Operational Efficiency, Economic Performance and Social Significance of GALASA Style Rice Production in Indian Agriculture

【Report】 107 Operational Efficiency, Economic Performance and Social Significance of GALASA Style Rice Production in Indian Agriculture Babu Chittilappilly Varkey＊ and Yoshihito Itohara＊＊＊United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Tottori University ＊＊Faculty of Agriculture, Yamaguchi University E-mail: babinold＠hotmail.com & gbb５０＠po.cc.yamaguchi-u.ac.jp Abstract Galasa is the abbreviation for“Group Approach for Locally Adapted and Sustainable Agriculture”. The present study is aimed at establishing the viewpoint that the Galasa of rice farmers in the Kerala state of India is an operationally efficient, economically productive and socially beneficial agricultural production practice. The field survey covered１２０farmers, who were operating in the Galasa rice fields and adjacent locations in the Palakkad District of Kerala state. Applying the Data Envelopment Analysis （DEA）, a non-parametric frontier tool, the study proved that Galasa is an efficient agricultural production practice in terms of all efficiency measurements such as technical, scale, cost and allocative effi- ciencies. Boosting the rice yield from ３，２８７ kg／ha to ６，４４９ kg／ha and ensuring four times improvement in the profit, Galasa helps sustaining rice production in the state where foodgrain deficiency rose up to８０％ of the total demand. On achieving the full-scale yield potential, Galasa can promote Kerala’s self-sufficiency on foodgrains by reducing the deficiency level to ４９％. Galasa, which insists organic farming and encourages the preservation of the remaining３１０，５２１hectares of area under rice, can con- tribute significantly to the environmental sustainability. By preventing the fast disappearance of rice fields, Galasa can also absorb ９．４９％ of the total agricultural labourers in Kerala. In summary, Galasa has to be widely adopted as a pragmatic approach for the sustenance of rice production in an economically productive manner. With its state-wide replication, Galasa could be a panacea for some of the per- sistent problems like foodgrain deficiency, unemployment and environmental degradation. １．Introduction Despite the fact that growth in global food production is greater than growth in population, about８４０ million people are underfed in the present world and about３０％ of children in poor countries are under- weighted during１９７０―９５（Suresh２０００）. Among other factors, the poor income of the people is under- stood to be the major cause of food deprivation in developing countries. For instance, although India has attained self-sufficiency in foodgrain production with ２１１ million tonnes in ２００２（Department of Agri- culture & Cooperation２００３）, the country does not ensure food security mainly because of the poor pur- chasing power of the people. According to the Human Development Report（UNDP ２００３）, ７９．９％ of the Indian population is living with an income below US＄２aday,and２８．６％ is living below the na- tional poverty line. Growing unemployment, unequal distribution of productive assets, ineffective utilisa- 108 Babu Chittilappilly Varkey and Yoshihito Itohara tion of natural and human resources, and wide disparity of income levels are the well-known causes of poverty in India. However, the problems of food security and poverty in India to a greater extent could be overcome by augmenting the contributions of agricultural sector, which accounts for３０％ of the gross domestic product（GDP）and employs over ６０％ of the population. With１６０million hectares of gross cropped area, almost the size of US farmland（Prime Minis- ter’s Council on Trade and Industry ２００３）, there is an immense potential for agricultural development in India. Galasa, the name popular for“Group Approach for Locally Adapted and Sus- tainable Agriculture，”is known to be an Fig.１ Location of Kerala in South India innovative agricultural production ap- Source: Compiled from various Government of Kerala Publica- proach in rice production, so far prac- tions ticed on an experimental basis in the Kerala state of South India. Before we make clear the production approach of Galasa, it is desirable to understand the circumstances that led to the emergence of Galasa in Kerala. Although small in size（only１．１８％ of the total geographi- cal area of India）, Kerala has to feed ３．１０％ of the total population owing to its high density of population. Rice, be- ing the staple food as well as the major crop of Kerala, its production comes to nearly ９７％ of the total food grain pro- duced in the state. Still, Kerala has been a food deficit state since long ago for the reason that its domestic rice production can not satisfy even one-fourth of the total demands for staple food. Fast disappearance of area under cultivation, poor productivity and lower profitability are the known causes for this situation. Fig.２ Galasa Project Area（Palakkad District） While the area under rice declined from Source: Compiled from various Government of Kerala Pu- ８７６，０００ hectares in １９７５ to ３１１，０００ blications Operational Efficiency, Economic Performance and Social Significance of GALASA Style Rice Production in Indian Agriculture 109 hectares in ２００２ indicating about ６５％ reduction in the total area, the production showed a decline of ４８％ from １，３２９，０００ tons in １９７５ to ６８９，０００ tons in ２００２（see Fig.