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India is a predominantly agricultural economy. More than 70% of its population is directly or indirectly involved in agricultural activities. India is one of the foremost producers of spices in the world. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), 63 spices are grown in India. Ginger is one of the main spices and plays a vital role in the production and export of the country. Meghalaya's economy is predominantly agriculture-based with 81% of its population depending on agriculture, though agricultural productivity in Meghalaya is very low. This paper analyzes resource use efficiency in ginger production in Meghalaya's West Garo Hills district. The study is based on primary data. The multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 300 ginger farmers. To estimate resource use efficiency in ginger production, the Cobb-Douglas type of production function was best fitted to the data. Independent variables identified were land (X1), seed (X2), labour (X3), harvesting cost (X4), marketing cost (X5) and others include hoe, dao (wait), digging spades (X6) and dependent variables as production of ginger(Y). Among the inputs used for the production of ginger which had positive and significant influences at the overall level, the MVP to PX ratio was less than one for land (0.07), seed (0.26), human labor (0.08), harvesting cost (0.08), marketing cost (0.13) and others (0.09) indicated under-utilization of these resources in the cultivation of ginger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was conducted in West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya during the cropping season of 2010-11 to analyze the economics of wetland rice cultivation. Data for the study were collected from 120 wetland rice farmers through simple random sampling procedure from six different Community Development Blocks. The results showed that the overall cost amounting to cost A1 (Rs. 17,696.21/ ha-1), Cost B1 (Rs. 18939.59 ha-1), Cost C1 (Rs. 21632.88 ha-1), Cost C2 (Rs. 23796.17 ha-1) in various size groups of wetland rice farmers. Total costs of wetland rice production was Rs. 21633 ha-1 with the average productivity of 2323 kg ha-1 in the study area. Gross return was estimated to be Rs. 29051 with the benefit cost ratio of 1.34 at total cost. The highest overall share of utilization of agroinputs was accounted for by human labour (40.61%) followed by tractor/power tiller (24.29%). Other agro-inputs like seeds, FYM/vermicompost, fertilizers, bullock labour accounted for 6.12, 4.12, 4.29, 2.11 per cent of total expenditure, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]