The Journal regularly publishes refereed research articles, reviews, research notes and communications of high impact in basic and applied research on economic and policy aspects of agriculture and rural development. Comprehensive review articles in the area of agricultural economics (including livestock, horticulture and fisheries), conference/symposia proceedings and book reviews are also published in the Journal. To encourage the young researchers, recent abstracts of M.Sc. and Ph.D. theses in agricultural economics and policy research are also published.
Agricultural Economics Research Association (India)
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Environmental efficiency of pork supply chains originating from Punjab
The present study has been conducted to analyse the marketing efficiency in relation to the environmental efficiency of pork supply chains originating from Punjab. Two distinct markets - local and distant (North-Eastern India) were identified during the study. Results revealed an inverse relationship between the length of pork supply chain and marketing efficiency. Further, a direct relationship was found between marketing efficiency and environmental efficiency. Amount of CO2 released during the delivery of one kilogram of pork in the distant market was nearly double (35-37 kg) in comparison to that released in the local supply chains (15-20 kg). Thus, it is suggested that short supply chains of pork should be promoted.
Copyright (c) 2025 Agricultural Economics Research Review
Determinants of India’s processed food exports in the post-reforms era
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the determinants of India’s processed food exports, for which there is massive potential for further growth. The paper provides an overview of India’s processed food exports and examines its determinants to the world as well as to its top export destinations using principal component analysis. The results show that the most important determinant of India’s processed food exports is the country’s resource endowment. The results for other factors such as inflation, REER, trade openness index, GDP of India as well as that of the export destination, etc. are varied.
Abstract of PhD thesis: Policies for food security in India: Comparative study of ‘In-Kind’ food transfer and ‘In-Cash’ direct transfer in Puducherry
Can livestock sector reduce inequality in rural India? An economic analysis of trends and drivers of growth in livestock sector
This paper analyses the development of the livestock sector since independence of India. Using livestock census data, it examines the trends particularly size, structure and compositional changes in the number of livestock held by households. It analyses the various socioeconomic determinants of the number of livestock held by the households in India using the Poisson regression. It highlights the inequality and variations in livestock holdings across households belonging to different socio-economic groups and finally suggests certain policy measures that could overcome the constraints faced by this sector and could help in raising farmers income by reducing inequality in livestock holdings in India.
Increasing the fruit growers’ share in the marketing system
The growers’ share in consumer rupee is an essential part of agricultural marketing that assures the supply chain’s long-term viability and profitability. This study determines the apple growers’ share in final pricing by evaluating the efficacy of marketing channels predominant in the Kashmir valley, India. The composite index technique has been used to assess the marketing efficiency. The study is based on the interviews of 390 growers, 100 commission agents, 30 wholesalers, 20 contractors, and 20 retailers. The survey identified six apple marketing channels in the study area and has reported most profitable and least profitable channels. By adoption of more efficient marketing channels and marketing strategies, the growers can improve their profitability. The study has suggested that, improvements in the local infrastructure for fruit marketing, better access to market information, and extension of cold storage facilities in the study area would contribute significantly to farmer’s income.
Export competitiveness of organic food commodities with special reference to Organic Naga King chilli — A revealed comparative advantage approach
This paper estimates the competitiveness of India’s organic food export in the world markets. Using Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), instability index, trend analysis, Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and forecasting methods, the study has revealed growth in the export of organic wheat, cardamom and Naga king chilli to be positive with an increasing trend, whereas export of organic basmati rice was very low and has shown a declining trend maybe due to the substandard quality of the commodity. Accordingly, the instability in export of organic wheat and organic cardamom has been found to be high due to a rise in their demand in the overseas markets. The study has revealed comparative advantage (RCA) in Naga king chilli export from India with a value of less than unity, which indicated that the share of the Naga king chilli export in the total country’s export was negligible. The study suggests that the Export Inspection Council (EIC) of India should strictly monitor the quality testing of the product before it is exported in the global markets so that the price of the product in the international markets becomes highly competitive.
