Eco. Env. & Cons. 28 (December Suppl. Issue) : 2022; pp.

(S410-S414)
Copyright@ EM International
ISSN 0971–765X
DOI No.: http://doi.org/10.53550/EEC.2022.v28i08s.061

Socio Economic Profile of the Cash Vegetable Crops

Growers in Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh
Vikas Singh1, Sanjay Kumar2 and Srishti Thakur1

Department of Agricultural Economics, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology

and Sciences, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh India

(Received 8 July, 2022; Accepted 19 September, 2022)

ABSTRACT
The present study was conducted for the period 2020-21 and primary data were used for The analysis.
Further, stratified random sampling technique was followed to select the respondents. The district of Varanasi
in eastern Uttar Pradesh has been deliberately chosen as the district with the highest horticultural production.
Two blocks, namely Arajiline and Pindra, from Varanasi district with maximum horticultural production
were purposefully selected.Two hundred and thirty farmers were selected from 15 villages randomly. The
study concluded that most of the respondents belong to the middle age group. The literacy level of the farm
families were classified into seven groups. 84.78 percent of the respondents have a high level of literacy.
The respondents of farmers’ families belong to the nuclear family system, followed by 18.26 percent of
farmers to the extended family system (57.40) and 24.34 percent in the joint family system. The average
land under cash crop growers (chilli and tomato) in marginal, small, semi-medium, and medium-sized
farm groups were 0.68 ha, 1.58 ha, 2.38 ha, and 4.15 ha respectively. Agriculture was the most common
major occupation, accounting for 55.66 per cent of all occupations. The farming experience of cash vegetable
crop growers showed that the majority of the growers (60.86 %) had farming experience of less than 20 years.

Key words : Cash crops, Land Holding, Socio- economic, Education

Introduction 70% of rural households. Horticulture is an insepa-

rable part of agriculture. India has witnessed an in-
The agriculture sector in India has been one of the crease in horticultural production over the last de-
biggest employment generators, with about 45 per cade, and the area under horticultural crops grew by
cent of the population used in agriculture or allied 2.6% per annum and annual production increased
activities and it contributes about 15 per cent of the by 4.8%.The contribution of vegetable production
GDP. The farmland size of the farmers has been de- remains the highest (59–61%) among all other horti-
creasing, thereby impacting the efficiency, average cultural crops over the last five years. From 2004-05
productiveness, and farm output considerably, with to 2017-18, the production of vegetables has in-
extensive scope for efficient farming practices and creased from 101.2 million tonnes to 184.40 million
mechanization (Indian Agriculture Tractor Market tonnes.
Report, 2019).Primarily, India is an agricultural Vegetables are important crop in the horticulture
country, so the economics of farm produce play an industry, occupying an area of 10.44 million hectares
important role in the country’s economy. In India, in 2018–2019. Total production reached to 187. 7
agriculture provides a direct source of income for million tonnes with an average yield of 17.96 tons/

(1Ph.D., Scholar, 2Assistant Professor)

Corresponding author’s email: [email protected]
SINGH ET AL S411

ha in 2018-19. In fact, vegetables account for about Oi= Observed value

59.15% of horticultural production in 2018-19. Dur- Ei= Expected value
ing the period for 2007-08 to 2018-19, vegetable area
and production increased by 32.98% and 5.95%, re- Results and Discussion
spectively. In recent times, vegetables have been in
high demand due to increased public health aware- The major socio-economic characteristics considered
ness. in this study were family size, age distribution, edu-
cation level, occupation and size of land holdings of
Materials and Methods selected households.
Age Composition
The study conducted for the period of 2020-21 and
primary data were collected for analysis. Further, It is evident from Table 1 that the overall bases, 50
multistage stratified sampling technique was fol- per cent of cash crop growing farmers were in the
lowed to select the respondents. Varanasi district middle age group (31-50 years). Approximate 39.13
from eastern Uttar Pradesh having largest horticul- per cent farmers were in old age group (>50 years)
ture production was selected purposively. Two and only 10.89 percent farmers were in the young
blocks namely Arajiline and Pindra from Varanasi age group (<30 years).
districts with maximum horticultural production
Education
were purposively selected for the study. Blocks
Arajiline and Pindra consists of 226 and 191 villages; The literacy level of the farms families were classi-
out of which, 165 villages in Arajiline block and 140 fied into seven groups. Table 2 shows that 84.78 per-
villages in Pindra block because each block had a cent of respondents have a high level of literacy,
large area under vegetable farming, five percent of whereas 15.22 have a low level of literacy. In addi-
the villages in every block, i.e. eight and seven vil- tion, the educational standard of literate respon-
lages, were randomly selected for the study. Total dents was discovered to be as follows in descending
230 farmers were selected from 15 villages. order: 20, 19.13, 14.35, 11.74, 12.60 and 6.96 per cent
to the level of Primary, Middle, High School, Inter-
Descriptive Statistics
mediate, Graduation and Post Graduate and above
The whole analysis was done with help of various respectively. As a result, it may be concluded that
descriptive viz. percentage, mean, chi square test etc. the vast majority of respondents, i.e. 84.78 per cent
were literate.
Averages
Type of family
The average used in the present study relates to
simple average. The respondents of farmers family belongs to
An average was calculated by applying following nuclear family system followed by 18.26 per cent
formula: farmers to extended system 57.40 and 24.34 per cent
Average = Xi / n in joint family system. A study of table 3 indicates
Where, Xi = sum of independent variables that the 57.40 per cent farmers families were ob-
n = number of observation in data served, who had for all categories of farmers fami-
lies belongs to extended family size (5-7) and 18.26
Percentages
per cent of nuclear family size (up to 4).
Percentage is the number or ratio expressed as a
Size of land holding
fraction of hundredth. It is denoted using the per-
cent sign “%”. It is computed as; The detailed land holding size of the sampled farm-
Percentage (%) = X / N * 100 ers in presented in Table 4 indicates that 230 con-
Where, tributors were there in this study, from which 126
X = Respondents of desired class (54.78 per cent) contributors are marginal size of
N = Total number of respondents farm group (up to 1 hectare), 64 (27.82 per cent) con-
tributors have small size of farm group (1- 2 hect-
Chi-square test
are), 25 (10.86) respondents have semi medium size
2 = (Oi – Ei)2/Ei of farm group (2- 4 hectare), 15 (6.52) contributors
S412 Eco. Env. & Cons. 28 (December Suppl. Issue) : 2022

