Dynamism in Area, Production and Productivity of Arecanut in Kerala

Abstract

Arecanut is an important commercial crop in Kerala. It finds a place in all religious, social and cultural functions of the people of Kerala. Kerala accounts for 22.47 percentage of the area under arecanut in India contributing to 13.70 percentage of national production. During the past five decades, arecanut cultivation has underwent expansion in the area under cultivation associated with increase in production. The analysis of inter-district performance supports this finding. A comparison of the compound growth rates of arecanut productivity during the five periods reveals slight increase in the growth of arecanut productivity and supporting it. The period since the middle of 1980, with regard to area and production the coefficient of variation was higher as compared to 1960’s and 1970’s. A significant increase in production had occurred consequent to increase in area; however, the productivity of arecanut remains almost stagnant. Nonetheless, for the period since 1985, change in production was mainly due to yield effect. An analysis of the growth of output of arecanut crop in Kerala reveals that the growth is mainly monetary in nature rather than real growth.