Public investment in irrigation across the Indian states: Financial recovery and governance
This paper measures the financial recovery from major, medium, and minor irrigation systems in 20 states in India based on the estimates of public expenditure from 1981-82 to 2019-20. The role of governance in improving the performance of public irrigation is also analysed. The irrigation governance index is computed based on 16 important social, economic, and financial indicators collated for each state from 2001-02 to 2015-16. The analysis shows a sizeable increase in the public expenditure on agriculture and allied activities, major, medium, and minor irrigation systems during the 2000s. Agriculturally advanced states spent relatively more on irrigation due to their higher economic growth and hence better spending power. Increasing public capital formation in irrigation has barely corresponded with the outcomes in terms of net irrigated area, potential utilised, and rate of financial recovery. Irrigation financial recovery is positively determined by agricultural income, capital stock, area under rice and wheat.
Vulnerability of the Indian cashew market to global price shocks
The Indian cashew sector is grappling with a severe crisis as numerous processing industries have closed down due to losses and heightened global competition. In this context, we assess the vulnerability of the sector to global price shocks by examining the direction and dynamics of price transmission among import price, domestic price and export price of cashew in India, based on 15 years of data, employing the vector autoregressive model. Results indicate that the import price had positive and immediate effects on both the domestic price and export price of Indian cashew and the relationship was unidirectional, revealing the vulnerability of Indian cashew markets to global price fluctuations.
Contract farming, farmers’ income and adoption of food safety practices: Evidence from remote areas of Nepal
In this paper we study the case of contract farming for exports with farmers in remote hilly areas of Nepal. The prospect for contract farming in such areas with accessibility issues owing to underdeveloped markets and lack of amenities is ambiguous. On the one hand, contractors find it difficult to build links in these cases particularly when final consumers have quality and safety requirements. On the other hand however, remoteness makes the contracts more sustainable. The latter happens if there are product specific quality advantages because of agro-ecology and more importantly due to lack of side selling opportunities. At the same time concerns remain about monopsonistic powers of the buyers when remotely located small farmers do not have outside options. This study hence quantifies the benefits of contract farming on remotely located farmers’ income and compliance with food safety measures. Results show that contract farming is significantly more profitable (58% greater net income) than independent production, the main pathway being higher price realization along with training on practices and provision of quality seeds.
Impact of climate change on agriculture in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India
The agriculture sector is highly vulnerable and sensitive to climatic variations. This study estimates the impact of climate change on the yields of both rabi and kharif crops in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India. The projected impact on the crop yields under RCP 4.5 climatic scenario has revealed that by 2050 and 2080, the yields of paddy would decline by 24.23 per cent and 30.48 per cent; of maize by 10.09 per cent and 12.51 per cent; of pearl millet by 0.5 per cent and 1.43 per cent; of wheat by 6.06 per cent and 7.43 per cent; of sugarcane by 2.35 per cent and 2.96 per cent, respectively. On the other hand, the yields of chickpea, rapeseed & mustard and cotton would show an increase by 5.55 per cent and 6.52 per cent; 0.75 per cent and 1.31 per cent; and 3.69 per cent and 5.44 per cent, respectively by 2050 and 2080. The study has recommended the development of appropriate adaptation strategies including suitable crop mix to mitigate the negative impact of climate change as well as would ensure food security for the increasing population of India.
Unveiling the impacts of global uncertainties ITSA Approach for quantifying the impacts of Covid-19 on agricultural trade
The study quantifies the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the bilateral agricultural trade between India and China using the Interrupted Time Series Analysis (ITSA) technique. India’s agricultural exports to China increased by approximately 48 per cent post-Covid-19. The post-pandemic, cumin exports to China increased significantly due to increasing health concerns. The exports of castor oil and groundnut shot up as well. Conversely, the exports of frozen fish, shrimps, and prawns declined. However, India’s agricultural imports from China, primarily fertilizers, displayed a volatile pattern. An immediate shock was observed in the case of urea and DAP imports, but the declines were not persistent for a long time.
