Cost and Returns Analysis of Sugarcane Production in Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

The study aims to identify the socioeconomic profile of farmers, calculate different input prices, net returns per-acre in different sizes of farms, and propose evidence-based policies to stabilize agricultural income. The study has a sample of 120 sugarcane-producing households that were chosen by the use of a multistage random sampling method among four representative villages in the selected blocks. The structured interview schedules were used to gather primary data in the agricultural year 2025. A percentage test was used to assess the proportion of the ratio input of factors and the resultant revenue system of marginal, small, medium, and large farms. The findings showed that sugarcane farmer incurs 62.90 percent on hired workers, which is the most important cost element because there is industrial competition in the area regarding the availability of the workforce. A net average of 31,233 per acre was achieved in the study. Even an examination of farm sizes shows that the highest level of the economies of scale is achieved at the range of 5.0-7.5 acre that produces the best relative net returns. The study suggests that one should embrace the use of labour-saving technologies and micro-irrigation systems. Intervention by the government is proposed to give fair credit support and to correct price-fixing systems (FRP), such that they reflect properly increasing costs of labour and inputs.