Energy – a source of infrastructure used for agriculture Dr. Choodambigai Ramalinga*, Associate Professor, Kalyani C.**, Ph.D Research Scholar *Department of Economics, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore. **Department of Economics, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore. Online published on 3 January, 2012. Abstract The share of agriculture in Indian economy is rapidly shrinking as it did in all advanced economies. Agricultural share in GDP in1991 was 33 percent. By 2000 it had fallen to 25 percent and now it is 21 percent. Looking forward, we can expect it to fall further. (Bhukan lal, 2008). Agriculture is the mainstay of Indian economy providing livelihood to more than 50 percent of the country's population. India is the second most populous nation in the world. About 70 percent of the population, which is close to 700 million, still lives in the rural areas. Irrigation is mainly through electrical and diesel pump sets while the rural industries and the transport sectors rely primarily on animal power and to some extent on commercial sources of energy like diesel and electricity. The present study was conducted in Ramampalayam, Dotapavi and Kallanoor villages, Jadayampalayam panchayat, Karamadai block, Coimbatore district. The total population of these three villages is 1700 of which is about 90% are engaged in agricultural activities. There are 600 households in the area, of which 450 families were fully engaged in agricultural activities. From this population 100 farmers who were using energy inputs to enhance agricultural productivity were selected by adopting purposive sampling technique. Relevant and required data for the present study were collected from both, primary and secondary sources. The primary data was collected by administrating an interview schedule to the selected respondents. The secondary data was collected from Coimbatore District profile (2009–2010). Data were analyzed by using Simple percentage, ANOVA and Chi- square methods. While the usage of energy inputs had increased the income of the farmers, the inadequacy in the supply of electricity was the major constraint for the farmers. Top |