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Abstract
Elephant foot yam is traditionally cultivated on commercial scales in the
states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal. The
statistics on area, production and yield of this crop are not available in the
literature and this paper has estimated the cost of cultivation, farm income
measures and resource-use efficiency of the crop in these states, except
West Bengal. The study has indicated the gross cost of cultivation as
Rs 1,73,105, Rs 93,450 and Rs 1,68,032 per ha and the benefit-cost ratios as
1.38, 1.38 and 1.50 for elephant foot yam cultivation in Kerala, Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, respectively. The study has revealed excessive
use of all NPK fertilizers in Kerala, indicating the need for rationalization in
use of these inputs, while there is a scope for increase in the use of these
inputs, except nitrogenous fertilizers, in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Expenditures on manures in Tamil Nadu and hired human labour in Kerala
can be enhanced without any adverse effect on the productivity of the
crop. The analysis has revealed the need for reorganization of farm
resources so as to maximize the returns on elephant foot yam farms under
different production systems in India.