Exploring carbon dioxide emissions and their drivers in global leading economies A Panel vector autoregression perspective
This study delves the intricate interplay between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and economic development in the top 20 CO2-emitting nations from 2011 to 2021. By examining the influential factors such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF), Temperature Change (TC), and Urbanization (UPop), the study unravels their profound impact on CO2-emissions. The study begins with testing the stationarity of its variables, finding that they become stationary after first-order differencing. The cross-section dependence test highlights the shared common factors among observations. Although the study initially seeks long-term equilibrium relationships, the findings don’t strongly support this. Consequently, the focus shifts to examining short-term dynamics through first-order differences. The study has employed Panel VAR Model to balance temporal dependencies and model simplicity. It has found that lagged CO2-emissions [d(CO2 (-1))] show a significant and positive association with current CO2-emissions , while a two-period lag [d(CO2 (-2))] is not significant, suggesting an immediate CO2 -impact. The GDP has been found negatively related to CO2-emissions, indicating increased GDP leads to slight emission-reduction. The GFCF has shown a positive link, emphasizing capital investments’ emission impact. The temperature change (TC) has shown a nuanced relationship, with short-term increases driving emissions. The Urbanization (UPop) consistently raises CO2-emissions. The impulse response functions (IRFs) have visually illustrated CO2 responses to standard deviation shocks in GDP, GFCF, TC, and UPop, revealing complex relationships over time. The variance decomposition analysis has revealed strong autocorrelation in economic variables, indicating that past values strongly predict future behaviour. The Granger-causality tests have established significant relationships, showing GDP and GFCF causing CO2-emissions, emphasizing economic growth’s impact. The UPop drives CO2-emissions, reflecting urbanization challenges. However, reverse causality and the TC-emissions link lack clear statistical significance. These findings suggest the policymakers to prioritize green investments, sustainable practices, urban planning, climate-resilient policies, international cooperation, carbon pricing mechanisms, and public awareness. These multifaceted strategies would ensure equilibrium between economic growth and environmental sustainability through addressing the intricate dynamics of emissions while emphasizing the need for global collaboration.
Agricultural wages in India: Trends and structural changes
In India, the rural labour market is transitioning from the agricultural to non-agricultural sectors. This transition is accompanied by the changes in agricultural wages and labour availability for farm operations due to employment generation schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) or the disequilibrium in the labour market due to the COVID pandemic. This study has analyzed the trajetorey of agricultural wages and has assessed the impact of MGNREGS and Lockdown to curb COVID infections on these wages at the national and sub-national levels. The study has used the gender-disaggregated monthly labour wages data for three major agricultural operationsharvesting, sowing, and ploughing for the period 1995-2022. The results have revealed a structural change, seasonality, and disparity in agricultural wages across gender and states. Further, the ARIMA-intervention modelling has indicated that the implementation of MGNREGS from 2006 to 2008 contributed significantly to the sharp increase in the real farm wages, and its impact increased over time. The imposition of Lockdown to curb the COVID infections did not cause any significant impact on agricultural wages. Thus, the COVID-led disequilibrium in labour market was only short-lived without any significant impact on agricultural wages in India.
IMPACT of PMKISAN on Crop Yield and Farm Income in Tamil Nadu, India
Agricultural subsidy and direct benefit transfer are considered as policy instruments for ensuring adoption of modern technologies in protecting the income of small and marginal farmers. Hence, measuring the impact of farm subsidies is important to continue these policies and to protect the income of farmers. This study was conducted in Tamil Nadu and sample size was 360 households. Data were collected from the beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries and impact was estimated using Propensity Score Matching (PSM). Our findings show that the total number of beneficiaries in Tamil Nadu was 4.75 lakhs (3.79 %). The average spending of beneficiaries towards crop production from PMKISAN assistance was Rs. 3300 and there was an increase in income among the PMKISAN beneficiaries compared with the non-beneficiaries. The study also found that addressing issues related to land records and ease of e-KYC registration and post offices can validate addresses and make payments/money transfers may increase the number of beneficiaries.
PMKISAN, impact assessment, cash transfer and paddy
Exploring the Dynamics of Mixed Cropping System: Insights from India’s Semi-Arid Tropics
Pursuing Antle (1983) and Correlated Random Effects (CRE) framework, this study focuses on examining the impacts of mixed/intercropping system on the risk profile of agricultural households. To capture the risk profile of the households, we have focused on mean, variance, skewness, and kurtosis. We found that mixed cropping increases the risk exposure to the households when we do not put any condition on the combinations. However, we find that it might reduce the risk exposure to the agricultural households when we restricts to a particular crop combinations. In nutshell, the combination that farmers will choose might increase and stabilise their crop yields.
