1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background information
Since the development of civilization, agriculture has been the way of living to the mankind. Agriculture is a major sub-sector of the Nepalese economy for livelihood, employment, economic and social transformation. Nepal being a diverse country occupies diversity of climate, geographical structures and cultivable land which facilitates the practices of several agri-enterprises in different ecological zones. Out of the country’s total area, 21% of land is under cultivation of agricultural crops. It comprises one-third of the nation’s GDP and provides employment for two thirds of the population. Agriculture sector (farming, forest and forestry), alone has contributed 23.95% in total GDP in first six month of fiscal year 2021/22 (Krishi Diary, 2023). Among the total GDP from agriculture, horticultural commodities contribute 9.68% to GDP and 38.59% to the total AGDP (MoALD, 2020/21). In the same manner, Vegetable sector contributes 5% to GDP and 19.44% to AGDP (Kafle, 2019). The total Yield of vegetables in Nepal is 14.05 Mt/ha ( MoALD, 2020/21). The production of Vegetable has found to be increased by 0.75% than last fiscal year 2019/20 (MoALD, 2020/21). At present context, fresh seasonal and off-seasonal vegetables have been categorized as high value crops and commercial production of fresh vegetables are promoted (ADS, 2015).
Lalitpur is one of the mid hill district having a lot of productive land for agriculture. It is situated in the Bagamati province of Nepal, surrounded by Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Makwanpur and Kavre district. Here, the annual temperature ranges from 23.60 degree Celcius in summer and rainy season and 10.70 degree Celcius in winter having relative humidity 50-80 %. The average rainfall is 1232.6 millimeters per year. The altitude ranges from 457-2831 meters from the mean sea level (MSL). The total cultivable land in the district is estimated to be 15,296 hectare, of which 14,000 hectare land is under cultivation (Chaudhary, 2010). Due to the climatic suitability, this district is the potential area of vegetable cultivation. The climate supports for the production of both winter and rainy crops i.e. people can grow vegetables in two seasons easily. Lalitpur district alone contributes 16.57 Mt/ha to the total yield of the country (MoAld, 2020/21). The major vegetables grown in this districts are vegetables that belong to cruciferous family (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, radish), cucurbitaceous vegetables (bitter gourd, sponge gourd, cucumber), solanaceous vegetables (tomato, brinjal, potato) and malvaceous crop (okra). It is one of the best potential areas of Nepal for cultivating the offseason tomato under plastic house in commercial scale because of assessable market and inputs for production, access to vegetable wholesale market at Lalitpur and high demand of tomato for the growing populations within Valley as well as from different tourist hotels during lean period could fetch high price.
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) is one of the most commonly grown vegetables in Nepal. It has occupied the fourth and fifth position in terms of production and acreage respectively. Tomato cultivation using plastic tunnels has been gaining popularity in Lalitpur due to its higher productivity and income compared to traditional cereal crops production. The offseason cultivation of tomato has been bringing good income to many farmers. Plastic tunnels are small greenhouse-like structures, covering the plants. Tomato is being grown popularly as winter crop in plain and spring crops in mid hills. Tomato production is mainly concentrated in winter in the plains of Nepal (with tropical and subtropical climate) because of suitable weather and land availability.
1.2 Justification of sub-sector profile:
Nepal has a high potential for market growth in fresh vegetables. For the development of fresh vegetable farming, it is necessary to identify the opportunity and constraints of fresh vegetable farming. Being gifted with unique geographical and climatic status by nature, Lalitpur has been producing both on-season and off-season vegetable in large scale. Along with diverse climate and topography, huge density of population has increased the demand of vegetables, resulting increase in rate of production. Here, Vegetables like cauliflower, Radish, Cabbage, Tomato, Onion are produced annually. Despite of various constraint as problem in timely availability of fertilizers, seeds, irrigation facility, etc. production and marketing is going well in recent years. Lalitpur have a good market access and its marketing channel can be seen wide spread within the district and out of the district. Farmers are well- linked with local traders, retailer, whole seller and other agents. The price of commodity varies from season, demand, production and for some extent depends upon the agents and sellers. Farmers are often contracted informally with the agent prior harvest which then after is sold according to the will of the agent. These agent (so called collector) supplies the commodity to wholesaler, retailer or directly to buyer as per his profit. Some farmers don’t use the channel of middle-man and have direct link with wholesaler and retailer.
