Organization Department of Agricultural Economics, Centre for Agricultural and Rural Development Studies, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore - 641 003, India

Year 2010

Agriculture is continued to be the prime mover of the Tamil Nadu State economy supporting 60 percent of the population and contributing 13 percent of state economy in 2005-06. Besides providing employment opportunities to rural population, it supplies raw materials to agro-based industries. Cotton is an important input for the textile industry. In Tamil Nadu, total production of cotton is usually lower than its requirement. This crop is extensively being cultivated in the districts of Virudhunagar, Salem, Madurai and Coimbatore and these districts combined together accounted for 43 percent of the total area under cotton in the state as of 2005-06. The study revealed that the percentage share of transaction cost in total cost for non-contract farmers was Rs.1545 which accounted 14.45 percent. The productivity of cotton for contract farmers was 32.23 percent more than that of the non-contract farmers. The net revenue realization by contract producers was 51 percent higher than that of the non-contract farmers.