cultivators to raise a second crop from their fields. Table 5.1 Distribution of sample Farmers on the Basis of Their Major Occupation Major occupation No. of cultivators Percentages Paddy farming 54 60.00 Fish farming 3 3.33 Agricultural labour 11 12.22 Self employed 10 11.11 Private employment 2 2.22 Govt.employment 2 2.22 Casual labour 8 8.89 Total 90 100.00 5.1.3 Declining profitability Material input and human labour costs together account for 83.48 percent of the total paid out costs of paddy cultivation in the study area. There had been unprecedented increase in the prices of agricultural inputs since the adoption of the New Economic Policy (NE Pin the country during the early nineties. Since July