Crop Production and Net Return from Organic and Conventional Farming Systems

Abstract

Economic return from organic farming is a highly debated issue. This study was conducted in Chitwan District of Nepal and analyzes three crops, carrot, potato, and cauliflower, that are among the most commercial non-staple crops and form an important part of daily food consumption. Respondents were selected based on stratified random sampling, and cost component of production factors, production, and net return were analyzed comparing organic and conventional farming systems. T-test was used for assessing production factors and net return and ordinary least square model for analyzing farm households’ socioeconomic variables’ impact on crop production, respectively. Result finds that net return from conventional potato is significantly higher, but overall production of the three crops combined is higher in organic farming system. Male-headed households have positive impact on production, while households having bigger farm size and with farther distance to agrovet have negative impact on production. Among the production factors, land area under cultivation, seed, organic inputs, chemical inputs, and tillage have positive impact. Since chemical inputs can deplete soil fertility over time, crop production should be improved by adopting a more sustainable way, such as boosting use of organic inputs.