C.S. Shylajan

Bio: C.S. Shylajan is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Rural area. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 12 citations.

An empirical analysis of nature, magnitude and determinants of farmers’ indebtedness in India

Abstract: According to the 70th round of the National Sample Survey published by the Government of India in 2014, the incidence of indebtedness among households in the rural areas of Telangana state, India, is twice that of rural all-India. Around 59 per cent of rural households are indebted in Telangana as against 31 per cent all-India. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent and magnitude of indebtedness among rural households in the Medak district of Telangana state. Further, the authors wanted to identify the sources of credit to these households and for what purpose the loans were utilised.,To achieve the objective, the authors conducted a primary-level household survey in one of the distressed districts in newly formed state. The authors applied the Bayesian and the Lasso regression methods to identify the factors that impact indebtedness of a household.,The OLS results based on the Lasso regression results show that among all the explanatory variables, principal occupation, use of modern technology, the rate of interest, household medical expenditure and source of loan are significant, indicating that these variables significantly affect the loan taken by the farmers in the study area. The study shows that alternative sources of non-farm income and promotion of modern technology in agriculture can reduce the incidence of farmers’ indebtedness in India.,The paper contains significant information with regard to indebtedness. It focusses on the issue troubling the authorities the most. It provides the ground realities of the incidence of indebtedness in Medak, one of the most distressed districts of Telangana, a Southern Indian state. There have been very few similar studies done in the newly formed state. The paper has employed an advanced statistical technique, i.e. Heckman’s selection regression technique, to study farmers’ indebtedness in India. It provides a means of correcting for non-randomly selected samples, which otherwise can lead to erroneous conclusions and poor policy.

Assessing differential vulnerability of communities in the agrarian context in two districts of Maharashtra, India

Abstract: Climate variability causes multiple difficulties to rural poor. The loss in agriculture production is the most predominant impact among many, especially in drought-prone regions of India. Aggravati...

Quantifying households' vulnerability, regional environmental indicators, and climate change mitigation by using a combination of vulnerability frameworks

Abstract: Many susceptible regions face significant climatic threats. This study proposes an extended framework by linking the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Vulnerability Framework and Sustainable Livelihood Framework to assess the impacts of ecological indicators, household vulnerability, and climate change mitigation. A major ecological region of northwestern Pakistan with diverse geographical and climatic conditions was selected. In total, 24 adjacent rural communes were randomly selected, and 300 farm households were face‐to‐face interviewed based on a pretested questionnaire. The study findings reveal that the Charsadda District is more vulnerable to climate change, having the highest exposure level compared to the Mardan District and the district of Nowshera. Our findings also show that there are small differences in adaptive capacity, sensitivity, and adaptation measures, and sensitivity sources are relatively distinctive among these three districts, which directly and indirectly influence the perception of farmers. Based on the sensitivity analysis, the sensitivity of the Mardan District is the highest in terms of crop and livestock diseases, while the highest sensitivity in terms of water is assumed in the Charsadda District. In terms of adaptive capacity, the advantages and disadvantages varied greatly between the three targeted study districts; specifically, Nowshera had equitable adaptive capacity, Mardan leaned entirely on capital sources, and Charsadda depended solely on advantages in education level. Diverse efforts to address the risks of climate change should be proposed aptly by considering the climatic, socioeconomic, and geographical characteristics of each district.

Factors driving indebtedness among small- and medium-sized dairy companies

Abstract: We developed a model to demonstrate how multiple interrelated aspects of a firm influence its recourse to third-party financing, which frequently depends on the characteristics of each food production chain.,We conducted an empirical research on a relevant sample of small- and medium-sized Italian dairy firms. Our research methodology is inspired by the grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967).,Our findings illustrated that firm indebtedness is the result of intertwined variables, linked to different firm dimensions, including growth, financial structure and economic dynamics.,A portion of the analysed phenomenon is not explained using the sample and econometric tools.,There are practical implications for the decision-makers in a firm (in particular, the managers and the shareholders) as the model allows to evaluate the influence of a set of mutually interdependent firm variables for the indebtedness level.,First, we considered the recourse to third-party financing within the context of the systems theory (Millova and Blatný, 2015) and from the perspective of linked causes and mutually connected variables. Second, our research focussed on a well-defined food chain and on features of firms operating in this context. Last, our model considered the impact of the recent economic crisis, which motivated us to review the existing models.

