A Programming Analysis of Production and Resource Use in Small-Holder Agriculture in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka
Suraweera, Don Edward Franklyn
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/69845
Description
Title
A Programming Analysis of Production and Resource Use in Small-Holder Agriculture in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka
Author(s)
Suraweera, Don Edward Franklyn
Issue Date
1982
Department of Study
Agricultural Economics
Discipline
Agricultural Economics
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Economics, Agricultural
Abstract
The development of small farm sector of the dry zone plays a major role in agricultural development in Sri Lanka. Past efforts towards developing these small farms have met with little success. This study investigates a farm planning approach for enhancing the economic status of small farms. Furthermore, increased production of soybean, a crop well-suited to the dry zone conditions, seems an ideal solution to the low availability and consumption of proteins among the Sri Lankan population. Yet, the planned expansion in soybean production in Sri Lanka has not progressed as expected.
In this study, optimal farm plans and resource allocation patterns are developed for several representative farms, and the effect of adoption of new technology is empirically analyzed. The competitiveness of soybean with other dry zone crops is investigated from a production economic standpoint.
A static linear programming model, designed to maximize gross margins and incorporating farm record data, is used for the analysis. A normative supply function was developed for soybean by variable price programming using the same model. Regression analysis was used to estimate the supply elasticities of soybean under different conditions.
The results of the analysis indicated that significant increases in farm income are possible by farm planning and optimal resource allocation. When new technology is introduced the gross margin is increased by 90 per cent. The utilization of family labor, hired labor and irrigation water rises. Returns per acre, returns to labor and capital also rise. There is no significant change in the cropping patterns. However, there is decline in the intensity of land use and diversification in cropping plans.
The results also showed that, under the current price structure, soybean would not enter the cropping plans if the farms are organized optimally. However, soybean begins to be competitive at a price of Rs. 4.50 per pound in the Maha season and Rs. 4.10 per pound in the Yala season. Under new technology these prices are somewhat less. Supply elasticities obtained when soybean was cultivated with prevailing technology were greater in magnitude than those obtained with new technology.
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