eChapters

The discussion on the methodology has been conducted to comprehend the idea, procedures, and approaches employed for outlining the study, gathering information, analysing data, and interpreting the findings for the disclosure of Concrete evidence and the development of hypotheses. This chapter focuses on the methodology and process employed in the study, which is divided into eight key sections.
The study randomly chose the villages of Bhomrapara, Mitrapur, and Maniktala in the Gram Panchayat-Kasthadanga-1 of the Haringhata block in the Nadia district of West Bengal as the research locale. The area was chosen for the study due to several reasons: a) There is ample opportunity to gather relevant data for the current study, b) The researchers are familiar with the local people and language, c) The area is easily accessible to the researcher, and d) The student researchers have close connections with the area, its people, officials, and local dialects.
Pilot Study
Prior to commencing field work, preliminary research was undertaken to gain insight into the area, its inhabitants, institutions, communication and extension systems, as well as the existing information. The perspective and attitude of individuals towards the notion of climate change.
Sampling design
The sampling design for this agro-ecosystem study is meticulously crafted to address the pressing issues of agricultural sustainability. At the state level, West Bengal is purposively selected due to its severe agro-ecosystem degradation from high-intensity agriculture, necessitating in-depth research. Within the state, Nadia district is chosen for its similar challenges, reflecting the broader concerns observed at the state level. Further, the Haringhata block is identified purposively because of its specific issues: intense rice and vegetable farming, significant groundwater depletion, declining productivity, and reduced levels of livestock and organic carbon. These factors highlight the urgent need for Conservation Agriculture in this area. At the gram panchayat level, Kastodanga-1 is selected for its accessibility, which facilitates efficient

The transition from an agrarian society to a more advanced and diversified economy represents a profound shift in how societies function and evolve. Initially, agrarian societies are primarily centered around agriculture, with the majority of the population engaged in farming and related activities. As agricultural productivity improves through technological innovations, such as advanced machinery and crop varieties, these societies begin to experience economic growth. This growth often spurs industrialization, leading to the establishment of manufacturing sectors that create new job opportunities and drive urbanization. Cities expand as people migrate from rural areas in search of better employment prospects, leading to significant social changes. Education and skill development become crucial, as improved literacy rates and vocational training prepare individuals for diverse professions beyond agriculture. The transition from an agrarian society to a more advanced and diversified economy marks a profound shift in societal functioning and evolution, encompassing multiple dimensions that can be examined through various disciplinary lenses. Economically, this transformation begins with improvements in agricultural productivity, driven by technological innovations such as advanced machinery and high-yield crop varieties. These enhancements not only increase agricultural output but also reduce the labour required for farming, thereby freeing up labour for other sectors. This shift often triggers economic growth, which spurs industrialization. As manufacturing sectors develop, they create new job opportunities, driving urbanization as individuals migrate from rural areas to cities in search of better employment prospects. This economic expansion is central to understanding the broader changes that occur as societies evolve from agrarian to industrial and post-industrial economies.
From a sociological perspective, the transition to a diversified economy leads to significant social changes. Urbanization alters family structures, social networks, and community dynamics. As people move to urban areas, traditional agrarian values give way to new social norms and practices associated with city life. Education and skill development become critical, as improved literacy rates and vocational training prepare individuals for diverse

Review of literature enables a researcher summarizing and quoting relevant works to explain the topic and objectives stated in the thesis study. This is a fantastic scholastic activity to justify and validate the reasoning and outcome of the research study conducted.
Following is the categorized review of literature for a systematic illustration and interpretation of the issue and axioms:
Source of risk
Boris and Radivoj (2017) classified agricultural risk and uncertainty into five primary management-related categories: production and technology, pricing and the market, money, law, and personnel. Production and technology risks encompass challenges such as crop diseases, pests, and technological failures that can adversely affect yields. Managing these risks involves implementing advanced farming techniques, investing in new technologies, and employing effective pest and disease control measures. Pricing and market risks include price volatility and issues related to market access and consumer preferences. Strategies to mitigate these risks include using futures contracts, diversifying markets, and conducting thorough market analysis. Money risks pertain to financial management, including fluctuating interest rates, capital investment needs, and cash flow challenges. Effective management here involves maintaining a robust financial plan, leveraging insurance, and building financial reserves. Law risks relate to compliance with regulations on land use, environmental standards, and food safety. Addressing these involves staying up-to-date with legal requirements and seeking legal counsel when necessary. Personnel risks involve labour shortages, skill gaps, and workforce management issues. These can be managed through investments in training, fostering a positive work environment, and implementing effective recruitment and retention strategies. Addressing these five areas comprehensively helps agricultural operations reduce the likelihood and impact of adverse events, enhancing resilience and sustaining productivity and profitability amidst uncertainty.