The total production of vegetables in Bagmati province is 728,432 Mt. in 2020/21 (DADO, 2021/22). Among all other district in this province, Lalitpur alone has the production of 50,544 Mt. in 2020/21 (STATISTICAL INFORMATION ON NEPALESE AGRICULTURE 2020/21). Tomato, Radhish, Cauliflower, Cucumber, and spinach are the mostly grown vegetables of this district. The total production of Tomato, Rdish, Cucumber, Cauliflower and spinach in this area are 5965 Mt in 184 ha, 6161 Mt. in 256 ha, 3625 Mt. in 121 ha, 7141 Mt. in 623 ha and 73 Mt. in 6 ha respectively (STATISTICAL INFORMATION ON NEPALESE AGRICULTURE 2020/21).
Tomato is one of the important commodities which fetch a good price in all season in Lalitpur. Almost all vegetable growers prefer the tomato cultivation as it gives higher production with good price. Mostly they use Sirjana variety of tomato. The area of tomato cultivation is increasing year by year using the plastic house. The farmers are using modern scientific technology like cultivation in the plastic tunnel to increase the productivity and prevent from pests, disease and natural calamities like hailstones.
1.3 Objectives:
The main objective of this study is to analyze the feasibility of sub-sector business establishment. The specific objective includes
- To study the cost of production and analyze the benefit-cost ratio of tomato cultivation.
- To be acquainted with the present scenario of market dynamics of tomato.
- To identify the major constraints, strength, opportunities and threats of tomato production inside plastic house
1.4 Limitation of the study:
Since the survey is conducted to only few agri-entrepreneurs detailed information was not obtained. Likewise, the farmers are unable to give the relevant information about the cost and market due to lack of knowledge about the record keeping. The geographical structures of the area also cause some difficulty during survey so the farmers of distant areas are not included. The study was conducted to limited households and secondary data are obtained through interaction with other stakeholders.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Nepalese context
Nepal is an agrarian country. Majority of the Nepalese people are dependent on agriculture to sustain their livelihood. Over 65.7% of the population relies on agriculture for their living. Agriculture sector (farming, forest and forestry), alone has contributed 23.95% in total GDP in first six month of fiscal year 2021/22 (Krishi Diary, 2023). Among the total GDP from agriculture, horticultural commodities contribute 9.68% to GDP and 38.59% to the total AGDP (MoALD, 2020/21). In the same manner, Vegetable sector contributes 5% to GDP and 19.44% to AGDP (Kafle, 2019). The total Yield of vegetables in Nepal is 14.05 Mt/ha in 2020/21 (STATISTICAL INFORMATION ON NEPALESE AGRICULTURE 2020/21).
The Government of Nepal has prioritized agriculture sector and has planned to allocate Rs. 58 Arba 98 Crores for Fiscal Year 2080/81 , which is 3 Arba 9 crores more than the last fiscal year (The HIMALAYAN TIMES,2023). Nepal produces the vegetable worth NRs 55 billion annually. Around 70% of total household of the country are being involved in vegetable farming. The total production of Vegetables in Province 1, Madhesh, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Susdurpaschim is 797,842 Mt., 1,204,514 Mt., 728,432 Mt., 282,591 Mt., 544,663 Mt., 149,511 Mt., and 285,615 Mt. respectively in Fiscal year 2020/21.
Table 1: Fresh vegetable production, area and productivity of diffent provinces in 2020/21
| Province | Area (ha) | Production (Mt.) | Yield (Mt./ha) |
| 1 | 50,449 | 797,842 | 15.81 |
| Madhesh | 83,355 | 1,204,514 | 14.45 |
| Bagmati | 49,983 | 728,432 | 14.57 |
| Gandaki | 22,726 | 282,591 | 12.43 |
| Lumbini | 41,967 | 544,663 | 12.98 |
| Karnali | 13,239 | 149,511 | 11.29 |
| Sudurpaschim | 22,401 | 285,615 | 12.75 |
| Total | 284,121 | 3,993,167 | 14.05 |
Source: STATISTICAL INFORMATION ON NEPALESE AGRICULTURE 2077/78 (2020/21)
The Agriculture Perspective Plan (APP) has also designated vegetable crops as one of the priority crop for Nepal’s agriculture development. Nepal has comparative advantage of producing the vegetable crop all year through the use of the agro-climatic opportunities, established market and its increasing demand.
