International Journal of Horticulture, 2024, Vol.14, No.3, 186-194 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/ijh 186 Research Article Open Access Economics of Production and Marketing of Potato (Solanum tuberosum) in Rasuwa District, Nepal Sonam Kumari Kalwar , Kiran Thapa, Rejina Sapkota, Pappu Kumar Sah Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur, Chitwan, 44200, Nepal Corresponding author: gsonam094@gmail.com International Journal of Horticulture, 2024, Vol.14, No.3 doi: 10.5376/ijh.2024.14.0021 Received: 09 Apr., 2024 Accepted: 24 Jun., 2024 Published: 02 Jul., 2024 Copyright © 2024 Kalwar et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Kalwar S.K., Thapa K., Sapkota R., and Sah P.K., 2024, Economics of production and marketing of potato (Solanum tuberosum) in Rasuwa District, Nepal, International Journal of Horticulture, 14(3): 186-194 (doi: 10.5376/ijh.2024.14.0021) Abstract Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is one of the important cash crops of Nepal which contributes a lot to the rural livelihood of Nepal. It accounts for 5.52 % to AGDP of Nepal. To study the economics of production and marketing attributes of potato farming, a study was conducted in Uttargaya rural municipality of Rasuwa district. Questionnaire-based household surveys along with field observations were conducted, taking in consideration a total of 60 potato farmers selected by simple random sampling method. Additionally, 10 traders were also selected to study about the marketing. Among the different varieties used by farmers, Cardinal was the most preferred (46.7%). The average cost of production was found to be NRs 209,238/ha with BCR of 2.02. The average productivity of potato in the study area was found to be 16.15 mt/ha. The average gross margin per ha, market margin and producer’s share were found to be NRs 206,604, 28/kg and 53.33% respectively. Similarly, four types of marketing channels were particularly identified. Five-point scaling technique was used for ranking the production and marketing problems. It identified that high cost and lack of quality inputs (I=0.87), scarcity of irrigation water (I=0.72), disease/insect/pest (I=0.78) were the major production problems whereas wholesaler’s dominancy over the market (I=0.87), low market price (I=0.77) were the marketing constraints. Moreover, middlemen’s dominancy influenced the farm gate price. Technical, infrastructure, government support through subsidies if provided will surely enhance the production and profitability of potato enterprise with the advantage of climatic condition of the district. Keywords Potato (Solanum tuberosum); Economics; Rasuwa; Production; Marketing Introduction Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is one of the important cash crops of Nepal which contributes a lot to the rural livelihood of Nepal. It is a major vegetable crop in mid-hills and terai whereas it is a staple food crop in high hills of Nepal. It accounts for 5.52% of Agricultural Gross Domestic Product (AGDP) of Nepal in fiscal year 2021/22 (MoALD, 2022). It is considered as the fourth most important crops after wheat, rice and maize in the world (Bajracharya and Sapkota, 2017). Potato covers 198,788 ha with the production of 3,325,231 mt in Nepal (AITC, 2022). It is cultivated from 100m in southern terai to 4,000 m in northern mountains (Bajracharya and Sapkota, 2017). Its cultivation is increasing due to its wider adaptability, taste and favorable ecological requirement. More than a billion people consumes potato every day and it is grown in more than 125 countries (Lutaladio et al., 2009). The global potato industry is going through a significant shift. Up until the early 1990s, farmers in regions like Europe, North America, and the former Soviet Union produced and consumed the majority of the world's potatoes. Since then, Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America have all seen substantial increases in potato production and consumption. A total of 376 million tons of potatoes are produced worldwide in 2021 (FAOSTAT, 2021). Similarly, land area of 18,132,694 ha is harvested globally in 2021, yielding an average of roughly 21 tons per hectare (Victoria, 2023). Potato plays a vital role in fulfilling the nutritional demand of numerous populations in the world contributing to achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (Jaganathan et al., 2020). Potato is the major vegetable crop in terai and mid hills and a staple food in high hills of Nepal (Kafle and Shah, 2012). Potatoes are commonly grown at altitudes ranging from 100 masl in the southern Terai to 4,000 masl in the northern Himalayas of Nepal (Bajracharya and Sapkota, 2017). It is the fourth most important crop after rice,
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