OPTIMUM LAND USE PATTERN AND RESOURCE ALLOCATION IN A GROWING ECONOMY: A CLOSED MODEL APPROACH

The paper examines land use pattern for the small farmers at the farming systems research site, Jessore and attempts at developing optimum land use pattern considering available resources. Linear programming was used for optimizing resources. The results revealed a considerable divergence between the existing and optimum plans under both limited and borrowed capital situations. The resources were not found optimally allocated and after optimization, gross margin and employment of labour could be increased. Tractor/power tiller utilization increased under borrowed capital situation, while labour employment and tractor/power tiller utilization decreased under limited capital situation. This suggests that capital acted as a severe constraint. Cereal based cropping patterns showed dominance in both the existing and optimum plans. The optimum plans affected tenurial groups differently because of inter-tenurial variation in resource endowment and management. It is suggested that strengthening of the extension services and market network, besides a strong financial support, would go a long way in improving the prospects of the small farmers of the study area