Assessing the impact of farm size on cocoon production efficiency and profitability in non-traditional districts of Tamil Nadu

The current study aimed to determine the costs and returns associated with producing cocoons for different farmer groups in Tamil Nadu’s non-traditional districts, including Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Dindigul and Theni in the Western Zone. The study’s sample size consisted of 45 farmers who owned marginal, small and medium-sized plots of land. These farmers were chosen at random for the study. According to the findings, marginal farmers had to spend Rs. 2, 21,531.20/- for the production of cocoons, whereas they would receive Rs. 7, 27,460.80/- in return for the cocoon waste and raw cocoons. On the other hand, it was discovered that small farmers had to spend Rs. 3, 41,794.89/- for the production of cocoons, while they received returns of Rs. 14, 16,072.40/- from the cocoon and waste. Comparably, the cost of producing cocoons for medium-sized farms was determined to be Rs. 4, 93,193.60/-, while the returns from the cocoon and waste came to Rs. 21, 19,064.96/-. As a result, it can be concluded that medium farmers have a greater benefit-cost ratio— roughly 1:4.3. Therefore, medium farmers faced the highest costs and returns from cocoon production, followed by small and marginal farmers.