Tomato is one of the most important vegetable crops having the high market potentialities. Open filed cultivation during the Autumn-Winter is common in terai, inner-terai and foot hills while the cultivation inside the plastic tunnel in Summer/Rainy season is much popular in hills. This has provided the comparative advantage for mid hills and high hills for production of the offseason vegetables fetching high prices. The diverse agro-ecological conditions have promoted the income generation and improved livelihood through the tomato farming (Demand and supply situation of tomato in Nepal, 2015).
2.2 Historical background of technology in Nepal
The plastic house technology was primarily developed by RARS, Lumle and HRD, Khumaltar in Nepal. The regional agriculture research station at Lumle in Kaski developed an offseason tomato cultivation technology using plastic technology 25 years ago (NARC, 1994).
2.3 Production environment
Tomato is one of the most widely grown vegetables in the world. It grows in best in temperature between 20 – 270C. Fruit setting is poor when average temperatures exceed 30°C or fall below 10°C. They prefer well drained soil because they are sensitive to water logging and optimum soil pH should be 6.0–7.0. Site with free air movement and free from problem of weeds are best suited for the cultivation of tomato. Tomatoes are deep rooted crops so the bed should be well prepared and reduce the soil compaction and hard pans. Tomatoes are usually transplanted into plastic mulch on raised beds which warm up more quickly in the spring and therefore will enhance earlier growth. Since tomatoes grow poorly in excessively wet soils, a raised bed facilitates drainage and helps prevent water logging in low areas or in poorly drained soils. On raised beds more irrigation is required during drought conditions. In Nepal the required temperature regime exists in different agro-climatic regions at different times of the year that allows almost year-round production by utilizing different geographical regions of the country.
2.4 Tomato in plastic tunnel
Nepal is one of the most vulnerable countries with extreme climate events. The high temperature during summer and foggy weather with prolonged temperature during winter often affects the vegetable cultivation like tomato and onion. So, tunnel farming is the simple and low cost practices that controls the microclimate surrounding the crops and thus reduce the impact of the temperature fluctuation. The plastic tunnel consists of green- house hut like structure swath in plastic hat which make possible to grow the offseason vegetable and thus serving the food supply throughout the year. They should be situated in well drained areas where sunshine is abundant and there is no shade throughout the cropping period. The major advantage of the tomato cultivation under plastic tunnel is easy technique for offseason production with increase in production and income during offseason. The benefit cost ratio of tomato production under the plastic tunnel is high with value 2.78 in peri-urban areas of Kathmandu which indicates it as an profitable agrienterprise (Gautam & Bhari, 2015 ).
2.5 Production status of tomato in Nepal:
In Nepal tomato cultivation is possible in both terai and hilly areas. According to the national figures the tomato was cultivated in 19726 ha area producing 298594 mt in 2012/13 while it is decreased to 17273 ha producing 232897 mt in 2013/14. The decrease in production may be due to the subsistence farming, lack of modern production techniques, lack of production and post- harvest infrastructure and processing facilities etc. The area, production and productivity of tomato since 2010-2013 is given in table 2.
Table 2.Area, production and productivity of tomato since 2010-2013
| Year | Area(ha) | Production(mt) | Productivity(mt/ha) |
| 2010/11 | 244102 | 3203563 | 13.1 |
| 2011/12 | 245037 | 3298816 | 13.5 |
| 2012/13 | 246392 | 3301684 | 13.4 |
| 2013/14 | 254932 | 3421035 | 13.42 |
Source: Statistical Information on Nepalese Agriculture, 2013-14In 2012 Nepal required 881.5 mt of tomato for daily consumption and the demand will reach to 932.6 mt by 2016.Similarly. The demand of tomato in mountain will be reached to 51.6 mt in 2016 and 494 mt in terai (Demand and supply situation of tomato in Nepal, 2015).
