Analysis of technical efficiency in mustard production in Haryana and Punjab: For adopting better risk management practices in Indian agriculture

This paper help in analyzing Technical Efficiencies (TE), in different agricultural production stages for growing mustard, adopted by the farmers of Punjab &Haryana in smallholding farming communities following the fast-track agricultural reform of the year 2014 with a view of highlighting key entry points for policy in the context of “Doubling of Farmers Income”. Using a randomly selected sample of 350 smallholder mustard producers in the districts of south western Punjab and north western Haryana, a stochastic frontier production model was applied, using a linear Cobb-Douglas production function to determine the production elasticity coefficients of inputs, technical efficiency and the determinants of efficiency. The TE can be proved immensely helpful to avoid the situation of indebtedness, low yield and farmer's suicides in other Indian states. The study finds that mustard output responds positively to the increases in inorganic fertilizers, seed quantity, the use of labor and the area planted. The technical efficiency analysis suggests that more than 90% of farmers in the sample are between 70 and 85% efficient, with an average efficiency in the sample of 77%. The significant determinants of technical efficiency were the gender of the household head, household size, and frequency of extension services and visits, farm size and the farming region. This paper represents a case study of south western Punjab and western Haryana to conclude the advanced middle stage farmers of both the state transforming the Income generation from agricultural production by making possible use of efficient technology in production for High Yield Varieties (HYV) of mustard.