AN ECONOMIC STUDY ON THE PRODUCTION AND MARKETING OF TOMATO (SOLANUM LYCOPERSICUM) IN POKHARA METROPOLITAN CITY, KASKI DISTRICT OF NEPAL
Author:
Ashish Gautam, Sujan Lamichhane, Bishal Chapagain, Rishiram kattel
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
The research was conducted from February to June 2023 to assess the economics of the production and marketing of Tomatoes in Kaski. Pre-interview schedules, Focal Group Discussion (FGD), and Key Informant Survey (KIS) were used to collect the primary information from the respondents, while the secondary information was collected by reviewing different relevant publications. Altogether 61 respondents were selected using simple random sampling for the study from the Pokhara Metropolitan City within two different wards namely Bagmara and Budibazar. The statistical tools, MS- Excel and SPSS were used for data analysis. Socio-demographic studies revealed that the average number of male family members involved in agriculture was found to be 1.41 and that of female family members was 1.67. The average landholding of the farmers was 4.9 ropani and the average area under tomato cultivation under plastic houses was 1.6 ropani. Agriculture was the major occupation among the surveyed households. Srijana and Kabita were the popular varieties of tomato among the farmers of the study area and among them, Srijana was most preferred. The average productivity of tomato was found to be 42617 kg/ha and the average revenue of production of tomato was found to be NRs.2684871. Similarly, the gross margin and B: C ratio were found to be NRs. 1237656/ha and 1.38 respectively. Among 4 marketing channels identified in the area, Producer-Consumer was the most dominant with 59% of the total volume marketed. The major production and marketing problems were a lack of technical knowledge and a lack of storage facilities in the study area. However, the study indicated that tomato farming is a highly potential agriculture enterprise for the study area. Hence, it can be concluded from the study that commercial off-season tomato cultivation under plastic houses might be the potential enterprise to improve the living standard of the farmers.
Pages | 46-53 |
Year | 2024 |
Issue | 2 |
Volume | 4 |