Determinants of rural households’ income inequality in India
This study has identified the drivers of income inequality in rural India using IHDS 2011–12 national-level survey. The inequality decomposition methodology developed by Fields (2003) based on a two-way regression methodology has been used. The study has modified on the previous regressionbased inequality decomposition technique by accounting for diverse income sources and regimes as well as by effectively correcting for selectivity in the various income regimes. The CLAD model has been used to distinguish the determinants of income inequality in rural India. The study has indicated that income inequality in farm households can be attributed to the level of education, family size, caste/social group composition, and composition in land ownership, and that family size and land ownership are instrumental primarily due to off-farm labour income. The study has shown that education is a significant factor in income inequality due to its impact on off-farm work income. The study has suggested that a continued increase in variability in land distribution may exacerbate income inequality in households in rural India.
Nutri-garden for nutritional security and diversity: Some insights from POSHAN Abhiyan
To combat the challenges of malnutrition, the government initiatives such as the POSHAN Abhiyan are emphasized, particularly the introduction of Poshan Vatika (Nutri-Gardens), which is on empowering the women to cultivate nutritious foods and enhance quality of family diets. Data from 1710 farm families across 12 states, has been analyzed through Partial Least Squares Path Modelling and logistic regression, indicates that Nutri-Gardens positively impact the family nutrition. In conclusion, Nutri-Gardens offer a holistic approach to improving nutrition in rural India, empowering women, raising their socio-economic status, and promoting nutrition education and community participation. The collaboration among various stakeholders is essential to disseminate information effectively and ensure the success and sustainability of Nutri-Gardens as a cost-effective and sustainable approach to mitigate malnutrition in the rural households.
Harnessing potential of legumes for sustainable intensification of Indian agriculture
The inclusion of legumes in the cropping systems is recognized as a pathway for sustainable agricultural production with substantial environmental benefits. The legumes provide multiple ecosystem services to societies and agroecosystems, such as providing food, supplying nitrogen to crops through biological nitrogen fixation, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving carbon sequestration and soil fertility, and reducing water use and disease and pest infection. Despite these enormous benefits, the adoption level of legume crops is not very inspiring at the field level. The paper has highlighted the potential of legume-based cropping systems through a meta-analysis, using 555 pair observations from 134 studies, in generating additional ecosystem services in terms of physical quantity and monetary terms. Further, the study has identified reasons for the low adoption of legume crops and has provided some policy suggestions to improve the cultivated area under legumes.
Income diversity of agricultural households in Punjab and its determinants: Evidence from the NSSO surveys
The present study has identified the extent and pattern of income diversification, the factors affecting it, and the impact of income sources on inequality among agricultural households in the state of Punjab. The study has found widespread income inequality among various categories of rural households. The relationship between income diversification and rural household income has pointed towards distress diversification by the relatively poor households. During the period 2002-03 to 2018-19, the semi-medium agricultural households have diversified more. From 2002-03 to 2012-13, the large and small farmers became more specialized, but from 2012-13 to 2018-19, they diversified again. The diversification of rural household income has been found to be significantly influenced by non-farm income, landholding size, and irrigation facilities. The crop income has been found to be inequality inducing and has contributed maximum to income inequality. However, income from livestock, wages, and salaries are found to be viable options for reducing the income inequality.
Understanding price volatility and seasonality in agricultural commodities in India
The volatility in prices of agricultural commodities is a major concern for policymakers, researchers, and value chain participants, including farmers. The study examines the trend and pattern of agricultural price volatility and its seasonality using monthly data from January 2010 to December 2022. The fixed effects model has been used to decipher the effect of market arrivals, rainfall and pandemic shock on the prices. The results have revealed that prices of vegetables were most volatile, followed by oilseeds and pulses. The seasonality pattern of volatility has shown general peaks during the pre-harvest and harvest periods and troughs during the post-harvest period. The rainfall affected the prices of mainly rainfed crops and the effect of the pandemic has been found to be positive for many of the agri-commodities. Strengthening post-harvest value chain institutions and related infrastructure, and increasing of competition in the markets would help integrate markets and reduce price volatility.
