Coffee income and its determinants: A case of Deusa village, Nepal

Abstract

Understanding economic contribution of coffee production and influencing socioeconomic and environmental factors for coffee income are vital for its promotion. The primary aim of this study was therefore to assess the contribution of coffee income to the household total cash income and identify influencing socioeconomic and environmental factors for coffee income in Deusa, Solukhumbu district of Nepal. A semi-structured questionnaire survey gather data from 55 coffee-growing households. We used Ordinary Least Square regressions (OLS) for identifying influencing factors for coffee income. Household annual gross income, from farm and off-farm income sources, estimated was around NPR 161 thousand, and the median value was 57.4 thousand. On average, coffee farming contributed almost 9% of the total household income in the study area. The OLS regression showed that sufficient labor availability (p<0.05), access to coffee-related trainings (p<0.05), and access to irrigation facilities (p<0.05) significantly increased coffee earnings. Likewise, environmental variables - elevation (negatively, p<0.05) and shade trees availability for coffee farming (positively, p<0.05) also influenced earnings from the coffee farming. We recommend provisions of trainings, improved irrigation facilities and tree saplings for shade management for sustainable coffee production in the study area.