2.6 Production status of vegetables in Lalitpur
Lalitpur is one of the potential areas for the production of the commercial vegetables. Different varieties of vegetables are grown here all year round i.e. summer and winter vegetables. Almost all of the vegetables grown here are consumed inside the valley. The major vegetables cultivated in district in terms of area are cauliflower, cabbage, tomato, radish, carrot, cucumber, pumpkin, Brinjal, Bitter Gourd, Jukuni and other leguminous crops. Cauliflower, cucumber and tomato are cultivated in 623 ha, 231 ha, 121 ha and 184 ha respectively and production are 7141 Mt 3025 Mt, 5965 Mt respectively (DADO, 2021/22) The mostly grown vegetables of this district along with area, production and productivity is shown in Table 3:
Table 3. Area, production and productivity of vegetables in Lalitpur in 2020/21
| S.N. | Vegetables | Area (ha) | Production (mt) | Productivity (mt/ha) |
| 1 | Tomato | 184 | 5965 | 32.42 |
| 2 | Radish | 256 | 6161 | 24.04 |
| 3 | Cabbage | 730 | 8234 | 11.25 |
| 4 | Cauliflower | 623 | 7141 | 11.46 |
| 5 | Cucumber | 121 | 3025 | 25.08 |
| 6 | Bitter Gourd | 85 | 1560 | 18.33 |
| 7 | Spinach | 6 | 73 | 12.06 |
| 8 | Okra | 13 | 263 | 20.10 |
3. METHODOLOGY
3.1 LEE site:
Lalitpur covers an area of about 396.9 km2 and its altitude ranges 1350 meters from mean sea level. The site selected for the study are Godawari Municipality and Mahalaxmi Municipality . The site of the survey lies between 27.6667 N and 85.3500 S. These are the place under the vegetable block of Prime Minister Agriculture Modernization Project. So, the study was conducted focusing the farmers of the block regions.
Fig1. Map of survey site
3.2 Instrument and design:
3.2.1 Questionnaire design:
Simple model questionnaire was used for the sampling. The questionnaire included the information about the cost of the production like land preparation, inputs for the tomato cultivation, management cost, transportation and marketing cost.
3.2.2 Interview:
A face to face interview was done with the commercial farmers at their home about the tomato farming and its cost of production, benefits and marketing status.
3.3 Data and Data types:
3.3.1 Primary data:
Primary data was obtained through face to face interview and questionnaire survey with the farmers of the study area.
3.3.2 Secondary data:
The secondary information was obtained through reviewing the DADO profile, publication mainly produced by Project for Commercialization in Agriculture (PACT), Agribusiness Promotion & Market Development Directorate, Market Research & Statistics Management Program, Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS), Agriculture Perspective Plan (APP) and other related articles.
3.4 Methods and techniques of data analysis:
The data collected from both primary and secondary sources were processed and analyzed by using computer software packages like Microsoft Excel.
