The incidence and depth of food and nutritional insecurity has been estimated and its determinants in a food-surplus area, viz. the state of Punjab, have been studied. The consumption expenditure has been found to be directly associated with the levels of income/assets in both rural and urban...

Instability in farm production is causing serious shocks to supply and farm income and there is a growing concern about increased volatility in farm production, prices and farm income. The study has estimated instability in three major crops before (1981-93) and after (1993-04) the initiation of...

The present study was conducted in Rajpura block of Patiala district in Punjab with a sample of 50 vegetables growers. The total cost of cultivation was estimated at Rs 49563/ha for onion and Rs 34840/ha for cauliflower. The net returns were found higher for onion (Rs 74597/ha) as compared to...

The Government of India had launched the National Biofuel Mission in the year 2003 as an initiative to limit the country’s dependence on crude oil imports. An integral part of this mission is the Biodiesel Blending program and Jatropha, a tree-borne biodiesel yielding crop, is the...

The food demand in India has been examined in the context of a structural shift in the dietary pattern of its population. The results have reinforced the hypothesis of a significant diversification in the dietary pattern of households in recent years and has found stark differences in the...

The role of non-farm sector has been examined in promoting rural livelihoods in the state of Punjab, especially of the landless and marginal farm households who are often poor and derive a sizeable proportion of their income from non-farm activities. The non-farm income sources have been found...

The study on dynamics of labour demand in Punjab agriculture has revealed that between 1985-86 and 2006-07, the per-hectare labour use has declined by about 23 per cent; more so, in the case of dominant crops like wheat and paddy that have experienced large-scale mechanization. Wheat and paddy...

A linear programming model has been formulated to suggest the optimal cropping pattern for maximizing net returns and ensuring significant savings of groundwater with the aim of sustaining groundwater use in the Punjab agriculture. The primary data obtained from the project, “Comprehensive...

Policy planners face the challenge of formulating suitable agricultural policy by which the required growth in domestic production can be achieved. To attain effective food security policy, one needs reliable empirical knowledge about the degree of responsiveness of factor demand and output...

Variations in agricultural productivity in different states across the country are mainly due to large differences in the level of adoption of selected agricultural technologies and the underlying determinants of adoption of these technologies. Agricultural technologies selected in this paper...