An attempt has been made in the present study to estimate the physical post-harvest losses in banana and to identify the causes of losses in Durg district of Chhattisgarh. The explicit evaluation of the impact of post-harvest losses at different stages of marketing on farmers' net price, marketing costs, margins and efficiency have been presented. The results indicated that there are two major marketing channels viz., wholesaler channel and commission agent channel. The post-harvest losses were as high as 18 kg per quintal in the wholesale channel; comprising 31.67 per cent at the field and assembly level, 33.06 per cent at the wholesale market level and 35.28 per cent at the retail level. The total physical losses in the second marketing channel which was through commission agent were 18.95 kg per quintal with 28.50, 33.25 and 38.26 per cent in the corresponding stages. Small fruits, sun burn, harvesting injury and cracks and cankers at farm level; physiological dryness, physical damage and pressed and crushed fruits, over ripening loss at wholesale market level; physically damaged fruit and over ripened fruit at retailers level were the major causes responsible for post-harvest losses in banana. Further it was found that by separating out marketing loss at each stage of marketing, the producers' net share and wholesaler and retailer margins have been reduced substantially. It can be inferred that marketing efficiency is inversely proportional to the volume of post-harvest losses.

The paper attempts to study the disposal pattern, marketing cost, marketing margins and price spread of banana in Dhamdha blockof Durg district of Chhattisgarh state for the year 2017-18. The marketing of banana has been studied by three marketing channels, viz., I: Producer wholesaler  retailer  consumer; II: Producer  wholesaler (through commission agent)  retailer  consumer; III: Producer  retailer (through commission agent)  consumer. The net price received by the producer was 58.75 per cent, 53.08 per cent and 62.43 per cent in marketing channel I, II and III, respectively. The producer's share in marketing channel III was the maximum because of direct sale by the producer to the retailer through commission agent. In the marketing cost, expenditure was highest on commission charges followed by transportation in all the channels. The marketing channel I has been found most efficient because its marketing efficiency was 1.42 as compared to 0.96 and 1.36 in marketing channel II and III, respectively. The low marketing efficiency in supply chain II was on account of a higher number of market intermediaries in this chain. High price fluctuations followed by unremunerative prices, high commission charge, lack of regulated market and high transportation cost were the major problem reported by the banana growers. Whereas lack of cold storage facilities followed by non-availability of banana processing units, inadequate market infrastructure and shortage of electricity supply were the marketing problems highlighted by the intermediaries.

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: This study is aimed at economic analysis of production of BT cotton in Adilabad district of Telangana state with specific objectives of determining the production trend and estimating the cost of production and farm profitability of Bt cotton in the study area. A total of six villages in the three sampled blocks viz., Koutala, Dahegoan, Bejjure mandals (Blocks) were selected randomly for the study. Altogether, 100 Bt cotton farmers which were classified in to small, medium and large farmers, in these 57, 25 and 18 respondents were sampled, respectively. Compound growth rate, cost concepts and farm profitability measures was used to analyze the primary data. The study reveals that the growth rates in area, production and productivity is positive (7.20 %, 11.30 % and 3.80%), respectively. The sample average for total cost of cultivation was Rs.52921.32/ha in Bt cotton in different size of farms group. Per hectare gross returns and net profit was Rs.86562/ha and Rs.33640/ ha, respectively. Output-input ratio was 1.92.The study indicated that, Bt cotton production is highly profitable in both study areas of India and Nigeria.The major constrains in the cultivation of cotton were poor quality of seed, labour scarcity, higher cost of fertilizer and pesticides and rainfall deficiency.

Aims: This paper investigated the need and socio-economic impact of skill development training program on employment status of rural youth by using the case of Rural Self Employment Training Institute (RSETI) located in Nadiad, Gujarat. Study Design: A random sample of 120 trainees who took skill development training during the period 2013-16 were selected for the study. Data collected were subjected to in-depth tabular analysis as well as statistical techniques such as Principal component analysis (PCA). Results: The study showed that the skill training imparted by RSETI was widely taken by rural youths with the motive of starting a new venture. The impact of training program on occupational status of trainees showed that the training significantly raised the level of self-employment in the youths. The economic impact of the training indicated that the trainees were either monetary motivated or they felt improvement in the job quality.  On the basis of social impact, the trainees were segmented into four broad categories namely self-employment seekers, prestige seekers, confident & positive respondents and efficient respondents. Conclusion: The study suggested that selective training methods should be devised, based on interests and capabilities of the individuals, that were leaders, entrepreneurs, Pessimist, self-conscious and self-motivated categories, to get the effective results.