AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF HYBRID RICE PRODUCTION IN UTTARAKHAND

Agriculture is the main source of income for the families in India. Farms cover half of the land and almost three-quarter of that land is used to grow the two major cereals rice and wheat. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the primary food for more than 3 billion people around the world and show one fourth of the global rice production area (about 40 million ha) is in rainfed lowlands of the humid and sub-humid tropics of South and South-east Asia and Africa. Worldwide, India stands first in rice area and second in rice production after China. India's annual rice production is around 85-89 million tons. It contributes 21.5 percent of global rice production. The population of our country has increased around 18 crore but production of rice increased by around 10 million tones in last decade.The level of rice production may not be sufficient to feed the ever increasing population in the future. The scope for expansion of area under rice has already been exhausted, the only way to increase the production by increasing the productivity of rice through modern technology. The hybrid rice may be potential technology to increase the average productivity level of rice in the country.