An economic analysis on cost and returns of paddy in Jawadhu hills of Tamil Nadu

Rice is one of the three most important and staple food crops in the world. Rice belongs to the genus Oryza and family Gramineae. It is one of the few crop species endowed with richest genetic diversity. India is the second largest rice growing country after China. Tamil Nadu is the second largest producer of Paddy and the state is historically known for its agriculture since ancient times. The major food crop like Paddy is grown in large extent and rice is the staple food of the state. Because of the familiarity, the paddy crop has been cultivated in the hilly areas and it replaced traditional millet crops over the years. At this juncture, the study on economic analysis on production of paddy in Jawadhu hills of Tamil Nadu was carried out with the following specific objectives of: (i) to estimate costs and returns of paddy cultivation in the study area, (ii) to identify the constraints in production of paddy cultivation and offer policy suggestion based on the results of the study. A multi-stage stratified random sampling procedure was adopted for the study. Due to the profitability (net return in Rs.16, 726.00 per acre) of the crop, the tribal farmers in the study area increasing their area of cultivation of paddy over the years. But due to inadequacy of labour lack of availability of good quality seed and irrigation facility their portability minimized. The department of Agriculture and the Government has to take necessary steps to solve their constraints in paddy cultivation for the prosperity of the tribal farmers in the study area.