Labour scarcity, increasing labour costs and declining ground water table have forced farmers in Indian Punjab to find an alternative to resource intensive puddled transplanted rice (PTR). Dry-seeded rice (DSR) was introduced in 2009–10 to address these problems. The impact analysis of this new technology was undertaken by using a comprehensive questionnaire during 2013 through a field survey of farmers who had adopted DSR during 2009 to 2012 in 21 villages in three districts (Bathinda, Faridkot, Sri Muktsar Sahib). The number of farmers who had adopted DSR increased from 10 in 2009 to 211 in 2012; over this time, 11% of these farmers had shifted completely to DSR. The adoption rate of DSR was higher for coarse rice than basmati rice, and adoption was the highest among farmers with medium and large landholding. DSR saved 14 person-days/ha and 18 to 20% irrigation water compared to PTR. To begin with DSR had 2 to 5% yield penalty as compared to PTR. However, as farmers became knowledgeable about DSR especially in sowing and weed control techniques, yield penalty was overcome within one to two years. The productivity of succeeding wheat crop was 5% higher when it was sequenced with DSR than after PTR, thereby increasing higher net returns. The total net returns from DSRwheat system exceeded PTR-wheat system by INR 5050 to 8100/ha. The results of this survey are consistent with experimental data. Further improvements in planting machinery, weed management practices, and enhancement of grower skills through training programs were identified as the key areas for accelerating the adoption of this new production technology at scale.

Punjab Agriculture is trapped in the complex nexus of groundwater depletion and food insecurity. The policymakers are concerned about reducing groundwater extraction at any cost for irrigation without jeopardizing food security. In this regard, the Government of Punjab introduced the “Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009”. The present paper examines the impact of the “Preservation of Sub Soil Water Act, 2009” on pre- and post-water levels in Punjab using the difference-in-difference (DiD) approach. The state has witnessed a severe fall of 0.50 m per year and 0.43 m per year for the post-monsoon and pre-monsoon season, respectively. Only 2.62 per cent of wells were in the range of 20–40 m depth in the state in 1996, which increased to 42 per cent and 67 per cent in 2018 for the pre-monsoon period, and post monsoon period respectively, depicting an increase of 25 times. The groundwater depth in high rice-growing(treated) districts declined by 1.53 and 1.39 m than the low rice-growing (control) districts in the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon periods respectively post the enactment of PPSW Act, 2009. A groundwater governance framework is urgently needed to manage the existing and future challenges connected with the groundwater resource.

Uncertain price movement in staple food commodities puts agrarian economies at risk if not monitored and managed consistently. Hence, an attempt has been made to analyze the price behavior and integration across major wholesale and retail markets for rice and wheat in India. Monthly data (July 2000 to June 2022) on prices viz. wholesale and retail were sourced from the Food and Agriculture Organization and analyzed using growth rate, instability index, seasonal price index, Bai-Perron’s test for structural breaks, Johansen’s test on cointegration, Granger causality test, and impulse response function. Findings indicated strong evidence of price dynamics in the selected markets in terms of spatial and temporal variation, clear-cut seasonality linking to production, and price divergence between wholesale and retail markets. Johansen’s test indicated a strong cointegration between wholesale and retail prices after accounting for structural breaks, exhibiting unidirectional-, bidirectional- and no causality. Impulse response analysis revealed that the selected wheat and rice markets are efficient in terms of ‘price discovery’ which takes place initially in the wholesale market, and is then transmitted to the retail market. The study advocates decision-making information to the producers, traders, and consumers who are interested in taking advantage of the price movement. It is concluded that strengthening the market intelligence and reducing the distortion in markets will improve the existing overall performance.

Market infrastructure plays an integral role in enhancing marketing efficiency and improving market margins of the farmers. Based on a sample of 322 stakeholders from 23 agricultural markets of Punjab, the present study highlighted the status and performance of display boards in the agricultural markets. It was found that majority of the farmers reported that the information displayed was mainly focussed on the prices and market arrival of paddy and wheat crop which was also available in many other sources. Lack of information on prices and arrival of fruits and vegetables, inappropriate location of display board, less visibility and lack of local language were other constraints which inversely affect the level of performance of this mode of information. The study suggested the need to display regular and timely information on prices and arrival of fruits and vegetables which would help in crop diversification by enhancing areas under fruits and vegetable crops in the state.

Chickpea is the most important pulse in India. The present study is based on secondary data, worked out trends in production, seasonal variation and integration among major markets of India. Advance Econometrics analysis like Granger Causality test, Johansen Co-integration test and Vector Error Correction model were employed to examine the integration of markets. The trend in area and production shows fluctuations in major producing states except in Uttar Pradesh. In all the major producing states of chickpea, contribution of area was higher in production. The production trend improves in case of Madhya Pradesh whereas decreased in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Seasonality in arrivals has impacted the monthly retail price in all the selected markets. Out of six selected markets, five markets were having a long run price relationship. However, market integration has not yet reached an optimal level because all markets were not spatially integrated with one another in all the cases. The short run results indicated that chickpea’s markets were not well integrated. This could be due to poor market intelligence and unfavorable location of the markets. The policy intervention calls for strengthening market intelligent wing in all markets along with the establishing of online marketing system through computerization and networking. Strengthening of market infrastructure including transportation and communication facilities are the need of time in order to fully integrate the market prices. Concentration of marketing during the lean seasons helps reducing the impact of seasonality.

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