To analyse the growth rate of area, production and productivity of rhizomatous spice crops in northern hills zone and Chhattisgarh

Introduction

Almost all the states in India are producing spices. Andhra Pradesh is the largest spice producer of Chilli and Turmeric, Rajasthan emerges as the largest producer of Coriander, Cumin and Fenugreek, Kerala tops in Pepper, Cardamom and Ginger production. India export market share accounts for 38% of Chilli, 29% of Ginger, 78% of Turmeric, 10% of Pepper, 31% of Cardamom. Spices are most profitable venture at all farming activities as it provides sample employment opportunities and slope to raise income of the farming community. They blend food to extract the nutrients and bind them in a palatable form. India is considered as kingdom of spices. India contributes 75% of global spice production. There are 107 spices with 20 countries being involved in the production and Export (Spices Board India, 2023). The total area under spices in Chhattisgarh year 2024-25 was 67,325 hectares, with a total production of 4,66,482 metric tonnes. Among the rhizomatous spice crops, turmeric occupied 11,868 hectares (17.62%), while ginger covered 7,056 hectares (10.48%). Turmeric recorded the production of 1,06,959 metric tonnes (22.92%), followed by ginger with 68,304 metric tonnes (14.64%) (agriportal.cg.nic.in, 2024). In the Northern Hills Zone, among the rhizomatous spice crops, turmeric occupied 5,456 hectares (45.97%) with a production of 47,453 metric tonnes (44.36%), while ginger covered 1,893 hectares (26.82%) with a production of 21,105 metric tonnes (30.89%) (agriportal.cg.nic.in 2024).

Materiaxl and Methods

Selection of area

The present study was conducted in the Northern Hills Zone of Chhattisgarh, which has considerable potential foe the cultivation of rhizomatous spice crops, particularly turmeric and ginger. The study area was selected considering the importance and potential of these crops in the region.

Selection of district

Out of 3 Agro climactic zones & 33 district of Chhattisgarh, four districts of Northern Hills Zone, namely Balrampur, Korea, Surguja and Raigarh districts, were purposively selected for the study based on their relatively highest area covered turmeric and ginger cultivation. These districts were www.extensionjournal.com selected considering their potential for the production of rhizomatous spice crops and their importance in the study area.

Secondary Data Collection

The secondary data will be collected through different Government offices such as Government of Chhattisgarh Agriculture Development and Farmer Welfare and Bio -Technology Department (agriportal.cg.nic.in), Directorate of Statistics Government of Chhattisgarh.

Crops covered under the study

Major rhizomatous spice crops (Area) northern hills of Chhattisgarh Turmeric and Ginger.

Study period

The data required will be collected for the period of 20 years from 2005-06 to 2024-25.

Analytical tools Compound Growth Rate (CGR)

The compound growth rate per annum over the period for all the variables was calculated from the following formula-The compound growth rates (CGR) used to examine the growth rate in area, production and productivity of rhizomatous spice crops in northern hills Chhattisgarh state as a whole, using the exponential growth function of the following form.

Y = abᵗ

• Y= Dependent variable to be estimated (area, production, productivity)

. Compound Growth Rate of Turmeric

Table 1 presents the compound growth rate (CGR) of area, production and productivity of turmeric in Chhattisgarh State and the Northern Hills Zone (NHZ) during 2005-06 to 2024-25. The analysis indicates a strong expansion of turmeric cultivation during the study period, particularly in terms of area and production.

Turmeric in Chhattisgarh State

At the state level, the area under turmeric recorded a positive growth rate of 6.59 per cent per annum. The growth was statistically significant, indicating a consistent increase in the area devoted to turmeric cultivation during the study period. The expansion in turmeric area suggests increasing farmer interest in the crop and its growing importance within the horticultural and spice-crop sector of Chhattisgarh. Turmeric production registered a positive CGR of 6.56 per cent per annum, indicating substantial growth in total output. The simultaneous increase in area and production suggests that expansion of the cultivated area was an important contributor to the increase in turmeric production. In contrast, turmeric productivity recorded a marginal negative CGR of -0.03 per cent per annum. The corresponding p-value was 0.95, indicating that the change in productivity was statistically non-significant. Thus, despite substantial growth in area and production, there was practically no improvement in productivity during the study period. The results therefore indicate that the growth in turmeric production at the state level was primarily area-driven rather than productivity-driven. The stagnation in productivity highlights the need to emphasize improved varieties, quality planting material, balanced nutrient management, irrigation, disease management and scientific crop-management practices. Similar findings were reported by Sahu, Sushila and Limje (2021) [9] , who studied turmeric in Bemetara district and Chhattisgarh. They reported compound growth rates of 2.69 per cent in area, 2.62 per cent in production and -0.06 per cent in productivity per annum in Chhattisgarh. The positive growth in area and production, accompanied by a marginal decline in productivity, is broadly consistent with the present findings.

