Value Chain Analysis of Groundnut in Tamil Nadu, India

Oilseeds provide vegetable oils which not only form an essential part of human diet but also serve as an important raw material for the manufacture of soaps, paints, varnishes, hair oils, lubricants and various other products. Among all the oilseed crops groundnut is an important oilseed and supplementary food crop. Itis also called as ‘the king of oilseeds. In Tamil Nadu, Ground nut is being cultivated in almost all the districts. Totally, 240 farmers were contacted from 24 villages spread over in 8 blocks of 2 districts. Besides farmers, traders and processors were contacted in each district at the rate of 10 traders per district. The data were analysed by using value chain mapping and price spread analysis. Results indicated that cost of cultivation under rainfed condition was Rs. 30967.81 per ha and Rs. 34789.21 per ha under irrigated condition. The net income realised was Rs. 30628.38 and Rs.32450.26 per ha in rainfed and irrigated condition respectively. The results reveal that net income from groundnut was found to be higher under irrigated condition. Value chain analysis indicated that there were 5 marketing channels through which groundnut were marketed by the sample farmers. Nearly 23.33 percent of the sample farmers sold the produce to the village merchants. The percentage of the sample farmers marketed through commission agents and regulated markets were 25.00 and 33.33, respectively.