@gmail.com
Online published on 24 June, 2016.
This study focuses on the aspects of resource use efficiency of onion growers in the Indo-Gangetic Region of West Bengal, India. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has been used in measuring efficiency level of stakeholders followed by K-means clustering for grouping them into homogeneous strata. The prime objective of this study is to explore the scope of increasing onion-yield as well as production using current resource base at the disposal of farmers. Additionally, characterization of growers in terms of several socio-economic indicators was made and studied. Finally, the study ends with advocating policy intervention measures in the gray fields. The study observed much potential for augmenting onion-yield with existing resource base of farmers with careful interventions.
Onion, resource-use efficiency, data envelopment analysis, k-means clustering, policy
