Economics of Cumin Seed Crop in Western Rajasthan: A Case Study

Costs in agriculture play a significant role in making the farm sector economically viable and feasible under the pressure of continuous input price rise. The level of input use and their prices affect the profitability of the enterprise as crop farming is the main source of livelihood of the farm families. This mechanism needs to be critically examined for formulating effective policies in relation to costs and output prices for understanding the income path in the farm sector. The study was conducted with 100 cumin growing farmers of Nagaur district of Rajasthan. The results revealed that cumin cultivation was a profitable crop in the study area. Net income per hectare of cumin cultivation ranged from Rs. Rs. 6539 to Rs. 14749 on different sized farms Per rupee returns from cumin cultivation was also very high (Rs.1.91) on large sized farms, this decreases with the increase in the size of farms and the average being Rs.1.61 per rupee of investment. The average cost of production of cumin has been Rs. 3325.66 per quintal. It ranged from Rs. 3076.57 per quintal on large sized farms to Rs. 3567.77 on small sized farms. The per quintal production cost has been inversely related with the increased size of holdings. There is need to increase in productivity of cumin crop through technological up gradation and evolution of improved cumin varieties to boost up the further increase in the overall production and quality of cumin. This crop has good export potential and prospects in future.