Escalating chaos and entropy in ecosystem poses threats to resilience and stability
Since the beginning of industrial revolution in 18th century onwards and until today, the chronicle of civilizations depicts more horrible consequences that it we predicted. Ecological metamorphosis hag gone the dare devil way to deny the quiet and placid pathway of evolution as delineated by Charles Darwin, it has become more serendipitous, ephemeral and phenomenal as well. The changes are becoming non-linear in ecosystem, far away from simple harmonic motion. Bay of Bengal has become the global capital of depression followed by severe cyclonic storms, good enough to make the resilience of ecosystem unexpectedly disrupted and fragile. Continuous perturbation and chaos lead to upscaling entropy and disorder. An analogy can take a serpentine look like Cyclone-destruction of mangrove-flood-crop damage-migration-ingroup vs outgroup conflict and chaos.
When uncertainty and unpredictability cripples into system deeper, we need or it should be our choice to take the help of AI and machine learning. Peoples soft perceptions need to undergo a quantification process for better understanding of their role-contribution-mainstreaming process and as a result the tools like ANN, FCM, AHP, ARIMA would be more effective and inevitable.
From history data to present assessment and from assessed algorithm to practiced scenario, there will be more mathematics and strategy of analysis. In the beginning of eco-system analysis, we had history data only. Then we get busy to go for status report kind of data clubbing, cataloguing, and networking. Today we can underscore the application of AI in futuristic approach to ecosystem analysis including intervention plan and scenario analysis. We can quantify what amount of uncertainty an individual can sustain, confront and adapt to. For the honey collectors in Sundarbans, how many deaths and fear to die, as an abrupt attack by tigers can be adaptable to the poor collectors are of million dollars’ question.

22.1. Meaning
GST is a tax imposed on the purchase of goods and services. It is designed to be a single, comprehensive tax that replaces multiple smaller indirect taxes on consumption, such as service tax.
• The taxes are included in the final price and are to be paid by the consumers at point of sale and passed on to the government by the seller.
• The GST is a common tax used by the majority of countries globally.
• It is a unified tax applied to the supply of goods and services from the manufacturer to the final consumers.
• More than 160 developed countries implement this system of taxation.
• The GST is usually taxed at a single rate across the nation.
22.2. Main Features of Goods and Services Tax (GST)
The main features of Goods and Services Tax are as follows:
• Dual GST- India has implemented a dual GST system, consisting of two components: Central GST (CGST) and State GST (SGST). The central government collects CGST, while states and union territories collect SGST/UTGST on all supply transactions of goods and services. Following the 101st Constitutional Amendment, both the central government and union territories have the authority to levy taxes simultaneously on the supply of goods and services.
• Applicable on supply side- GST is applicable on “supply” of goods or services as against the old concept on the manufacturer of goods or on sale of goods or on provision of services.
• Destination based taxation- GST is based on the principle of destination-based consumption taxation as against the present principle of origin-based taxation.

21.1. Meaning
Balance of payments is an accounting statement that provide a systematic record to all the economic transaction, between resident of a country and the rest of the world, in a specific time frame.
21.2. Economic Transaction
1. Visible Items: These include all types of physical goods which are imported and exported as they are made of some matter that can be seen, touched, measured.
2. Invisible Items: Invisible items of trade refers to all types of services like shipping , banking , etc…these are called invisible goods as they can’t be felt , seen ,and measured
3. Unilateral Items or transfer: Unilateral transfer include gifts, remittance,etc.. since these transaction donot involve any claims for repayments.
4. Capital transfer: Capital transfer relate to capital receipts (through borrowings or sale of assets)and capital payments (through capital repayments or purchase of assets)

