Economics of production and marketing of gerbera in Sikkim

The present study was undertaken with a view to workout costs and return of gerbera produced under protected condition, their marketing pattern and production and marketing constraints. A sample of 100 cut flowers polyhouse established in two blocks of East Sikkim was selected purposively. The required primary data, collected by survey method and personal interview of selected sample respondent using pre-tested interview schedule, pertain to the agriculture year 2013–14. Cost of cultivation, profitability measures break-even analysis, marketing cost, marketing margins and opinion ranking technique etc were employed to analyse the collected data. This study focuses on socio-economic assessment of floral (especially gerbera) growers of East Sikkim. On an average each grower has allocated 1620 square feet of their land for gerbera cultivation. In production of gerbera, initial investment was made to establish the poly house units and variable costs incurred during subsequent years. The BC ratio of the processing unit was 1.81 at 12 per cent discount rate, which is more than unity indicating the worthiness of investment on these units. The Internal Rate of Return being 52.31 per cent for gerbera units was higher than the interest rate at which the processors could borrow from lending agencies and invest on these units. Since IRR was more than the opportunity cost of capital, it clearly indicated that investment on gerbera cultivation under polyhouse units is financially feasible. Further, the production system was generating good employment opportunities for farm family as well as agricultural labourers especially for female workers. The farmers have faced many constraints in the cultivation and marketing of rose flower. The shortage of labour, high establishment cost, incidence of pests and diseases, high fertilizer requirement, adverse climate and non-availability of credit were found to be the major constraints to the rose production. High transportation cost, traders’ collusion and mal-practices among traders, spoilage due to poor transportation facilities, shorter stem varieties and shorter storage life were identified as the major constraints in the marketing of gerbera flowers. Marketing margin of flower Gerbera is Rs. 4.55 per stick of flower. On average growers get Rs. 4 as a farm gate price which is less than what retailers earn as their margin. On an average farmer sells 350 sticks in a week and earns Rs. 1400 weekly. This indicated that retailer grabs good margin as compared to earnings of growers. Due to inefficient supply chain growers are willing to change their profession. There is urgent need to develop managed marketing chain to balance demand and supply of gerbera flower. Sikkim Marketing Federation (SIMFED) should come with innovative supply chain. To reduce the production and marketing risks in gerbera production and to improve the livelihood security of farm and non-farm households, an efficient and effective value chain in gerbera production has become imminent. The findings of the study suggest establishment of processing units in the production centres and cold storage transport facilities at affordable prices and strengthen the marketing channels to develop competitive edge and create value in rose production.