Turmeric in Northern Hills Zone

The Northern Hills Zone recorded a positive CGR of 6.40 per cent per annum in turmeric area, indicating substantial expansion of cultivation during 2005-06 to 2024-25. The strong growth in area demonstrates the increasing importance of turmeric in the agricultural economy of the Northern Hills region. Turmeric production in the Northern Hills Zone increased at a rate of 5.13 per cent per annum. The reported p-value of 0.0001 indicates a highly significant growth trend. Thus, turmeric production showed a strong and statistically meaningful upward trend in the region. However, turmeric productivity registered a negative CGR of -1.20 per cent per annum. The p-value of 0.16 indicates that this decline was statistically non-significant. Hence, the increase in production was not supported by an improvement in yield per unit area. Instead, the expansion in production was largely associated with increased area under cultivation. The results indicate considerable potential for turmeric cultivation in the Northern Hills Zone. However, maintaining long-term production growth will require greater emphasis on productivity enhancement rather than further expansion of cultivated area alone. Adoption of improved planting material, integrated nutrient management, improved irrigation practices, disease and pest management and better extension support could contribute to productivity improvement. Overall, turmeric performed strongly in both Chhattisgarh State and the Northern Hills Zone. The area under turmeric www.extensionjournal.com increased at 6.59 per cent per annum at the state level and 6.40 per cent per annum in the Northern Hills Zone. Production increased by 6.56 per cent and 5.13 per cent per annum, respectively. The relatively high growth in area and production indicates that turmeric is becoming an increasingly important rhizomatous spice crop in Chhattisgarh. However, productivity showed a marginal negative trend in both regions. Therefore, the future strategy for turmeric development should focus on raising productivity, reducing production constraints and improving post-harvest and marketing infrastructure. Similar findings were reported by Sahu, Sushila and Limje (2021) [9] , who studied turmeric in Bemetara district and Chhattisgarh. They reported compound growth rates of 2.69 per cent in area, 2.62 per cent in production and -0.06 per cent in productivity per annum in Chhattisgarh. The positive growth in area and production, accompanied by a marginal decline in productivity, is broadly consistent with the present findings. Similarly, Ram et al. (2023) [11] analysed the growth performance of turmeric in Surguja district and Chhattisgarh and observed positive growth in area and production, whereas productivity recorded a negative and significant growth trend. Their findings support the present study, indicating that the increase in turmeric production was mainly associated with expansion in cultivated area rather than improvement in productivity. Compared with turmeric, ginger exhibited relatively slower growth during the study period.

Compound Growth Rate of Ginger

Ginger in Chhattisgarh State

At the state level, the area under ginger recorded a positive CGR of 2.56 per cent per annum. The reported p-value of 0.07 indicates that the growth was significant at the 10 per cent level. This suggests a gradual but statistically meaningful expansion in ginger cultivation during the study period. Production of ginger also recorded a positive growth rate of 2.56 per cent per annum. However, the reported p-value of 0.10 indicates that the growth was statistically nonsignificant at the conventional 10 per cent level. Although production followed an increasing trend, the rate of increase was not sufficiently consistent to establish statistically significant growth. Ginger productivity recorded an almost negligible positive CGR of 0.0043 per cent per annum, with a p-value of 0.99. This indicates that productivity remained virtually unchanged during the study period. Therefore, the modest increase in ginger production was mainly associated with expansion in cultivated area rather than improvement in productivity. The findings suggest that ginger production in Chhattisgarh has considerable scope for productivity improvement. The adoption of improved varieties, quality planting material, better disease management, irrigation facilities and scientific crop-management practices may help increase output per unit area. Similarly, Sharma et al. (2022) [12] reported positive growth rates of 4.85, 9.17 and 4.11 per cent per annum in area, production and productivity of ginger, respectively, during 2001-02 to 2016-17. The authors emphasized the importance of good-quality varieties and scientific cropmanagement practices for enhancing ginger productivity.