3.4.1 Cost of production:
For analyzing the cost of production, the variable cost items and fixed cost items were considered. The variable cost included the farm expenditure on seed, land preparation cost, fertilizers, irrigation, plant protection measures, micronutrients, harvesting, packaging, transportation, labor, bullock, tractor cost, interest on variable cost etc. The fixed cost was calculated adding the depreciation cost, land rent etc. Total cost of production was calculated by adding all the expenditures on variable inputs and fixed cost:
Total cost = ∑ of cost incurred in all the variable items + ∑ Summation of cost incurred in all the fixed items
3.4.2 Benefit cost ratio analysis of tomato production
A benefit-cost ratio (BCR) is the ratio between the gross return and total cost of any enterprise. It gives idea about cost recovery incurred during the production by return from products. This analysis was done after the calculation of total variable cost and gross return from tomato production .Cost of production was calculated by summing the variable cost items incurred in the production process. For calculating gross return, income from tomato sale was accounted. So, the benefit cost analysis was carried out by using formula:
4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Learning from involving farm business and subsector:
Tomato cultivation under plastic tunnel is one of the most profitable enterprises which provides with better returns to the farmers within short duration. This business requires scientific and technical way of management and cultivation practices for the better yield. In order to increase the production and maintain the quality product different management practices should be well performed initially from the nursery establishment to the harvesting of the product. The farmers should prepare the plastic tunnel with appropriate slope so that the water can flow easily and does not cause the breakage of the tunnel through weight of water stored in the plastic. Likewise, maintenance of the temperature inside the plastic tunnel is another important factor for better growth of the tomato. High temperature inside the plastic tunnel causes the heat stress to the plants leading to the death of the plant which ultimately decreases the production. So, it should be opened during day and closed at night to balance the temperature. The nursery bed should be well prepared and raised during rainy season. In order to prevent from the damping off the bed should be well treated with fungicides and better spacing should be maintained between plant and rows. Proper staking should be done and the plants should be well pruned to have better growth and well fruiting.
If the cultivation of tomato is done with well management practice and scientific ways it could be the better source of income to the farmers with low investment. As tomato is a high price commodity and has greater demand in the market there is better scope of it to improve the livelihood of the marginal farmers through its cultivation. It can be cultivated both in summer and winter season so the profit can be obtained all year round.
4.2 Learning from the organization and concerned stakeholders:
The organization provided the great opportunity to understand the real scenario of farmers and their major problems regarding the farming practices. Similarly, it created a platform for us to make a good relationship with the farmers through better communication skills. Working on this organization we were able to discover that the farming practice in our country is still subsistence type and a new approach is necessary to intervene the modern technology to turn the farming practice into commercialization. Mechanization in the farming practice is basic approach to reduce the cost of the production with better production strategy. On the other hand, interaction with other concerned stakeholders like value chain actors we understand the existing value chain, value chain structures and constraints of marketing. We find that most of the farmers are unaware about the marketing system and information regarding the channels to be used, farm-gate price, market price, demand, supply, subsidies and so on. It was found that there is excessive involvement of the middleman in the marketing process which finally leads to the reduced producer’s share. Hence all such problems regarding the marketing need to be addressed properly by the concerned agencies.
4.3 SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis is a structured process used by an organization in developing a strategic plan for goal and mission accomplishment. SWOT analysis consists of examining an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in its business environment. The SWOT analysis is the business analysis techniques that your organization can perform for each of its products, services and markets when deciding on the best way to achieve further growth. The process involves identifying the strength and weakness of the organization and opportunities and threats present in the market that it operates in. the first letter of each of these four factors creates the acronyms SWOT.
Table 3. SWOT analysis of tomato production in the study area
| Strength | Weakness |
| Abundance of suitable and potential microclimate pocketsComparative advantage over other vegetables and cash cropsEager to adapt technologies in their farm to automatize aerator systemAvailability of smart toolsIncreasing number of agro-vets active in production pocketsIncreased awareness among the farmers regarding benefits of poly-house cultivation of tomato in the mid hillsLocal financial savings and women empowerment | Limited marketing facilitiesLack of suitable varieties for specific micro-climatesQuality inputs not available in time and are expensiveAgro processing unit in order to add value to the product is lackingLack of well organized collection center and storage infrastructuresLack of processing centers |
| Opportunity | Threats |
| Additional pockets areas can be used for off-season tomato cultivationChanging food habit of Nepalese: Share of vegetables in food increasingAvailability of modern post-harvest handling processing and packaging technologiesNo any risk of decrease of market demand | High fluctuating market pricesYouth migration leading to labor shortageHigh incidence of disease and pests ,requiring high use of pesticides leading to high production costFrequent strikes by political organizationsSupply of cheaper vegetables from outside the districtDamage of vegetables due to wind, hailstones and other climatic hazard |
4.4 PESTEL ANALYSIS
PESTEL is a strategic analytical tool used to assess external factors affecting businesses. PESTEL acronym stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors impacting companies. PESTEL has recently evolved from PEST analysis once intensifying forces of globalization and intensifying forces of competition in the marketplace coupled with other set of factors increased the importance and potential impact of environmental and legal factors on businesses.
