International Research Conference of UWU-2020

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Browsing International Research Conference of UWU-2020 by Subject "Agriculture Economic"

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    Economic Efficiency in the Tea Estate Sector: A Case Study from Dimbula Tea Region
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Ranadewa, D.P.N.; Ranjan, K.R.H.M.; Somarathna, A.D.K.S.S.; Edirisinghe, J.C.
    Being the main agricultural export crop for around 150 years, tea contributes to the Sri Lankan economy in a significant manner. In the recent past, Sri Lanka’s tea production and exports show a declining trend. Making matters worse, the average price has fallen below the average cost of production causing low profits. Amidst these, the tea estate sector faces many additional challenges in the form of the high cost of production, scarcity of labor, and maintenance issues. However, despite having the aforementioned constraints, some estates perform well while others are not. Hence, this study aims to analyse variability in the economic efficiency and determinants of revenue using a stochastic revenue frontier. To estimate the revenue function, panel data were collected from seven tea estates in the Dimbula region, which were selected by the purposively based on the availability of data and the access for the required data. Green leaf amount, Net Sale Average (NSA), labor days, chemical cost, and fertilizer cost were extracted from estate monthly accounts from 2005 to 2018. To estimate the stochastic revenue frontier, Battese, and Coelli model (1988) was used to capture the firm specific time invariant inefficiency. Results showed a mature area extent, NSA and labor days has a positive significant impact on revenue. The largest impact on revenue is given by the increase in extent as expected. A 1% increase in extent increases revenue by 1.4%. Similarly, a 1% increase in NSA can increase the revenue by 0.76% and a similar increase in labor can increase the revenue by 0.07%. Selected tea estates in the Dimbula region have a mean efficiency of 84%, which implies that still efficiency can be improved by 16% on average. Even though the mean is 84%, the maximum is 96.92% and the minimum is 68% showing that the inefficiency range is 31.97% to 3.08%. Therefore, it is clear that some estates have not achieved even the mean level of efficiency and a considerable amount of potential revenue is lost due to inefficiency. Keywords: Economic efficiency, Revenue function, Stochastic frontier, Tea estate sector
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    The Effect of Canopy Thermal Changes on Growth, Yield and Grain Sterility of Three Ultra-short age Rice Varieties under Aerobic and Flooded Conditions
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Wettasinghe, D.R.Y.; Silva, L.C.; Ranawana, S.R.W.M.C.J.K.; Jeewanthi, P.W.
    Canopy Temperature (CT) represents the temperature experienced by the uppermost portion of the crop canopy. CT may better explain the grain sterility associated with high temperatures than the air temperature. Most of the CT related experiments were conducted on wheat. Therefore, Sri Lankan rice varieties were evaluated at the Rice Research and Development Institute, Bathalagoda under two soil moisture conditions to realize the canopy thermal changes and its impact on growth, yield, and grain sterility. This Experiment was arranged in a two-factor factorial in Completely Randomized Design with eight replicates. Factor one was soil moisture conditions, aerobic, and flooded. Factor two was rice varieties; Bg 250, Bg 252, and Ld 253. CT, growth, and yield parameters were recorded. CT at 10:00 h had a positive impact (r=0.76) on grain yield in flooded condition and CT at 9:00 h had a positive impact (r=0.77) on yield in aerobic conditions. Grain sterility increased with increasing CT in both moisture conditions. The number of tillers was negatively correlated with maximum CT, while plant height was positively correlated with minimum CT in both conditions. CT at spikelets opening had a negative impact (r=0.76, 0.80) on pollen fertility at heading and positive impact (r=0.95, 0.85) on grain sterility in both conditions. Moreover, growth and yield performances were superior under flooded conditions compared to aerobic conditions. Interaction between soil moisture and variety was significant for thousandgrain weight and pollen fertility % where highest values were recorded by Bg 250 (29.33 g) and Bg 252 (96.4%) in flooded conditions, respectively. In conclusion, monitoring CT dynamics can be considered as a useful tool to assess the growth and yield performances of rice under varying environmental conditions. Keywords: Rice (Oryza sativa), Canopy temperature, Aerobic & flooded conditions, Grain sterility, Pollen fertility
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    Evaluation of the Efficiency of Weed Seed Separation from Crop Seeds Using the Seed Color Sorter
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Gunathilaka, K.R.K.S.; Premathilaka, K.G.; Jayakody, D.P.P.
