Empirical analysis of constraints faced by shrimp farmers of Maharashtra

摘要

State of Maharashtra has 52,001 hectare of potential brackish water area out of which 10,400 ha is consideredsuitable for brackish water farming. But at present only 1,291 ha i.e., 12% is under shrimp culture. Maharashtra is not amongthe top shrimp producing states in India and stands 6 th in terms of production with 6,567 tonnes and 7 th in terms of number ofshrimp farms. Even with high potential why has the state is not among the top in shrimp production is necessary to be studied.Thus, a study was undertaken in coastal districts of Maharashtra, to analyze the constraints faced by shrimp farmers andinformation was collected from 151 shrimp farmers out of total 165 with help of an interview schedule, Farmers rankeddifferent constraints which were related to extension, financial, production, marketing and infrastructure. Weighted averagetechnique was applied to analyze and rank various constraints faced by shrimp farmers. Less extension and technical supportwere the major extension constraints. The main financial constraint was non-availability of crop insurance for farmers. Lackof remedial measures for disease prevention during culture operation was found to be major production constraint. Majormarketing constraint was shrimp price fluctuations during harvesting operation. Distant location of hatchery was the majorinfrastructure related constraint faced by shrimp farmers. These constraints need to be addressed.