Arecanut (Areca catechu L.) plantation for enhancing farmer's income: An evidence from Karnataka state

Karnataka is a forerunner among Indian states in the arecanut-based agriculture. Farmers in the state have increased their land area under arecanut due to improved price realization. The current study focused on arecanut cultivation in Karnataka and estimated the area growth, seedling demand, area shitting pattern, investment pattern and profitability of the arecanut entrepreneurs. The present study is based on primary data collected from sample respondents and the secondary data obtained from the Karnataka State Department of Horticulture. Compound annual growth rate, Markov chain, cost concepts and project evaluation techniques were employed for the analysis. The study revealed that the growth of arecanut area in Karnataka during the study period was 9.00 per cent per year. This may be due to the improved price realization and promotional activities by various institutions. The study estimated the expected demand of about ₹694.42 lakh seedlings to plant an additional area of ₹50,688 ha in 2021–22. Dakshina Kannada and Shivamogga districts have emerged as loyal/stable arecanut producers, each with 66 per cent retention over the previous years’ area. Net establishing cost with subsidy for arecanut agripreneurs was estimated to be ₹2,02,002 per ha. Project evaluation techniques revealed that investing in arecanut agripreneurship is both economically and financially viable.