    Seed color sorter machine has the potential to help quarantine purposes by facilitating the separation of weed seeds from crop seeds. It separates weed seeds from crop seeds based on color differences with the help of Near Infra-Red cameras. The current study was conducted to evaluate the separation efficiency of ‘Sinvec’ seed color sorter with the appropriate speed level. This study was conducted at the National Plant Quarantine Service, Katunayake, during the period from September to December 2019. Three random samples of 500 g were taken from onion, radish, coriander, leeks, and carrot separately. Each sample was mixed with quarantine important weed seed mixture which was prepared using 5 quarantine weed seed species. 10 seeds from each weed species were used. Prepared samples were tested under 3-speed levels viz., 55, kg hr-1 , 45 kg hr-1 and 35 kg hr-1 . The manual separation was followed to clarify the obtained results. Average separation efficiency was calculated using 3 replicates. The time taken for the machine to finish the sorting process was measured and the weight of rejected crop seeds of each machine test was also weighed. Data were analysed using the SAS university edition. Speed 45 kg hr-1 showed better performances compared to the other two speed levels. Under 45 kg hr-1 speed, the weed seed separation efficiency for coriander was 80- 100%. Separation efficiency for leeks, carrot, onion, and radish was 73-100%, 76-100%, 50-86% and 46.7-90%, respectively. Always, the machine method consumed less time compared to the manual method. Drawbacks of seed color sorter were found during the study as it was unable to achieve 100% separation efficiency, Improper data feeding procedure, Malfunctioning with crop seeds treated with colored fungicides, highly sensitive to voltage variations, the higher weight of rejection, needs of proper technical knowledge to operate the machine. These findings will be useful in the future for the proper functioning of the new Seed Color Sorter in handling large seed lots. Keywords: Seed colour sorting, Separation efficiency, Weed seeds, Quarantine
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    Vulnerability of Farming Communities Practicing Livestock Monocultures or Crop-Livestock Integrated Systems to Climate Change: A Case Study in Ampara District
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Akram, A.T.A.; Atapattu, N.S.B.M.; Gunawardena, W.W.D.A.
    Livestock either as monocultures or as crop-livestock integrated systems is an integral part of the socio-economic fabric and physical landscape of Ampara District, where the population remains largely rural. This study used Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) and Intergovernmental Penal on Climate Change Vulnerability Index (VI–IPCC) to assess and compare the vulnerability of two types of livestock farming systems. A household survey among 200 farm families practicing livestock alone and as a component of croplivestock integrated systems was carried out in four divisional secretariats (Nintavur, Sammanthura, Irakamam, and Ampara) in Ampara District. Eight major components were considered under LVI assessment: Socio-Demographics, Livelihood Strategies, Social Network, Health, Food, Water, Natural Disasters, and Climate Variability. Each major component made up of several sub-component variables that were averaged to calculate the weighted value of major components for each division. Assessment based on the IPCC framework considered exposure, adaptive capacity, and sensitivity. Goat farmers showed a higher vulnerability score for livelihood strategies (0.620) major component. Poultry farmers reported a higher vulnerability score for water (0.083) major component. Buffalo farmers gave a higher vulnerability score for social networks (0.576). Integrated farmers recorded a higher vulnerability score for socio-demographics (0.255), health (0.418), food (0.451) and natural disasters (0.559) major components. For the VI–IPCC, Goat farmers reported a higher adaptive capacity score (0.597). Integrated farmers have a higher exposure score (0.460) and a sensitivity score (0.291). Irakamam division and Poultry farmers were identified as the most vulnerable, while Ampara division and goat farmers were the least vulnerable. Compared to crop-livestock integrated systems, livestock alone systems are concluded to be more vulnerable to climate change. Keywords: Climate change, Livestock farming systems, Vulnerability, Vulnerability index