Working Paper: 533

Cost Benefit Analysis of System of Wheat Intensification
Method of Cultivation Vis-à-Vis the Traditional Method:
A Case Study of Gaya, Bihar

Shikha Pandey

 

Abstract

Wheat is one of the main cereal crops grown in Bihar, with more than 80 percent of the gross cropped area under it. Even then, the yield of wheat is quite low. With the declining land size per farmer, a decrease in area under agriculture and a continuous increase in population, it has become important to increase the productivity of wheat in order to maintain the food security. Keeping this in mind, the government of Bihar started promoting the System of Wheat Intensification (SWI) in the state in the year 2011. The main objective of this paper is to understand how beneficial is the SWI method of cultivation in comparison to the traditional method. The results of the study show that there is an increase in yield of wheat by 49 percent under SWI method, but also an increase in cost of production due to increase in use of labour. Overall, the net returns are higher under the SWI method of cultivation due to higher gross returns from increased yield of both main crop and by-product.

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