３）. Similarly, as could be evidenced from the inter-state comparisons in Fig.４and５, rice production in Kerala has also become less competitive owing to its poor yield, negligible profit and increased production cost. An inter-crop com- parisonasinFig.６and７testifies the fact that rice is not only the crop with the highest decline in terms of area under cultivation（about１９％）but also the least remunerative crop in terms of gross return（Rs. １８，９３５／ha）. Other factors, such as plentiful supplies of rice through public distribution system, free flow of rice in the open market from other states, and relatively smaller market price for rice, might have also induced rice farmers to switch over to other more profitable crops. As a practical solution to the prevailing problems, the Government of Kerala implemented a group farming scheme in １９８９ with the goals of preventing the then declining trend of area, and improving production and productivity of rice. However, the scheme, which consumed nearly４６０million rupees of investment, could not salvage rice production from its prevalent problems（Government of Kerala １９９７）. A study on the“organizational merits of group farming scheme in Kerala，”by the same authors in ２００２, observed that although group farming scheme was an economical failure, there had existed some organizational merits. Farmers had considered their groups, at the least, as an interactive-social fo- kg 1298 1272 1329 1087 1093 1173 875 876 742 802 953 803 678 689 722 751 471 559 347 311 Fig. ４ Yield and profit of rice in Kerala and Fig.３ Production and area of rice in Kerala other states（Average１９８１―０１） Source: Statistics for Planning and Economic Review Source: Compiled from various Govemment publica- （１９５１―２００３） tions kg kg 3.19 Fig. ５ Production cost and price of rice in Fig. ６ Percentage change in area of princi- Kerala and other states （Average pal crops in Kerala during１９７５―０１１９８１―０１） Source: Compiled from various Govemment of Kerala publications Source: Compiled from various Govemment publications 110 Babu Chittilappilly Varkey and Yoshihito Itohara rum in which their field experiences and operational problems are shared. Thus, there existed very high positive attitude on behavioral and or- ganization aspects of group farming, evidenced by the enhanced mutual trust, social interaction and group harmony. Farmers had also improved their interpersonal skills through their enlightened par- ticipation in the management of farmer groups. By the year１９９９, there had even a statewide network Fig. ７ Gross return from principal crops in of６，１００farmer groups（Babu and Itohara２００３）. Kerala-Average１９９５―０１（Rs. ／ha） The fact that rice farmers continue to remain in Source: Compiled from various Govemment of their groups as they are really induced to over- Kerala publications come their problems through group action despite the economic ineffectiveness of the failed group farming scheme was recognized by a voluntary group of agricultural scientists, farmer leaders and local government officials. They were determined to find out a lasting solution on the same lines of group farming but on an integrated approach that helps overcoming the deficiencies in the existing production system by adopting economically sound and environmentally friendly sustainable practices. Thus, this voluntary group in the name of‘Paddy Field Protection Movement’brought forth the concept of Galasa in１９９８as a pragmatic solution to revamp rice production by way of reducing cost, and enhancing yield and profitability（Popular Expert Committee,１９９８）. The basic approach is to mobilize and utilize natural resources for the development of locally adaptable technology in a massive way for the sustainable improvement of rice productivity（Estelitta et al., ２０００）. As a group approach, Galasa is a modified scheme of group farming that aims to take the full advantage of its prevailing organizational merits. The field level testing of Galasa was already ended up with two phases of experiments in Palakkad district during１９９９―２００１, and later on, it has been extended to Kuttanad and Thrissur rice fields of the state. By the year ２００２, the field experiments of Galasa were also reported to be completed. Based on the extensive literature survey, and the personal interviews conducted with the Galasa scientists and farmers, it is observed that Galasa encompasses many unique features in terms of both organizational and production aspects, as briefly described in Table １. As revealed in“the Methodology of Galasa，” published by Kerala Agricultural University（KAU１９９９）, Galasa scientists claim that the potential yield of Galasa under ideal conditions would be １０．３４ tons, as against ３．１８ tons of yield under the existing conditions. A square meter of area under Galasa can have ５０ rice plants with every plant has eight stalks, where one stalk has １１５ seeds, weighing one gram for ４４．５ seeds, which imply １０．３４ tons per hectare（５０×０８×１１５×１００００÷４４．５＝１０．３４ tons）.

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