Abstract

The present study is based on primary data collected from 188 farmers who cultivate wheat, paddy, and sugarcane in Dhamravali village, Bulandshahr district, Uttar Pradesh, through a structured questionnaire. The results showed that sugarcane had the highest Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) of 1.76, offering the best return per unit of cost. The paddy-wheat system had a BCR of 1.59. The scale efficiency of sugarcane, determined using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), was 0.969, indicating that output could be increased by 4 per cent by optimizing landholding size. Socio-economic factors such as caste, landholding size, principal occupation, number of farm implements, and soil fertility were found to influence sugarcane cultivation. The study concludes that raising technological awareness, improving input quality, adopting water-efficient irrigation methods, and enhancing infrastructure can boost sugarcane returns. Additionally, introducing advanced techniques such as bud chip planting can further improve yields and enhance the financial sustainability of farmers.

Keywords

Benefit-cost ratio, cost of cultivation, data envelopment analysis, efficiency, technology awareness.

JEL Codes
D61, Q00, Q10, Q12, Q19.

Description

Indian Journal of Economics and Development
Volume 21 No. 2, June 2025, 000-000

https://doi.org/10.35716/IJED-24439

Impact Factor: 0.3 (Web of Science)
NAAS Score: 6.30 (2025)
Indexed in Scopus (SJR = 0.13)
Resurchify Impact Score: 0.23
UGC Approved (UGC Care List Group II)
Index Copernicus (ICV 2023: 105.09)