Financial Feasibility Analysis of Pomegranate Production in Solapur District of Maharashtra

The present study aims at examining the financial feasibility analysis of pomegranate production in Solapur district of Maharashtra which happens to be the leading district in terms of production and area under cultivation of that crop. Data collected from primary sources have been analyzed with the set objectives using appropriate techniques and statistical tools. Pomegranate requires a high investment of capital for establishment of orchard which is estimated as 348473.17 per hectare. The establishment cost is found to be more in small-sized farms as compared to medium and large size groups. The maintenance cost during the gestation period has been estimated as 184357.27 per hectare. The annual maintenance cost termed as recurring cost which has been incurred from 3 ^rd year onwards for maintenance of plants which comprises of the expenditure towards the variable factors and fixed factors. The small farmers are ahead of medium and large farmers in terms of application of variable factors whereas the total labour cost varies directly with the size of farms. The average yield of sample farms is found to be 9.38 tonnes per hectare which varies from year to year during the period 3^rd to 12^th year of the orchard age. The mean yield of small size farms is found to be highest at 10.70 tons per hectare and it is declining with the increase in size of pomegranate farms. The financial feasibility of investment in pomegranate orchards has been studied with four relevant criteria namely, net present value (NPV), benefit-cost ratio (B-C Ratio), the internal rate of returns (IRR) and payback period (PBP). The NPV, B-C ratio, IRR and PBP for all farms are 921035.57 per ha, 2.61, 48.23 percent and 4.1 years respectively which confirm that investment on pomegranate orchard is highly profitable and economically feasible in the study area.