Comparative Economic Analysis of Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) vis-à-vis Paddy-Wheat Crop Rotation: A Case Study of Punjab
Price: ₹ 500
Author: Taranveer Singh Minhas, Poonam Kataria and Arjinder Kaur
Author Address: Research Scholar, Professor of Economics (Retired),Principal Agricultural Economist, Department of Economics and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-1410014 (Punjab), India
Keywords: Benefit: cost ratio, cost-return, crop diversification, paddy-wheat, stevia cultivation.
JEL Codes: Q12, Q13, Q16, Q18.
Abstract
Assured minimum support prices and high profit margins have turned the cropping system in Punjab into a paddy-wheat monoculture. This has degraded soil health, depleted groundwater, and threatened the agri-ecosystem of the state. This study assessed the economic feasibility of stevia using primary data from 30 stevia growers and 30 paddy-wheat farmers across six niche districts. Over the five-year stevia cycle, total variable cost was ?6,08,679 per acre, and gross returns were ?9,61,340. Net returns were ?3,52,661 per acre, with a benefit-cost ratio of 1.58. Stevia growers earned ?9,176 per acre more than paddy-wheat farmers, with labour and seedling costs as the largest inputs. Stevia is suitable for the marginalized land in the Sub-Mountainous Zone, where the trade-off is between nothing versus something.
Description
Indian J Econ Dev, 2026, 22(3), 406-415
https://doi.org/10.35716/IJED-25239