A cross-sectional estimation of total factor productivity of livestock-based farming systems in tribal areas of Odisha
The total factor productivity (TFP) of some livestock-based farming systems has been estimated using cross-sectional data and Cobb-Douglas production function. The determinants of TFP in tribal areas of Odisha have also been analysed. The average value of TFP has been observed highest (3.22) for C1 farming system, followed by the C2 (3.19), G1 (3.18), G2 (3.17), P2 (3.14), P1 (3.13) and G3 (3.11) farming systems. It means that the effect of factors other than inputs was more under C1 in comparison to other farming systems. The value of TFP could be increased with a better management of resources and enterprises. The transfer of technology to the farmers could also play a major role in increasing the TFP value of the systems as access to farm extension services has shown a positive and significant effect on TFP. The study has also revealed that the land size has a positive and significant effect on the TFP value. Therefore, collective farming needs to be propagated in this area. For this, farmers should be sensitized through demonstrations and awareness campaigns.
Livestock and transitional poverty in rural India
With high economic growth, poverty in India has declined from 35 per cent in1993-94 to 22 per cent in 2011-2012, and further to 10 per cent in 2020-21. The majority of poor reside in the rural regions for whom agriculture is the main source of livelihood. The growth in agriculture has been identified more pro-poor than the growth in other economic sectors. The livestock is an important component of agriculture, and its contribution to agricultural gross domestic product has been growing faster than the overall agricultural growth. The reduction in rural poverty is driven by the growth in livestock. Nevertheless, the evidence on the relationship between livestock and poverty is scarce. Using a panel data on 28205 households, this paper assesses the impact of livestock on the rural poverty. The findings show that ownership of livestock, specifically bovine, significantly contributes to poverty reduction in rural India.
Rise of Agritech: A landscape of technology driven agricultural sector in India
The rising demand for innovation in agriculture and the decreasing last-mile delivery to farmers have led to introduction of new technologies in the agriculture ecosystem. With advancements in and application of information technology in agriculture, agritech has been increasingly gaining attention. The present study has investigated the geographical and funding landscape of agritech companies in India. It has identified the technological and business models that are predominant in the Indian scenario. The study is based on the secondary data of 253 agritech companies in India (till 2022) collected from the CrunchBase database. The study has presented summary statistics, tabular and graphical representation, and content analysis for these business models. The results have revealed that the incorporation trend has increased in India over the past few years. The total funding has also shown an increasing trend over the years. Among states, Karnataka has emerged as the hotspot of agritech companies in India, followed by Maharashtra. With the help of Inductive content analysis of the textual data, the study has identified the supply chain technology and output market linkages, followed by the farm management and analytics as the most promising business models in the Indian context.
Dynamics of comparative advantage in India’s agricultural exports
This paper analyses the dynamics of comparative advantage in agricultural exports of India over the period 2001 to 2019. We use the revealed comparative advantage index, and its variant, the revealed symmetric comparative advantage index, to analyze the pattern of export specialization and the Markov transition matrix to examine the product mobility of comparative advantage. The study has shown that the extent of agricultural trade openness has remained constant over time and that there has been little change in the composition of agricultural exports. Analysis of the mobility of comparative advantage reveals little mobility of products from the lowest to the highest decile. There is a 65.8 per cent probability that a product will stay in the first decile even after nearly two decades. A high degree of persistence of export specialization implies a higher probability of starting and ending-up in the highest decile. The study suggests that India should aim at diversification of the agricultural export basket through a product-specific focus based on export demand and the exploration of new global markets.
Does India have enough feedstock to meet its E20 fuel-blending targets by 2025?
The Indian Government has set the target of achieving 20 per cent blending of ethanol (E20) in petrol by 2025-26. This is projected to achieve savings of about $4 billion in country’s annual oil import bill. The NITI Aayog projects country’s annual ethanol requirement at 10.16 billion litres to achieve the E20 mandate and an additional 3.34 billion litres to meet the demand from other industries. This paper estimates the requirement and availability of feedstock (sugarcane, rice, and maize) to meet these E20 mandates. The study reveals that India is not likely to have enough feedstocks to meet the E20 blending target by 2025-26. Besides, with climate change and growing pressures on land coupled with the country’s growing nutritional requirements, the government may do well to rethink its land-use policy, water-use policy and even its climate-related plans. It should define a medium to long-run roadmap of providing enough crops for fuel blending targets.
