Profitability and resource-use efficiency in vegetable cultivation in Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh Singh Pavitter1, Thakur Rajesh Kumar1, Singh Arshdeep2,*, Kumar Virender1 1Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur-176062, Himachal Pradesh 2Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141001, Punjab *Corresponding author: arshdeep.singh.khosa1@gmail.com
Online published on 28 September, 2023. Abstract Vegetable cultivation holds importance in Himachal Pradesh agriculture as it provides food, nutrition, and financial security. The present study examines the profitability and resource use efficiency in vegetable cultivation in Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh. The study was based on primary data collected during 2017-18 from 60 farmers selected randomly using three-stage sampling techniques. The study found that growing vegetables on sample farms was very profitable as the net returns over total cost were positive in all crops. Moreover, the return per rupee investment ratio was greater than one, demonstrating that vegetable growing is economically efficient. The outcomes of the production function indicated increasing returns to scale for all vegetables except garlic, implying that by increasing all production variables (area, seed, FYM & fertilizers, human labour, irrigation, and plant protection measures) by one per cent, the production will increase by more than one per cent. This shows that there is still the possibility of expanding output. The marginal value productivity analysis revealed that the farmers in the study area may improve their earnings by enhancing the use of variable inputs. Top Keywords Cobb-Douglas Model, Return to scale, Resource use efficiency, Vegetables production. Top |