20.1. Introduction
• The exchange of goods and services (trade) among countries across national boundaries is called as international trade.
• No Country can be self-sufficient in producing all the goods and services required by it.
• Thus, Countries need to trade to obtain commodities, they cannot produce themselves or they can purchase elsewhere at a lower price.
• The act of selling domestically produced goods to international consumer is known as exportation. India Export Refined Petroleum, Jewellery, Rice, etc.
• The act of purchasing goods from foreigne country in order to sell them domestically is known as importation. India import Crude oil, Coal, Gold, Electronics item etc.
20.2. Why International Trade?
• Countries cannot domestically produced all the goods and services that each individual consumer wants and needs.
• Because each country has different factor of production (Land, Labour, and Capital).
• Each country is endowed with different combination of these factors and therefore each country is capable of producing different combination of goods and services.
• When domestic production is greater than domestic demand for a good, excess production is traded on the international market

An economy is a human-made system developed or adapted to fulfill societal needs. There are three main types of economic systems namely mixed economy, capitalist economy, and socialist economy. The following are some key features of an economy:
• The type of an economy is determined by the ownership of resources and the means of production.
• Resources or means of production may be privately owned, allowing individuals the freedom to use them for profit, or they may be collectively owned and controlled by the government for the overall welfare of society.
• The three types of economic systems are classified based on the extent of individual freedom and the role of profit motive in each. 19.1. Capitalist Economy The capitalist, or free-market, economy is the most traditional form, where government involvement in economic activities is minimal.
Main features of a capitalist economy
1. Private property: In a capitalist economy, individuals have the right to own property, acquire assets, and utilize them for personal gain. There are no limitations on owning land, machinery, mines, or factories for profit and wealth accumulation.
2. Freedom of enterprise: Individuals have the freedom to choose any occupation they wish to pursue. The concept of free enterprise means that businesses are free to acquire resources and utilize them to produce any goods or services. Additionally, firms have the liberty to sell their products in any market of their choice, while workers have the right to select their employer.

18.1. Meaning
When the human civilization was not developed, people used to exchange those goods which they produced for those which others produced. Such an act of exchanging goods for goods is called barter. But as the years rolled by and when the social organization became more complex, barter system was found to be not practicable. The following are the main difficulties which were found in the barter system.
1. Double coincidence of wants
2. Lack of a standard unit of account
3. Impossibility of subdivision of goods
4. Lack of information
5. Production of large and very costly goods not feasible
The difficulties in barter system were replaced with the introduction of money. Money has been defined as the medium of exchange. According to Robertson money is defined as “Anything which is widely acceptable in discharge of obligations”. The different stages in the development of money are as follows.
1. Commodity Money: The earliest form of money consisted of goods like rice, wheat, cattle, skins, elephant tusks etc. These were accepted as they were all desired by all the people.
2. Metallic Money: As the civilization advanced, people found it difficult to carry on the exchange transaction with commodities, as they were found to be very inconvenient. Commodity money gave way for the metals to be used as money. These metals include gold, silver, copper, bronze, etc. From the beginning of their introduction, Government kept the right to issue coins and certify their weight and quality. Metals were converted into coins for this purpose.

17.1. Theories of Population
The theory of population is studied because the supply of labour depends upon population and its growth. Observing the abnormal growth of population and consequent fall in the standard of living, Thomas Malthus (1760 – 1834) an English Clergyman first studied population growth in various countries of Europe. Later he wrote a book entitled “An Essay on the Principles of Population” in 1798. His observations compelled him to foresee a gloomy future for the human race and hence emphasized the immediate need to keep the population growth under check. Now his theory is popularly known as Malthusian theory of population. To quote the theory in his own words “By nature human food increases in a slow arithmetic ratio, man himself increases in a quick geometric ratio unless want and vice stop him.”
17.1.2. Propositions of Malthusian Theory
These are briefly presented below:
1. Population is necessarily limited by means of subsistence (food supply). According to Malthus in a country the size of population depends on its food production. Greater the food production, larger would be the size of population, which a country can support and smaller the food production then the country would be in a position to support smaller population only.
2. The power of population is infinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for men. He further adds that population growth always overtakes food production, since agricultural production is constrained by the law of diminishing returns. This prevents the food production to grow as faster as that of population. As such, there is no limit to the growth of population.
3. Population increases in geometric progression, whereas food production increases in arithmetic progression. This means that population tends to grow in quick geometric progression i.e., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc., while,

