PRODUCTION, MARKETING, AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF MARIGOLD PRODUCTION IN NEPAL

Abstract

A study was conducted to analyze the production economics, socio-economic status, potential problems, and marketing of marigolds among marigold cultivating farmers in Nepal. Total 60 commercial farmers were selected by a simple random sampling technique. Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Chitwan, Pokhara, Lamjung, Kavre, and Rupandehi, the major marigold-producing areas of Nepal were the study area. The data were tallied and statistically examined to derive appropriate conclusions. The average area under marigold cultivation was 0.23 ha. The average marigold production was 55662.5 kg with an average BCR ratio of 3.786 per household which is much higher than the cereal production with BCR 1.1. The total average cost, gross revenue, and net revenue per hectare were NPR.55650, NPR.253937.5, and NPR.198287.5 respectively. Seed cost nearly accounts for 42% of total input cost. The average number of household members involved in marigold cultivation was three. The findings of this study revealed that 53.3% of the household were of the young age group (below 25 years). This may be due to the involvement of agriculture graduates in commercial marigold cultivation. The majority of the household were having marigold farming along with other businesses as their main occupation. The maximum number of the household belonged to the medium size of land holdings category (0.77 ha). Therefore, the finding suggests that the production and income can be maximized by providing training facilities on export-oriented production, and post-harvest loss management with efficient marketing facilities for marigold products.

Keywords

• adoption
• economy
• households
• marigold
• pinching