Cereal Substitutes in a Developing Economy: A Study of Tapioca (Kerala State) (Foreword by Prof. V.K.R.V. Rao)

This study is significant since it makes a comprehensive an systematic analysis of the economics of tapioca cultivation in comparison with rice in Kerala State, which accounts for the bulk of the Indian tapioca output. The study presents a detailed analysis of its growth, using secondary data. It then makes an indepth analysis of its economics using farm level data collected by the author through field work. The aspects analyses at the farm level include productivity, input structure and cost of cultivation, income, labour absorption, marketed surplus and market dependence, processing, prices received by growers and their market channels, and its role in their diet. The study thus provides empirical as well as theoretical insights into the economy of a low value non cereal subsistence crop grown mostly under rainfed conditions, and also into the working of a peasant economy where small holdings dominate.