Resource-Use Efficiency in the Coconut Cultivation: A Comparative Analysis of PM KISAN Beneficiaries and Non-Beneficiaries

Coconut farming is a major economic activity in the agrarian sector in Tamil Nadu and the utilisation of the resources remains inefficient because of the high-cost of inputs and uneven distributions of land. This study explores how the PM KISAN Scheme affected the efficiency of resource utilisation in the coconut farmers in relation to beneficiary and non-beneficiary farmers in the Salem District. These are aimed at determining the socio-economic profiles of the farmers and to determine the impact of the scheme on production costs, returns and technical efficiency. The Cobb-Douglas production function, cost and return analysis with the primary data comprising of 100 randomly selected farmers were used. The findings show that beneficiaries have better yields, lower costs, and net returns than non-beneficiaries. The scheme has also a positive influence on the technical efficiency and this is supported by the factors such as education and family size. The research finds that PM KISAN contributes to the efficiency of the use of resources to a significant extent, and this aspect necessitates the further improvement of the implementation to derive the best advantages.