have medium size of farm. The average land under Farming experience
cash crop growers (chilli and tomato) in marginal,
The farming experience of cash vegetable crop
small, semi- medium and medium size of farm
growers intable 6 shows that the majority of the
groups were 0.68 ha, 1.58 ha, 2.38 ha and 4.15 ha re-
growers (60.86 %) had farming experience of>20
spectively.
years followed by 27.82 per cent of them had 11-20
Occupation years of experience and about 11.30 per cent of cash
crop vegetable growers had experience 1-10 years ,
Table 5 showed that agriculture was the most com-
respectively. It is also revealed from the table 6 that
mon major occupation which was accounting for
majority (57.59 %) of the marginal farm size chilli
55.66 per cent of all occupations. Agricultural and
and tomato growers were having experience of >20
other farming accounted for 26.51 per cent of all oc-
years in chilli and tomato farming whereas majority
cupations, while agriculture and other service ac-
of the small (51.56 %) grower were having experi-
counted for 17.83 per cent. It was concluded that
ence of >20years. In semi medium group majority of
there were 55.66 per cent respondents who had not
farmer having (48.00%) and medium farm size
any subsidiary occupation.
(60.00 %) growers had experience of >20 years. The
Table 1. Age wise distribution results highlight that the cash vegetable farming has
Sl.No Particular Frequency Percentage gained more acceptance in the recent decade due to
its profit advantage.
1. Young age (<30) 25 10.89
2. Middle age (31-50) 115 50 Chi-square test for association between education
3. Old age (>50) 90 39.13 and farm size group of cash vegetable crop growers:
Total 230 100
H0= there is no association between level of educa-
tion and farm size group
Table 2. Education status of sampled household
H1= there is association between level of educa-
S. Particular Frequency Sample
No. mean
Table 5. Occupational Status of Sampled Household
1 Illiterate 35 15.21
2 Primary 46 20.00 S.No Details Numbers Percentage
3 Middle 44 19.13 1 Agriculture 128 55.66
4 High School 33 14.34 2 Agriculture and other 61 26.51
5 Intermediate 27 11.73 farming activity
6 Graduation 29 12.60 3 Other services associated 41 17.83
7 P.G and above 16 9.95 with Agriculture
Total 230 100 Total 230 100

Table 3. Description about families of sampled respon- Table 6. Farming experience of cash vegetable crop
dents grower
S. Category Frequency/ Percentage S.No Farming experience Total Percentage
No. No of family
1.
1. Nuclear (Up to 4) 42 18.26 2 1-10 years 26 11.30
2. Extended (5 to 7) 132 57.40 3 11-20 years 64 27.82
3. Joint (>7) 56 24.34 4 >20 years 140 60.86
Total 230 100 Total 230 230

Table 4. Average land holding

Particulars Various farm size group Total /Sample
Marginal Small Semi-Medium Medium Average
1 farms Group (in numbers) 126 64 25 15 230
2 Land holding (in hectare) Up to 1 1-2 2-4 4-10 -
3 Total 0.68 1.58 2.38 4.15 2.19
SINGH ET AL S413

