Factors influencing moringa cultivation in Tamil Nadu – an economic analysis

Abstract

Moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) is grown extensively in tropics and subtropics of India and Africa. It is widely used as vegetable and grown commercially for its edible pods and leaves. On realizing the nutritional importance, Moringa was used in different forms and hence the cultivation of Moringa is popular in different nations particularly in Tamil Nadu. The Factors influencing Moringa cultivation in Southern Districts of Tamil Nadu was carried out during 2016-17.1 The study revealed that presence of higher returns, sustainable income generation, availability of land and water resources for cultivation, minimal pest problems, good market demand for value added Moringa products in the national and international markets were found to be the principal factors influencing the area under Moringa. In this respect effort has been taken to assess the Resource use efficiency of Moringa Orchards. Resource Use Efficiency analysis revealed that four principal variables viz., number of limb cuttings used for planting, quantity of FYM, quantity of fertilizer applied (kg) and the number of human labour used (man days) per ha per annum were found to influence the yield of Moringa and the results indicated that all these four variables significantly contributed towards the yield of Moringa. Besides, the economics of Moringa cultivation also presented and discussed.

Technical Efficiency of Moringa Production: A case Study in Wolaita and Gamo Zones, Southern Ethiopia

“…This meaning a percent increase in all inputs proportionally would bring the total production by more than a percent increase. This finding is similar to a result by Sekhar et al (2018) that indicated the increasing return to scale with 1.48 value in their study of the economic efficiency of Moringa in India.…”

“…The level of labor and number of Moringa tree coefficient in the above SPF model implies that a percent increase in labor and number of Moringa tree increased the amount Moringa production by 92% and 36%, respectively. This result is similar to Sekhar et al (2018) of whom indicated the number of human labor used (man-days) per ha per annum was found to influence the yield of Moringa in India. The estimated value of gamma is 0.74 which implies that 74% of the total variation in Moringa production farm output is accounted for by technical inefficiency.…”