Cash Cropping in Nepal Essay

On an individual crop basis, tomatoes and white potato vinees were the most increasing, sensibility analysis and scenarios suggest high division and limited short-term furbish up on poverty alleviation. Profitable. On a per farm basis, 50% of the crime syndicates with unconditional farm gross valuation reserves grew at least one vegetable crop, plot only 25% of households with negative farm gross margins included vegetable crops in their rotation. Farmers have been hesitant to produce primarily for the market attached the rudimentary infrastructure and high variability in prices.Farmers reported exchange more crops, but when corrected for inflation, gross revenues declined over time. The cost and benefits of create markets have been unevenly distributed with pocketable holders unable to ceilingize on market opportunities and wealthier farmers engaging in input intensive cash cropping. Farms growing vegetables had an fairish gross margin of US$137 per category compared to US$12 per year for farms growing only staple crops.However, the area under mathematical product is small and, while vegetable production is likely to continue Key words Agriculture, bills crops, Gross margin, Household economics, Market inequity, Poverty Introduction Cash cropping has been crusaded by development specialists as a mechanism to alleviate country poverty in countries such as Nepal. Programs have capitalized on live tape drive networks, the proximity to urban centers or niche markets (Panday, 1992). But on that point are concerns that coarse mercenaryization by-passes the poor.The cash and land quality requirements of capital intensive farming may limit the capacity of poorer farmers to invest, while the risks associated with gestate and price variability may limit their willingness to participate in commercial productionBoth the Agricultural Perspective Plan (APROSC, 1995) and the ninth National Plan (GON, 1998) of Nepal promote the intensification of ag riculture and increased cash crop production. In the Mid-hills of Nepal near Kathmandu, potato and tomato production have increased dramatically in the rifle 10 years (Brown and Shrestha, 2000).But, vegetable production is demanding of soil, water, and human resources. A systematic assessment of cash cropping is required to determine the impact on household well-being. The aims of this paper are five-fold 1) to determine the relative profitability of vegetable production in the Mid- hills of Nepal2) to assess the economic impact of incorporating vegetables into the dominant cropping patterns 3) to analyze the variability between households 4) to assess the impact of fluctuations in price and 5) to evaluate secular changes in household well-being with the incorporation of vegetableproduction.Methods The relative profitability of agricultural production between farms provides a mechanism to compare the economic stipulation of farming households with diversified cropping systems. A n indication of the profitability of each farm muckle be obtained by computing gross margins, defined as broad(a) returns less total variable costs. Total returns are equal to the lever of all crops produced (including crop residues), irrespective of whether the crop is sold. Total variable costs include the purchase of seed, fertilizer, and pesticides hiring oxen and all labor involved in cultivation activities.Labor includes the time spent in planting, irrigation, fertilizing, spraying, weeding, harvesting and transportation and selling and includes the opportunity cost of family labor. The gross margin can so be viewed as the return to fixed costs (land and livestock) and management. Gross margin analysis, in this context, focuses on production or income with respect to agriculture. As it does non take into account the time value of money, gross margins are not sensitive to interest rates, and are a good first theme of financial feasibility.