ECONOMICS OF PRODUCTION AND MARKETING OF AKABARE CHILI IN PALPA DISTRICT, NEPAL

Author:
Chandra Bhusal, Sushil Awasthi, Sujana Lohani, Bipana Chaulagain, Lekha Khadka, Astha Thapa Giri

Doi: 10.26480/amdn.01.2024.42.49

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 to analyze the economics on production and marketing of Akabare chili and the challenges faced by Akabare chili growers in Palpa district, Nepal from February 2023 to July 2023 with specific objectives of identifying and analyzing cost, return, profitability and benefit cost ratio, marketing chain, producers share and market margin of Akabare chili in Palpa district and identifying and ranking constrains in production and marketing of Akabare chili. Primary data for the household survey were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire from eighty sampled respondents from Mathagadi and Ribdikot rural municipality of Palpa district. Secondary data were collected through scientific journals, articles, and publications from agricultural organizations, projects and programs. Demographically, the majority of respondents were female (53.8%) with a significant presence of individuals aged 40-49 (37.5%). A large proportion of them hold a secondary level of education (60%) and rely on agriculture as their primary occupation (97.5%). On an economic note, the annual income of farmers varies with 47.5% falling in the medium-income bracket. Most of them own their land (96.3%) with a mean landholding of 13.850 ropani. Akabare chili cultivation occupies an average of 4.675 ropani of their land. Remarkably, record-keeping is not a common practice among farmers (82.5%) and 91.3% of them engage in pinching. These farmers predominantly use drinking water pipes for irrigation (78.8%) and mostly have labor managed by home-based resources (71.3%). The research also emphasizes the significance of various actors like cooperatives, wholesalers and retailers in price determination and highlights the varied purposes for buying Akabare chili. Producer-collection center-Yashoda foods industry (Butwal) was found to be the most used marketing channel. The economic analysis indicates that farmers spend around NRs. 12,755.65 per Ropani on chili production but reap a gross return of NRs. 25,551.47, resulting in a net return of NRs. 12,795.82 per Ropani. The benefit-cost ratio (B: C Ratio) stands at a promising 2.003, indicating that for every unit of cost, farmers gain over two units in return. Despite the various challenges in production and marketing, a benefit-cost ratio of 2.003, demonstrates that Akabare chili cultivation is economically feasible in Palpa. The study also found that co-operatives played a significant role in determining prices and the market margin was 31.03 with a producer’s share of 83.16%. The findings highlight the need for improved knowledge sharing, pest management, and marketing strategies to enhance Akabare chili cultivation in Palpa, benefiting both farmers and the local economy.

Pages 42-49
Year 2024
Issue 1
Volume 2