Author(s): Nikeeta J Pokiya, VD Tarpara, H Chavda and Kamal Kishor J

Abstract: Consumption is an essential, everyday activity for everybody. It is a feature of everything we do during our waking hours up to the time that we fall asleep The way consumers practice consumption is influenced by diverse factors that are personal as well as external The annual per capita availability of cereals (113 kg), pulses (29 kg), and edible oils (12 kg) in India remains significantly lower than the intake levels recommended by ICMR. This gap highlights the importance of examining the changing consumption patterns of cereals, pulses, edible oils, and other food and non-food commodities in both rural and urban settings. The present study relies on primary household-level data collected from Junagadh district through personal interviews. The reference period covered the agricultural year 2023-24, including winter (November 2023-February 2024), summer (March-June 2024), and monsoon (July-October 2024). Analytical tools such as tabular analysis and regression analysis without intercept were applied to estimate the adult equivalent scale (AES). Findings from rural households indicated that women aged 20-40 years incurred the highest expenditure share across total cereals, pulses, and edible oils (TCPE), total food (TF), total non-food (TNF), and total expenditure (TOT) categories during all seasons. In contrast, among urban households, adolescents (13-20 years) contributed the largest proportion of expenditure to TCPE commodities in every season. For TF and TNF groups, men in the 20-40 years age bracket accounted for the maximum share in winter and summer, whereas adolescents dominated TCPE expenditure during summer. With respect to TOT, adolescents (13-20 years) held the highest share in winter and summer, while females aged 20-40 years led during the monsoon. At the aggregate household level, women in the 20-40 years group consistently accounted for the largest share in TCPE during winter and summer, while their male counterparts dominated in the monsoon. For TF, TNF, and TOT groups, females in the 20-40 years category remained the leading contributors across all seasons.

Pages: 37-42 | Views: 135 | Downloads: 2

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