COMPREHENSIVE SCHEME FOR STUDYING THE COST OF CULTIVATION OF PRINCIPLE CROPS IN INDIA “TELANGANA”

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, PROFESSOR JAYASHANKAR TELANGANA STATE AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, RAJENDRANAGAR, HYDERABAD

Government of India launched a comprehensive scheme on “Cost of Cultivation of Principal Crops in India” during 1970-71 in the major states with an aim of supplement required data to aid Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) for fixation of Minimum Support Price for principal crops. This scheme has been in operation since 1970-71 in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh under the administrative control of the then Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University (APAU). Subsequently was named as Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) and later by the Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU). After bifurcation of CCS during 2022 in to two Implementing Agencies, one at Telangana and other at Andhra Pradesh. Now presently, CCS Telangana is under the administrative control of PJTSAU, Hyderabad. The scheme is fully funded by Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DES), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, New Delhi.

The scheme methodology has been changing from time to time. The present approach known as ‘crop complex’ has been adopted from 1981, signifies the importance of selection of crop complex rather than a single crop, which meant that the particulars of all the crops cultivated by a selected farmer are considered for collection of data. Further, the data will be collected by gross root level fieldmen by staying in the village or in a nearby center through “Cost Accounting Method”. Cost accounting method generates the realistic data pertaining to the farmers as it is recorded as and when the farm activity is carried out.

For every three years (Known as block period) different sample tehsils, villages and farmers will be selected. The new block period 2023-26 will be started from Kharif June 2023. The selected crop complex for block period 2023-26 which includes 9 crops for Telangana viz., Paddy, Maize, Red gram, Green gram, Bengal gram, Groundnut, Sesamum, Soybean and Cotton.

The main goal of the scheme is to collect representative data on inputs and outputs in physical and monetary terms based on “cost accounting method” and submit online data to Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DES), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi. The collected data are verified and submitted in online mode through a software known as FARMAP 2.0. Thus, the submitted data is verified at different levels namely Field Supervisor and Field Officer supervised by the Honorary Director at state level, further it is scrutinized by the DES and discrepancies are raised by them and sought out by the field level functionaries. This data is used by CACP as an important input for estimating cost of production for various crops, which helps in fixing Minimum Support Price as a measure of price policy and many other relevant non price policy measures.

At present the scheme operates in 26 tehsils (sample villages) in Telangana state. For previous block period 2020-23, total 26 villages were selected and 260 farmers are studied covering 10 farmers each from one centre. Accordingly, the state estimates of cost of cultivation will be generated and published by DES, New Delhi. During the upcoming new block period (2023-26), from each tehsil two villages will be selected. Then from each selected village six farmers two each from marginal (< 1 ha), small (1–2 ha) and large (>2 ha) categories will be selected making a sample of 12 from a tehsil. The sampling technique of stratified proportionate random sampling technique with replacement up to tehsil level and without replacement for village and farmer selection is adopted Thus, a total of 52 villages and 312 farmers will be studied across the state of Telangana. Till now the process of sample selection up to farmers for the new block period has been completed. These 26 tehsils are scattered across the state, covering 8 tehsils each from Northern Telangana Zone (NTZ) and Central Telangana Zone (CTZ) and 10 tehsils from Southern Telangana Zone (STZ) as follows.

List of selected tehsils for the block period 2023-26 in Telangana