Guest guest Posted June 24, 2001 Report Share Posted June 24, 2001 > Regarding the costs of tractor ploughing in mayapur land. Does that figure > take into account purchase price, maintenance, loss of value etc. Is the > cost of tractors subsidised in some way? No, the tractors are not subsidized, but the diesel fuel is cheaper than petrol. It is not really subsidized, but it is not so heavily taxed. These are prices from local tractor owners who rent their services, so I assume they have factored in all the purchase price, etc. > > If the figures are a true comparison then what is the plan to give the > oxen back their value. > > Is it possible for the mayapur management to buy into ox power by paying > more for their food if produced from oxen. Everything is possible in this world, but there is no indication they are eager to do this. But there is also the problem of getting all the ISKCON land plowed quickly. At sowing time, the local teamsters are all working, so unless ISKCON develops its own large crew of teamsters and also keeps sufficient oxen, it is difficult to plow the ISKCON land by oxen. > I remember in mayapur this year the goshalla manager informed me that they > were breeding 60 cows per year and as you know this means over 20 years > there will probably be about 600 male oxen of which about 400 will be > workeable. > > How does mayapur plan to utilise all these oxen if the land is being > farmed by tractors?. They don't. THe only plan right now is to give them away. > How much difference in the price of rice would there be if the food is > produced by tractors or produced by working oxen. Has such an analysis > been done. No, but I don;t think the price differential would be that much. My own crops of rice are costed like this: Labor for cleaning the land 500 Plowing (by oxen) 330 Water tax (govt.) 150 Labor for transplant, weeding, etc. 1250 Total 2330 Yield about 420 kg paddy ar about 250kg rice = cost per kg of about Rs. 9.25 per kg. My rice is an indigenous variety which is not usually grown as it is not as high yielding, although it requires low inputs (I use no fertilizer or pesticides). So, plowing by tractor would save me only about 10-15%. This winter I will be growing wheat and I'll see how that goes too. Your servant, Pancaratna das Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.