4.4 PESTEL Analysis:
4.4.1 Political factor:
The commercial farming of vegetables in Lalitpur is politically supported by different concerned stakeholder. The government considers it as one of the potential area for the commercial vegetable farming. Since it is one of the major sources of the economy of this district every political stakeholder have full attention towards the development of the areas as major pocket of vegetables. There is full support of the local governance.
4.4 .2 Environmental factors:
The diversified climate of the district is suitable for the cultivation of vegetables. Almost all vegetables can be grown here with better production. The agro-climatic diversity, established market and increased demand of the vegetables has provided a comparative advantage for the production of the offseason vegetables. Since, the cultivation is possible here in all season the profit can be obtained all year round.
4.4.3 Social factor:
Vegetable farming is the major source of income to most of the farmers of Lalitpur through which they can sustain their livelihood. Most of the households are involved in the vegetable farming as there is better production and market from where they can fetch the good price. Both male and female members of the family equally contribute in their farm. There is no any social obligation for the production of the vegetables. The farmers are educated enough and have realized that it would be the best source of their economy. The demand of fresh vegetables is increasing day by day which have created a better scope of vegetables in market.
4.4.4 Technological factor:
There is better access of the modern inputs like plastic tunnel, drip irrigation, mulching plastic, pheromone traps and other various inputs which have encouraged the farmers to adopt the new technology for higher production. Different rustic stores, collection centres have been established in various places for post- harvest management of potato and vegetables. Farmers have easy access of communication through use of mobile phone to contact with the agents.
4.4.5 Institutional factor:
Different institutions have been supporting the area for the promotion of commercial farming in Lalitpur. DADO is one of the major institutions of the government which has been working for the overall development of agriculture sector. Different organizations like Prime Minister Agriculture Modernization Project (PMAMP), Project for Agriculture Commercialization and Trade (PACT), AKC, etc have been providing different subsidies and capacity building trainings for empowering the livelihood of the farmers through promotion in agriculture. Different co-operatives have been established for supporting the farmers.
4.4.6 Economic factor:
Being a good source of income to the farmers, vegetable farming have been adopted by most of the farmers. Well established market, increasing demand of the product and purchasing capacity of the consumers has supported the vegetable farming of this area. The people of this area are well conscious about the consumption of the fresh vegetables and can spend the money for the fresh and healthy vegetables. Likewise Agriculture Development Bank (ADB), other banks also provide loan to the farmers at appropriate rate so the farmers are encouraged to invest on the vegetable farming.
4.4.7 Legal factor:
Majority of the farmers of Lalitpur produce healthy and quality vegetable products. They rarely use the chemical fertilizers. Organic manure like farmyard manure and compost manure are used mostly in the field and this will produce the healthy and more organic product. This has established a good perception of the consumers towards the vegetable commodity. There is no any legal restriction for the vegetable cultivation in this area.
