Managerial Capabilities, Farm Efficiency and Price Signals: Their Influence on Farmers’ Export Participation

Abstract

Though choice of crops is determined largely by agro-climatic factors like soil, temperature and rainfall distribution; farmers are now-a-days increasingly inclined to change the cropping pattern in response to changes in economic, technological, institutional, and policy induced factors. This study attempted to find the farmers choice crops in Tamil Nadu and factors influencing the farmers’ participation in the export markets. Reduction of the efficiency residue (improving the off-farm forces viz., infrastructure, communication and markets) increased the export participation probability of farmers in the sample districts. Farm efficiency, price terms of trade and managerial ability of the farmers were also found to improve the export participation probability of the farmers. Increase in the land size was found not to influence the export participation of the sample farms significantly in all the districts except Salem. This may be attributed to high level crop diversification adopted by the large farm holdings.