16.1. Meaning
National Income is nothing but the aggregate money value of all goods and services produced in a country in a year. It can also be viewed as income distributed among the factors of production in the form of rent (to land), wages (to labour) interest (to capital) and profits (to entrepreneurs).
According to Alfred Marshal National Income is defined as the labour and capital of a country acting on its natural resources produce annually a certain net aggregate of goods and services.
16.1.1. Limitations
• In an economy in which numerous goods and services are produced, it is really a difficult proposition to estimate them correctly to arrive at the national income. Coming to the farming, farmers do retain some part of production for personal consumption and the rest is only marketed. In such a case, the methodology to evaluate the amount of produce not reached the market has not been given.
• Double counting: It implies the same good being counted twice: say, cotton may be counted in agricultural production and the cotton cloth in industrial production.
Marshall approached national income from production end. On the other hand, some other economist approached from consumption end. At the same time this approach in reality poses problems. Consumers who number in millions, consumes the same good at different places, and the estimation of their total consumption is a difficult proposition. Hence, there are problems in measurement of national income.

15.1. Meaning
While doing production of goods, the producer coordinates different factors of production i.e., land, labour, capital and management. In the process of distribution the returns obtained through the production activity are apportioned to these factors that are employed in the production process. Consequently land gets rent, labour gets wages and interest is paid to capital and finally organization is rewarded with profit. Such an apportionment of returns among different factors of production is called distribution. It is also called factor pricing.
15.1.2. Rent
Rent is the return for the fertility status of the land. In fact the land is defined in a broad sense. All the natural resources existing on the surface and beneath the surface of land like mines, rivers, etc., are also treated as land, from which rent is received. Some resources are publicly owned, while others are privately owned. Rent is almost zero for publicly owned resource because one cannot use it for one’s own purpose. These are meant for public welfare. Rent is expressed in two forms i.e., one is economic rent and the other is contract rent.
15.1.3. Economic Rent
Economic rent is the rent received exclusively from the use of land only. We use the term, exclusively because the rent of a building referred as the return obtained by the owner on the capital invested in the construction of building as well as the land. It is the return obtained from the combined values of both. In that case, it no longer qualifies as rent. In farming the rent paid by a tenant to the landlord is not economic rent.

14.1. Meaning
Supply in agriculture refers to the availability of agricultural products, both raw and processed, for distribution to markets, consumers, or other industries. This includes crops, livestock, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, and other agricultural goods. “Supply is the amount of a commodity that sellers are able and willing to offer for sale at different price per unit of time”.
In the words of Meyer “Supply is a schedule of the amount of a good that would be offered for sale at all possible price at any period of time; e.g., a day, a week, and so on”.
14.2. Stock
Stock in agriculture refers to the quantity of inputs and resources available for farming, such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, machinery, and livestock. It encompasses all the assets and materials that a farmer or agricultural operation has on hand to support the production process.
“Stock is meant the total quantity of a commodity this exists in a market and can be offered for sale at a short notice”. 14.3. Stocks Vs Supply
• Supply may be defined as the active stock (actual quantity) which is made available for the consumers at the prevailing market prices.
• Supply is flow concept.
• Stock is the quantity of different commodities which are stored; they are made available to the consumer when there are favourable prices.

13.1. Introduction
Knowledge regarding various relationships existing between costs and output is necessary to comprehend the concepts of equilibrium conditions of different firms under different market conditions. Basically we require data on output, fixed costs, variable costs and the prices of inputs and outputs. From this data we finally derive all the seven cost concepts, viz.,TFC, TVC, TC, AFC, AVC, AC and MC. These cost concepts would have implications for output expansion of the firms and equilibrium position of the firms in different time periods. In the cost theory, economists use different names for cost concepts under different context. They are money costs or nominal costs, real costs, opportunity costs, economic costs, implicit costs, explicit costs, deflated costs, social costs, short run costs, long run costs, separable costs, etc.
Nominal Costs or Money Costs
These are usually expressed in money terms at current prices. Nominal costs of production refer to per unit cost of production of output at current market prices.
Real Costs
When the costs of inputs and input services are expressed at constant prices they become real costs.

12.1. Meaning
The rate at which output change as the quantity of all input are change. It is based on long run law in which all factor are variable and factor proportion do not change.
Stage of Return to Scale
1. Constant return to scale
2. Increasing return to scale
3. Decreasing return to scale
1. Constant return to scale
• In constant return, Change in proportion of input is equal to the change in proportion of output.
• A constant return to scale is also known as linear homogenous production function of the first degree.
• Example: Industry.

