Economics of rice production and marketing in West Bengal: A case study of Tulaipanji rice of Dakshin Dinajpur District

India is the second largest producer of rice in the world and occupies the fi rst position as the rice exporter in the world. Rice is the basic food crop in India and it is also the dominant crop produced in a large area. West Bengal positioned at top rank in rice cultivation with 14.68 million tons (2014–2015) having 13.9 percent share of total rice production in India. Second and third positions were occupied by Uttar Pradesh and Punjab respectively with 12.17 million tons and 11.11 million tons of rice production. However, there are several problems of marketing of rice in India as well as in West Bengal as price totally depends on the supply chain; and middlemen earn huge profits by selling these crops in city markets. Governments have almost no control over it and farmers are facing enormous loss by making distressed sell of their crops. Although both the Central and State Governments have taken number of policies, these are not sufficient and effective in all cases. In this study we have tried to analyze the economics of rice cultivation, and the problems faced by the farmers in marketing of rice. We have closely looked at the cost of cultivation of rice and as well as the profits earned by the farmers. Moreover, problems and prospects of production and marketing of “Tulaipanji” rice, which is famous as aromatic rice produced in West Bengal, especially in Dakshin Dinajpur district, has been discussed. The study is an empirical and analytical in nature and based on both secondary and primary data.