Evaluating India's Apple Exports: A Comprehensive Analysis of Comparative Advantage
Apple (Malus pumila) stands as a paramount fruit in the temperate category, ranking fourth globally in production after Banana, Orange, and Grapes according to NHB (2020). Evolving into a significant player in the international fruit trade, apples from India have experienced a surge in exports, propelling the nation to a noteworthy position in the global apple market. In light of this, the current study, titled "Evaluating Indian Apple Exports: A Comprehensive Analysis of Comparative Advantage," seeks to comprehend the export performance of Indian apples, aiming to discern the country's comparative advantage or disadvantage in the global apple trade. Data sourced from credible sources such as UN Comtrade and APEDA Agri-exchange underwent meticulous analysis employing the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and Revealed Trade Advantage (RTA) indices. The findings of the study highlight a noteworthy discrepancy, indicating that the rate of increase in apple exports has been relatively lower compared to imports. This disparity suggests a trade disadvantage for the country, leading to a potential loss of competitiveness in the global apple trade arena. Therefore, these results not only reveal India's position in the international market but also provide insights into its competitiveness within the global apple trade scenario.
Contract vs. non-contract broiler farming: An evaluation of efficiency and profitability in Punjab
This study aims to assess the costs and returns of broiler farming in the Ludhiana district of Punjab. The study area was purposively chosen due to its leading position in broiler production and potential for local market demand. A total of 20 broiler farmers from both contract and non-contract farming systems were randomly selected from two blocks. The study used simple averages to estimate total costs, including variable and fixed costs, and gross returns from broilers, manure, and empty bags. The findings and recommendations of the study on broiler farming in the Ludhiana district of India can offer valuable insights for developing countries worldwide. By addressing the challenges faced by broiler farmers, such as high production costs, feed price fluctuations, and disease outbreaks, the study provides a roadmap for enhancing the efficiency and profitability of broiler farming in developing countries. The results showed that broiler farming is a profitable venture in the Ludhiana district, with potential for further cost reduction and profitability through scientific management and value addition. The policy implications of this study suggest the need for more training for farmers to adopt scientific management practices, subsidies by government to farmers and regulation of prices due to high fluctuation in prices of broilers.
Temporal changes in crop diversification: A case study in a Punjab village
Punjab state is enriched with preeminent but unsymmetrical agricultural base. The significant cotton area shifted towards rice due to insect-pest attack. Besides better irrigation facilities, lower yield risk, assured marketing made rice cultivation more attractive. Diversification towards high-value crops is the need of hour to safeguard our valuable and scarce resources as rice-wheat rotation led to depletion underground water and deteriorated soil health. Therefore, there is a need to set up value addition and processing units in rural areas to enhance the profitability of alternative crops as paddy and wheat.
Agricultural development in recent decades and welfare challenges
While economic development is dependent on performance of agriculture sector, rural areas have been facing skewed land distribution, falling agricultural investments and rising cost of cultivation. Land fragmentation forces rural households to straddle between employment in agriculture and nonagricultural activities. The paper examines linkages of agricultural growth with overall economy, performance of agricultural sector and declining support to it. Sectoral labour productivity, wage differentials and income are examined to contextualize wellbeing of households across states and size continuum. Policy focus needs to be on measures to aid inclusivity and wellbeing of rural workers.
Essentially derived variety concept in plant variety rights protection system: underlying economic theories, and issues in implementation
Under Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, World Trade Organization member-countries are mandated to create Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) system for plant varieties. Keeping in view specificities of plant breeding sector, “tailored” IPR system of Plant variety rights/ Plant Breeders’ Right system was developed. The concept of Essentially Derived Variety (EDV) was introduced into plant variety protection system through 1991 UPOV convention. In this backdrop, in the current study an attempt has been made to trace theories underlying, and rationale behind EDV concept by reviewing economic models of innovation. The study documented some challenges in implementation of EDV concept and also examined EDV status in India and future prospects.