Is Labour Productivity of Irrigated Crops Better than Rainfed Crops?: A Meta-Data Analysis

A. Narayanamoorthy, R. Suresh and K.S. Sujitha

Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 2020, vol. Volume 75, issue Number 4

Abstract: An intricate question arises in the context of labour productivity is whether any perceptible variation exists in it among different crops cultivated under irrigated and rainfed conditions. We tried to answer this puzzle in this paper using the cost of cultivation survey data covering period from 1975-76 to 2016-17. It is known that labour productivity changes across crops and therefore, a total of six crops (three irrigated and three rainfed crops) cultivated in 12 different states are considered for the analysis. The labour productivity is estimated under four dimensions which are (1) ratio of value of output (Rs/ha) to total labour man-hours, (2) ratio of value of output to total human labour cost (Rs/ha) incurred for cultivating the crops, (3) ratio of yield (kg/ha) to total labour man-hours, and (4) ratio of yield to total human labour cost (Rs/ha) incurred for cultivating the crops. To study the changes in labour productivity, growth rate and averages are computed by dividing the study period into three, viz., Period-I (1975-76 to 1990-91), Period-II (2000-01 to 2016-17) and for the entire period (1975-76 to 2016-17). It was found that the labour productivity estimated under all four dimensions is higher among the irrigated crops in different states as compared to the rainfed crops in both period-I and period-II. The labour productivity both in terms of value of output and yield (in kg) computed using labour man-hours as denominator has increased for all the six irrigated and rainfed crops. However, when the estimate is made using total labour cost as denominator, the labour productivity either declines or does not increase appreciably for both irrigated and rainfed crops.

Keywords: Crop Production/Industries; Labor and Human Capital; Productivity Analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:inijae:345146

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.345146

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