Resource productivity analysis of apple production in Jumla district, Nepal

Abstract

Apple is a major temperate fruit crop of Nepal. Apple production is an important farm enterprise of Nepalese farmers of high hills and mountains. Since the profitability of any production enterprise is largely determined by the combination of resources used, this study was conducted to investigate whether different factors of apple production are being used in an economic way. A total of 120 apple producing households were selected by random sampling technique from Patarashi Rural Municipality, Jumla and interviewed with pre-tested, semi-structured interview schedule. Jumla district, being the largest apple producing centre of the country, was selected for the study. The collected information was coded, entered and analysed by using SPSS and MS-Excel software. The data was analysed by using descriptive statistics and Cobb-Douglas production function. The production function revealed that costs on plant nutrients and labour have statistically significant effect on gross returns while other costs were found to be non-significant. The regression coefficient for nutrients and labour were estimated to be 0.54 and 0.68 respectively, both significant at 0.01P. Sum of regression coefficients also revealed that the production function shows increasing returns to scale by 1.11. Using high quality manure, providing trainings and skills to farmers, increasing value addition practices and improving market infrastructures would increase productivity and profitability of apple.