4.5 Sub-sector business plan preparation (Cost and returns, Profit, Benefit/Cost Ratio and Sensitivity Analysis)
| S.N | Particulars | Unit | Rate(Rs.) | Quantity | Cost(Rs.) |
| Cost for tunnel construction (6*20) | |||||
| 1 | Bamboo | No | 300 | 35 | 10500 |
| 2 | Silpolin plastic (6 × 20m2) | Square meter | 75 | 150 | 11250 |
| 3 | Ropes | Kg | 150 | 2 | 300 |
| 4 | Nails | Kg | 175 | 1 | 175 |
| 5 | Wire | Kg | 150 | 2 | 300 |
| 6 | Transportation charge | Rs. | 0 | ||
| 7 | Labor charge | 0 | |||
| 7.1 | Skilled | Number | 1500 | 5 | 7500 |
| 7.2 | Unskilled | Number | 700 | 4 | 2800 |
| Total cost for tunnel construction | 32825 | ||||
| Total cost of 8 tunnels | 262600 | ||||
| Farm Equipment cost | |||||
| 1 | Kodal | 700 | 2 | 1400 | |
| 2 | Kuto | 300 | 2 | 600 | |
| 3 | Water pump | 7000 | 1 | 7000 | |
| 4 | Pipe | 1000 | |||
| 5 | Knap Sack Sprayer | 5000 | 1 | 5000 | |
| 6 | Secature | 450 | 2 | 900 | |
| 7 | Crate | 500 | 5 | 2500 | |
| Total cost of Farm equipment | 18400 | ||||
| Total fixed cost | 281000 | ||||
| 20% of the Total fixed cost | 56200 | ||||
| S.N | Particular | Unit | Rate(Rs.) | Quantity | Cost(Rs.) |
| 1 | Seed(Srijana) | Gm | 350 | 2 | 700 |
| 2 | Mini power tiller | Hour | 500 | 1 | 500 |
| 3 | Labor | Men day | |||
| Nursery establishment | 500 | 1 | 500 | ||
| Field preparation | 500 | 1 | 500 | ||
| Plantation | 500 | 1 | 500 | ||
| Intercultural operation( Irrigation, Weeding, Hoeing, Staking, Fertilizer and pesticide application) | 650 | 7 | 4550 | ||
| Harvesting and marketing | 500 | 3 | 1500 | ||
| 5 | Fertilizer | Kg | 4 | 39 | 156 |
| 6 | Pesticides and micronutrients | 1000(Approx.) | |||
| 7 | Training/ Staking | ||||
| Bamboo | Number | 25 | 200 | 5000 | |
| Ropes | 300 | ||||
| 8 | Electricity | 400 | |||
| Total | 14606 | ||||
| Total variable cost for 8 tunnels | 116848 | ||||
Total cost of production for 8 tunnels = Total variable cost + 20% of total fixed cost
=Rs.116848 + 56200
=Rs. 173048
Cost of production= Rs. 173048
Income:
Yield of tomato: kg per tunnel=1000*8=8,000
Price obtained by farmers:
During peak production: Rs.15
During offseason: Rs.60
Average price obtained by farmers = Rs.37.5
Income = Yield × Price
= 8000 *37.5
= Rs. 3, 00,000
Net Profit = Total income – Total cost of production
= Rs.3, 00,000 – Rs.173048
= Rs.1,26,952
Benefit Cost Ratio = Total Income/Total Cost of production
=3, 00,000/173048
=1.73
Sensitive Analysis:
| When cost increases by 20% | When yield decreases by 20% | When cost increases by 20% as well as yield decreases by 20% | When the price of tomato is minimum(i.e. Rs.15) | ||||
| Cost of production | Rs.207657.6 | Cost of production | Rs.176845.6 | Cost of production | Rs. 207657.6 | Cost of Production | Rs.176845.6 |
| Income | Rs.300000 | Income | Rs. 360000 | Income | Rs.240000 | Income | Rs.120000 |
| Benefit Cost Ratio | 1.44 | Benefit Cost Ratio | 2.03 | Benefit Cost Ratio | 1.15 | Benefit Cost Ratio | 0.67 |
The investment for the tomato cultivation is higher than for other vegetables if cultivated in tunnel house but along with the higher investment comes the higher return. Net profit of Rs.1, 26,952 with Benefit Cost ratio of 1.73 is obtained from 8 tunnels. The sensitivity analysis of the business when cost increases by 20%, yield decreases by 20% or both shows that the business is feasible even after considering these risk factors and have the BC ratio of 1.44 ,2.03 and 1.15 respectively. The sensitivity analysis of low price of tomato during peak production deduced the BC ratio of 0.67 only which showed that the business will be in total loss.
5. Conclusion:
Vegetable cultivation has undoubtedly become an integral component of the Nepalese economy as it contribute to the national GDP and have been a source of income to rural farmers, employment opportunity and help in poverty reduction. The agro-ecological diversity and climatic suitability have been boon for the people of the Lalitpur for the commercial cultivation of the vegetables. The climate supports the production of vegetables all year round so the commercial farmers have been able to fetch a good price through offseason production. Mostly the people cultivate the different vegetables like tomato, cauliflower, cabbage, cucumber, radish etc in two seasons. This has supported the livelihood of most of the farmers and increased their living standard. Tomato cultivation under the plastic tunnel is the most profitable enterprise with B/C ratio of 1.73 in Lalitpur. The production is possible all year round and fetch high price during summer/rainy season in Terai market as offseason product.
