Productivity Improvement in Sugarcane Farming in Tamil Nadu

Sugarcane productivity is cyclical in India and Tamil Nadu. The post-Green Revolution phase is characterized by high input-use and decelerating total factor productivity growth. Sugarcane productivity attained during the 1980s has not been sustained during the1990s and early 21 st century and has posed a challenge for the researchers to shift production function upward by improving the technology index. Examination of issues related to the sugarcane productivity, particularly with reference to Tamil Nadu state which has highest yield in India. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) used to assess productivity growth of sugarcane farming. The results show consistency between the approaches and there are potentials for efficiency improvements. Second, there has been a productivity improvement in the sector, in the interval 0.7–15% in the periods studied and technical change had the greatest impact on productivity. The average TFP in after introducing variety Co 86032 was larger than that of preintroduction of this variety. In both periods, productivity growth is sustained through technological progress. In general, policy-makers should try not to be indifferent with respect to the approach used for productivity measurement as these may give different results.