Ginger in Northern Hills Zone

In the Northern Hills Zone, ginger recorded a positive CGR of 1.07 per cent per annum in area. However, the corresponding p-value of 0.44 indicates that this growth was statistically nonsignificant. Thus, although the area under ginger showed an increasing tendency, the expansion was relatively slow and inconsistent. Production of ginger in the Northern Hills Zone increased at 0.77 per cent per annum, with a p-value of 0.56. The growth was statistically non-significant, indicating that there was no strong evidence of a sustained increase in ginger production during the study period. Productivity recorded a marginal negative CGR of -0.30 per cent per annum, with a pvalue of 0.65. The decline was statistically non-significant, suggesting that productivity remained broadly stable during the period under consideration. The slow growth of ginger in the Northern Hills Zone may indicate the presence of production and marketing constraints. Limited availability of quality planting material, disease incidence, inadequate irrigation, high production costs, price fluctuations and weak post-harvest management may restrict the expansion and profitability of ginger cultivation. Ginger showed considerably lower growth than turmeric in both geographical areas. At the state level, ginger area and production increased at 2.56 per cent per annum, compared with the much higher growth recorded for turmeric. In the Northern Hills Zone, ginger area increased by 1.07 per cent and production by only 0.77 per cent per annum. Productivity growth was negligible for ginger at both levels. At the state level, productivity increased by only 0.0043 per cent per annum, while in the Northern Hills Zone it declined marginally by -0.30 per cent per annum. Both changes were statistically non-significant. Therefore, the growth performance of ginger indicates that area expansion alone has not generated substantial production growth, while productivity improvement has remained largely stagnant. Greater emphasis should consequently be placed on technological interventions, improved planting material, irrigation, disease management, extension services and efficient marketing systems. Similarly, Karthick et al. (2015) [13] examined the growth and export performance of ginger in India and reported an overall compound growth rate of 3.57 per cent in area, 5.48 per cent in production and 1.85 per cent in productivity. Their findings indicate that expansion in area and improvements in productivity contributed to ginger production growth, highlighting the importance of technological interventions for sustaining production. www.extensionjournal.com

. Overall Crop-wise Conclusion

The crop-wise analysis clearly shows that turmeric exhibited stronger growth performance than ginger during 2005-06 to 2024-25. Turmeric recorded significant growth in area and production in both Chhattisgarh State and the Northern Hills Zone, whereas ginger showed relatively slow and mostly non-significant growth.

For turmeric, the major driver of production growth was expansion in cultivated area, as productivity remained stagnant or declined marginally. Similarly, ginger showed very limited productivity improvement. Hence, sustainable growth of both rhizomatous spice crops requires a shift from merely increasing cultivated area towards productivity enhancement, technological improvement, quality planting www.extensionjournal.com material, irrigation development, disease management and better value-chain and marketing infrastructure.

Conclusion

The compound growth analysis revealed that turmeric performed better than ginger in Chhattisgarh State and the Northern Hills Zone during 2005-06 to 2024-25. At the state level, turmeric area and production increased significantly at 6.59 and 6.56 per cent per annum, respectively, while productivity declined marginally by -0.03 per cent. In the Northern Hills Zone, area and production increased by 6.40 and 5.13 per cent, respectively, whereas productivity declined by -1.20 per cent. Thus, turmeric production growth was mainly area driven. Ginger showed comparatively slower growth, with state-level area and production increasing by 2.56 per cent each, while productivity remained almost stagnant (0.0043%). In the Northern Hills Zone, ginger area and production increased by only 1.07 and 0.77 per cent, while productivity declined by -0.30 per cent. Overall, productivity enhancement through improved varieties, quality planting material, irrigation, nutrient management, disease control and better extension and marketing support is essential for sustainable growth. The findings are broadly consistent with Sahu, Sushila and Limje (2021) [9] and Ram et al. (2023) [11] .

Suggestions and

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