11.1. Introduction
The input-output relationship is commonly referred to as the Classical Production Function.
The Classical Production Function is also known as the Law of Diminishing Returns or the Law of Increasing Costs.
It is sometimes termed the “Law of Life”, as it serves as a fundamental principle of economics upon which several other economic laws are based.
This law analyzes the relationship between a single variable factor and output while keeping all other factors constant.
It represents a short-run production function.
11.2. Definition
The Law of Increasing Cost states that the proportion of one factor in a combination of factors increases till a certain point but after that first the marginal product then the average product will diminish.
According to Marshall “An increase in capital and labour applied in the cultivation of land causes in general less than proportionate increase in the amount of produce raised, unless it happens to coincide with the improvements in the arts of agriculture”.
According to Earl O. Heady “If the quantity of one of productive service is increased by equal increments, with the quantity of other resource services held constant, the increments to total product may increase at first but will decrease after certain point”.

10.1. Introduction
In the production process, the farmers combine the required input factor in various proportion. This type of usage of input by the farmer gives way for the operation of law of returns. In the production process, when the single input factor is varied keeping other required factor constant, the relationship take place between single variable input and the consequent output pertain to either one or a combination of the following relationship.
1. Law of increasing returns;
2. Law of constant returns; and
3. Law of decreasing returns.
10.1.1. Law of increasing returns
According to the law of increasing returns, each additional (or marginal) unit of input leads to a proportionally larger increase in output compared to the previous unit. In other words, the productivity of inputs rises as more units are employed.

9.1. Production
Production means creation of value in the goods, i. e. creation of utility. Production activity helps in transforming a set of inputs into goods and services. It essentially means transforming of one set of goods into another. The output generated from production possesses greater utility than the combined inputs used in the production process. The inputs that are utilized in production of goods may be provided by the nature and/ or by other industries.
9.2. Factors of Production
These mean the production resources required to produce a given product. Fraser defined factor of production as “a group or class of original productive resources”. The factors of production have been traditionally classified as land, labour, capital and organization.
Land
According to Marshall, land means “the materials and forces which nature gives freely for man’s aid, in land and water, in air and light and heat.” In Economics the term land has a very broad meaning. It includes all free gifts of nature available to mankind viz., air, water and land. It includes all types of land surfaces such as mountains, valley, plains, forests etc. It includes all types of water resources such as rivers, oceans, etc. Thus the concept of land includes all natural resources on, above and below the earth’s surface.

8.1. Meaning
The Law of Demand states that when the price of a good increases, its quantity demanded decreases, assuming all other factors remain constant. However, the law does not specify how much the quantity demanded will decrease in response to a price increase or how sensitive demand is to price changes. This information is crucial for businesses and policymakers. To address this, Alfred Marshall developed the concept of elasticity of demand, which measures the responsiveness of quantity demanded to changes in factors such as price, income, and the price of related goods.
8.2. Type of Elasticity of Demand
There are three types of elasticity of demand viz., 01) Price Elasticity of Demand 02) Income Elasticity of Demand 03) Cross elasticity of Demand
1. Price elasticity of Demand
Price elasticity measures the responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a commodity to changes in its price, while keeping all other factors constant (ceteris paribus).

7.1. Introduction
The concept of consumer’s surplus was first introduced by Alfred Marshall. When a consumer plans to buy a commodity, they assess the utility they will gain from its consumption. A rational consumer always compares the utility derived from a good with the price they must pay for it. If the utility exceeds the price, the consumer chooses to buy it; otherwise, they do not. The excess utility gained over the price paid is known as consumer’s surplus.
In nutshell, Consumer’s surplus is the difference between the amount a
consumer is willing to pay for a good and the amount they actually pay.
Consumer’s surplus = Price that a consumer is willing to pay - Price he actual pays
Suppose a consumer wants to buy a shirt and is willing to pay `250 for it, but the actual price is only `200. In this case, the consumer gains a surplus of `50. This difference, known as consumer’s surplus, represents the extra benefit the consumer receives from the purchase.
Consumer’s surplus is often experienced with commodities that are highly useful but relatively inexpensive, such as newspapers, salt, matchboxes, and postage stamps. In these cases, consumers are willing to pay more than the actual price, resulting in a surplus of utility