FACTORS INFLUENCING THE YIELD OF PADDY IN ASSAM: AN ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Analysis of the relationship between inputs and outputs is an important challenge for agricultural researchers to know whether the observed fluctuation in crop output can be explained properly through various factors involved in the process. This study analyzes the impact of factors such as fertilizers, high-yielding varieties (HYVs), irrigation, rainfall, floods, etc., on the yield of paddy in Assam—the gateway of North-Eastern India. This study uses linear, log-lin, and log-linear (Cobb-Douglas) functional forms to analyze the data. The results show that fertilizers have a positive and significant impact on both the Kharif and Rabi paddy. For a unit increase in fertilizer, about 14% increase in the yield of Kharif paddy was observed during the period of 1971-72 to 1999-2000. Except flood, the impact of all other independent variables, viz., proportion of area under HYVs and rainfall are positive. Hence, flood proved to be a major limiting factor in the yield of Kharif paddy; while in the case of Rabi paddy, except irrigation, the impact of all other independent variables are positive on the yield.