Economic Analysis of Production of a Little Gourd (Coccinia grandis) in Central Gujarat

Abstract

Background: Little gourd is important vegetable crop that provide a considerable amount of income to farm families in Central Gujarat. The present investigation was undertaken with the goal to study the cost and return in cultivation of little gourd in central Gujarat. Methods: For this purpose, primary data was collected from 100 little guard farmers from three districts namely Anand, Kheda and Vadodara and categorized according to size of holding as marginal, small, medium and large farms. To arrive at conclusion the data was analyzed with cost concepts and relevant income measures. Result: The study found that the average per hectare cost of cultivation, gross income and net income of little gourd followed an increasing pattern from marginal to large farm sizes. The input output ratio was found decreasing as the farm size increased. The study suggested that there is enough scope of enhancing net returns through increasing the scale of operations at farm level that may be achieved by organizing small and medium farmers into producer organizations. Over and above this, the farmers should be encouraged for production of export-oriented quality to further increase the farm income.