Table. Association between Education and farm size group

N = 230
Education/group Marginal Small Semi-Medium Medium Total of O
Farm Size O E O E O E O E Values
Illiterate 22 19.17391 8 9.73913 3 3.804348 3 2.282609 35
Primary 28 25.2 12 12.8 5 5 1 3 46
Middle 23 24.10435 14 12.24348 4 4.782609 3 2.869565 44
High School 19 18.07826 9 9.182609 3 3.586957 2 2.152174 33
Intermediate 12 14.7913 8 7.513043 4 2.934783 3 1.76087 27
Graduation 14 15.88696 8 8.069565 4 3.152174 3 1.043478 29
P.G and above 8 8.765217 5 4.452174 2 1.73913 1 1.043478 16
Total of O 126 64 25 15 230
5 per cent level of significance with 18 DOF
÷2= 9.52 (calculated value)
Tabulated value = 28.87

tion and farm size group Policy Implications

Tabulated value > calculated value that means
Develop regulations that inspire farmers to diversify
we accept the null hypothesis that means there is no
their earnings sources, specifically for marginal and
any association between education and farm size
small farmers. Policies must cognizance at the im-
group of cash vegetable crop growers.
provement of cash vegetable plants that motivates
farmer to adopt on industrial level. Strengthening
Conclusion
the delivery of formal and informal training and
extension is necessary. For farmers to have more
On the basis of findings it may be concluded that
accessibility, it is necessary to extend the setups of
most of the respondents belongs to middle age
economic offerings and promotional infrastructure.
group, the literacy level of the farms families were
Farmers will be able to invest in non-farm busi-
classified into seven groups, shows that 84.78 per-
nesses with the help of access to tender financing,
cent of respondents have a high level of literacy. The
increasing family income and food security. The
respondents of farmers family belongs to nuclear
government must ensure that the agricultural sector
family system followed by 18.26 per cent farmers to
receives structured input supplies.
extended system 57.40 and 24.34 per cent in joint
family system. The average land under cash crop
Acknowledgement
growers (chilli and tomato) in marginal, small, semi-
medium and medium size of farm groups were 0.68
I acknowledge to the Department of Agricultural
ha, 1.58 ha, 2.38 ha and 4.15 ha respectively. The
Economics for providing all short of facilities re-
agriculture was the most common major occupation
quired for conducting this research.
which was accounting for 55.66 per cent of all occu-
pations. The farming experience of cash vegetable
crop growers in Table 6 shows that the majority of
References
the growers (60.86 %) had farming experience of less
Bhardwaj, R.L. and Nandal, U. 2015. Papaya cultivation
than 20 years. The shift towards cultivation of cash
brought socio-economic and nutritional security in
vegetable crop in Varanasi district may change the Sirohi tribals of Rajasthan, India-A case study. Asian
scenario of the agriculture in the state. The majority Journal of Dairy and Food Research. 34(1): 44-48.
of the sample’s farmers are small and marginal Doharey, R.K., Prasad, K. and Singh, S.N. 2021. Socio Eco-
farmers, demonstrating that they cultivate cash veg- nomic Profile of the Sugarcane Growers in Sitapur
etable crops. The efforts are required to provide pro- District (U.P.), India. International Journal of Current
curement facilities, remunerative prices to the farm- Microbiology and Applied Sciences. 6(3): 2021-2031.
ers and encourage processing industries to take pro- Ghosh M. 2020. Socio-Economic Economic Status of Veg-
etable Farmers in Char Region of Chapainawabganj.
duce from small and marginal farmers.
An Academic Journal of Exim Bank Agricultural Univer-
S414 Eco. Env. & Cons. 28 (December Suppl. Issue) : 2022

sity of Bangladesh. 2: 30-35. nomic Impact of Protected Cultivation on Tomato

Gupta, R.K., Srivastava, J.P. and Chaubey, S. 2018. Socio Growers of Himachal Pradesh. Economic Affairs,
economic profile of the farmers of Balrampur district 65(1): 1-7.
of Chhattisgarh state. International Journal of Chemi- Mishra, D., and Ghadei, K. 2015. Socio-Economic Profile
cal Studies. 6(5): 461-465. of Vegetable Farmers in Eastern Uttar. Indian Jour-
Javeed, Q., Peer, A. Aziz, T. Rashid, I and Kumar, S. 2020 nal of Agriculture and Allied Sciences. 1(2):3-7.
Socio Economics Profile of Chilli Growers in District M, V.K., Kumar, M.A. and Nahar, S. 2018. Study on Socio-
Baramulla ( J & K ). Current Journal of Applied Science Economic Profile of The Selected Pulses Growing
and Technology. 39(10) : 135-141. Farmers in Mahabubnagar District Of Telangana
Maurya, A.S. Yadav, R.N., Singh, D.K., Singh, D., and State. International Journal of Agricultural Sciences.
Singh, V.K. 2017. Socio-Economic Status of Brinjal 10(12) : 6428-6431.
Growers in Bulandshahr District of Western Uttar Pal, A.K. Katiyar, R., and Singh, H.C. 2017. Socio-Eco-
Pradesh, India. International Journal of Current Micro- nomic Profile of Sugarcane Growers in District
biology and Applied Sciences. 6(8) : 361-365. Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. International Jour-
Mehta, K., Thakur, R.K. and Guleria, J.S. 2020. Socio-Eco- nal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences. 6(9):
1217-1229.