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Abstract

The study focused on profitability, value of addition and constraint analysis of wood log entrepreneurs in the Canara forest circle of Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka. Primary data was collected by using structured questionnaires. There were 78 registered wood log entrepreneurs in Canara Forest Circle. All the wood log entrepreneurs were considered to formulate a population study for the mentioned forest circle. The data collected were analysed using descriptive, cost-returns, value-added ratio, and rank-based quotient (RBQ) analysis. The study revealed that most of the respondents belong to the middle-age (48%), and around 42 per cent of respondents were graduated. The majority of the respondents were male (>88%) and living in nuclear families (71%). Almost half of the wood log entrepreneurs are landless, so they practice wood logging as their main occupation with sole proprietorship (82%). Cost and returns analysis elucidate that the total cost for wood processing for 1000 CFT accounted for Rs. 20.3 lakhs, out of which 97 per cent accounts for variable cost and the remaining accounts for a fixed cost. Around Rs. 35 lakhs were generated as revenue from the main product and by-products, including saw powder and firewood, with the returns per rupee of investment of 1.71 for 1000 CFT. Among the value additions, sofa sets have the highest value-added product (ratio 0.62), followed by dining tables (0.55), doors (0.52), office tables (0.49), and windows (0.45). The study also identified several constraints wood log entrepreneurs face, such as labour shortages, income tax obligations, government policies of raw material procurement, high transportation costs and scarcity of raw materials.