Most of the farmers of this district are still following the traditional practices of farming. So, the level of production is still low than the potential. Lack of quality inputs, proper infrastructure for the post- harvest management and storage and lack of collection center has created some sort of difficulty in production and marketing of the vegetables. Adoption of new scientific and modern technology like cultivation under plastic tunnel, scientific application and management of fertilizers and different modern farming practices could increase the production level. Use of the plastic insect net and different protection measures like insect traps, soil treatment with fungicides should be promoted to prevent from the incidence of different pests and diseases. This will ultimately contribute towards the higher production with superior quality of the vegetable products.
Horticulture commodities being highly perishable in nature, entangled with lack of proper storage the farmer are in weaker position in the price negotiation. Most of the farmers are unaware about the marketing system and information regarding the channels to be used, farm gate price, market price, demand, supply, subsidies etc. There is also the involvement of the middle man so the producers are unable to get the suitable price. So, the proper marketing system should be well established and different concerned stakeholders should address the problems regarding the marketing.
If proper adoption of the modern technology and management of the marketing system can be promoted then this will ultimately bring a remarkable change in the production system of the district. This will help to improve the socioeconomic status of the farmers and improve their livelihood through better economy. Not only this if the different problems are addressed properly this will contribute to the better agriculture transformation in the country.
6. Recommendation:
6.1 To the farmers and proponents:
The farmers should utilize the comparative advantage of the agro-climate and produce the vegetables all year round as it will provide the better income throughout the year. Although they are earning a good income through traditional farming practice they can further increase their production and income if they use the modern technology. They should adopt the modern and scientific practices of vegetable farming like cultivation under plastic tunnel for vegetables like tomato and cucurbits. It will prevent the crops from the damage of the natural calamities like wind, hailstones and also control the incidence of pests and disease if insect nets are used. Likewise they should apply the protective and management practices like seedling treatment, soil treatment with fungicides etc initially from the nursery establishment to harvesting. For tomato, pruning should be done to avoid the diseased part and have proper fruiting. This will increase the production and vegetables can be produced in all season under plastic tunnel.
6.2 To the other business actor:
The other business actor like value chain actors have equally important role in the production and marketing system of any agricultural commodity. There should be well managed system of market information regarding the price of the commodity, demand, supply and agricultural inputs. The input suppliers should provide the farmers with quality inputs like pure seeds, fertilizers, effective pesticides and insecticides and other various infrastructures required for the better production practice. The farmers should get the appreciable price for their commodity so that they are encouraged to produce the commodity in large scale. Similarly, the market should be well developed and extend its linkage to other areas for exporting. There should be proper provision of the storage house and collection center for the post-harvest management of the vegetables. Proper market information should be developed.
6.3 To the government and other stakeholders:
The government should intervene the different strategy realizing the potential of commercial vegetable production in this area. It should invest in the agriculture field and implement the various programmes for the development of the commercial vegetable farming. This will help to contribute in the economic development of the country and improve the livelihood of the farmers. Likewise, it should make the provision of the subsidies in agricultural inputs, crop insurance to minimize the risk of loss and promote the agriculture sector to encourage the farmers. Similarly, the other concerned stakeholders should be involved to increase the capacity of the farmers by providing them different capacity building trainings, low cost technology, modern and scientific technology and different skills for successful farming. The government should develop the well marketing system so that the farmers can get the considerable price.
6.4 To the next internees:
The LEE programme have been a great platform for all the agriculture intern to expose ourselves in the farmer’s field, know the reality of the existing farming system, disseminate the modern scientific technology and learn more practical knowledge which is far behind the theoretical knowledge. It helped us to develop our communication skills through interaction with farmers and different concerned stakeholders and understand the working system of the agriculture in our country. They should show their potential and performance in the farmer’s field which they have learned during the theoretical classes in their university. It is the best opportunity to show our skill and provide service to the farmers.