Can the approach of vulnerability assessment facilitate identification of suitable adaptation models for risk reduction

Abstract: Local agriculture in India is highly vulnerable to a wide range of anthropogenic-induced natural disasters. Most studies regarding the vulnerability of farmers in India are performed at coarse spatial scales. These studies fail to assess the spatial distribution of vulnerability status in local regions where small and marginal farmers own lands. Consequently, the adaptation measures fail to pass on to the grassroots level. This study attempts to 1) assess the vulnerability status of local agricultural sector among the Sub-district Administrative Units (SDAUs) of Gaya district in Bihar, and 2) identify suitable adaptation models using two aggregation methods to reduce potential risks. Both aggregation methods are used to compute indices of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity followed by their classification under five vulnerability categories. The degree of transition among categories is analyzed for each SDAU to find a suitable adaptation model, i.e., incremental, systemic and transformational. Our results show that, in the case of exposure, only three SDAUs shifted their categories. In sensitivity and adaptive capacity cases, 41.66% and 45.83% SDAUs are found to shift their categories respectively. Moreover, SDAUs facing higher exposure require systemic model of adaptation. SDAUs facing higher sensitivity need both systemic and transformational models, while SDAUs with lower adaptive capacity found the systemic adaptation model to be the best suited. Such a vulnerability assessment of a local area, which also facilitates the identification of suitable adaptation models, can assist agricultural agencies in reducing the risks of potential disasters by implementing efficient adaptation strategies.

Impact of different sources of credit in creating extreme farmer distress in India

Abstract: Purpose According to the published report by the National Sample Survey 2014 the data says that the incidence of indebtedness among households in the rural areas of Maharashtra, India, is almost twice that of other rural places in India. Around 64 percent of rural households are indebted in Maharashtra as against 31 percent other households in India. The purpose of this paper is to examine which source of credit is creating more distress among the farmers. Further the researchers also wanted to find out the reasons why the farmers choose private moneylender over the formal financial institutions. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the objective, the authors used the mixed method methodology. The qualitative study was done using the ethnography approach .In depth interviews were conducted and coded accordingly to find out the themes. The interviews conducted were semi structured and had open ended questions in it, followed by a structured questionnaire. Different statistical tests were also applied on the responses obtained from the questionnaire to check the reliability and validity of the interviews. This methodology gave a robustness to the findings of the study. Findings The results show that sources of loan play a major role in causing farmer distress in Maharashtra. The findings also show major reasons like grapevine bureaucracy, lengthy documentation, etc. as the major reasons for choosing private lenders over the formal financial institutions. The most interesting finding of the study was a phenomena observed during the field study. The borrowers first borrow from financial institutions for their credit needs, when they fail to repay the debt borrowed they again borrow money from the private money lenders and with this borrowed money they try repaying a part of the old existing loan in order to make themselves eligible for the next loan cycle. Research limitations/implications The limitation of the study is that due to time constraint only two districts with high number of farmer suicide could be visited. Given more time and fund a comparative study can be done among different states of India. Practical implications This study will help the policy makers in identifying the real cause of farmer distress. The motive behind the policies made by the government is very noble but the implementation of these policies is inadequate and without a strong research base. The paper will be able to highlight how much the state intervention is required at multiple levels in order to ensure that the benefits reaches to those who deserve it. Social implications It is imperative that we have yet not realized the gravity of the situation where people belonging from a community which is so essential to the economy are killing themselves because of lack of money. This is not just about the fact that the people who give us food are unable to access food themselves. Originality/value The paper contains significant information with regard to indebtedness. It focuses on the issue troubling the authorities the most. It provides the ground realities of the incidence of indebtedness in Maharashtra, one of the most distressed states of India. Lot of studies have been done in the past but very few studies have used mixed methodology to study this incidence of debt among the farmers of Maharashtra. This study also unveils a new phenomena of borrowing happening among the farmers of Maharashtra.