Economic analysis of tomato cultivation in Himachal Pradesh

The present study is based both on secondary and primary data. The secondary data were collected from various publications of the state government, and the primary data were collected for the agricultural year 2016–17 from 60 tomato growers from Sadar block of Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh. The results revealed that compound growth rates in the area, production and productivity of tomato in Bilaspur district were 0.49, 2.02 and 1.52 percent, respectively, whereas it was 1.68, 4.46 and 2.73 percent in Himachal Pradesh. The cropping pattern revealed that 10.48 percent of the cropped area was under tomato at an overall level. The average yield of tomato crops was found to be higher in the case of large farmers. The net returns over variable cost were ₹249361 per ha, and the output-input ratio stood at 2.21:1. It was found that all costs declined with the size of the holding, mainly due to economies of scale. Further, it was found that the returns over total and variable cost were higher on large farms than on small farms. Vegetable growing (mainly tomato) contributed 32.21 percent to the total annual gross household income at an overall level. The average farm income of the large growers was higher (₹222990 per farm) compared to small growers (₹140719 per farm).