Agri-inputs Sourcing Networks of Rice Farmers in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, India

Abstract

Agricultural inputs are the underlying elements that are vital for agricultural production. Timely availability and quality of the inputs also have a significant impact on production. Thereby, the study aims to investigate the structure and dynamics of agricultural input sourcing networks among rice farmers in two districts each of Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Kerala. A total of 120 farmers were randomly selected and surveyed. Social network analysis was deployed for the analysis and to delineate the network maps. The results revealed that commercial banks were the major source of financial resources among all four districts. Cooperative banks with an eigen-centrality value of 0.96 were on par with the commercial banks in providing credit to the farmers in Palakkad region of Kerala. In seeds, private dealers were major players in Kurnool, while neighbouring farmers were the major source in East Godavari of AP. In Kerala, Krishi Bhavan was the major source of seeds for farmers in both districts. For other inputs such as fertilisers and plant protection chemicals, farmers in Kurnool sourced majorly from private dealers while East Godavari farmers sourced primarily from both private dealers and cooperatives. In Kerala, farmers sourced other inputs primarily from cooperatives in Thrissur and in Palakkad, farmers sourced them from a farmer producer organisation.