​Economic Analysis of Production and Marketing of Major Vegetable Crops: A Review

Vegetables are imperative to the general health of individuals, providing essential nutrients and thereby reducing risks from dangerous diseases. To study the socio-economic conditions of vegetable growers, analyse their cost of cultivation, to study the resource use efficiency and analyse the market structure and problem associated in production and marketing of vegetables. The sampling technique for investigation and analytical techniques have been explained under the sub heads: selection of the study area, sampling design and sample size, nature and source of data, analytical technique, definition of terms and concepts used and limitations of the study. The main crops grown in the kharif season were maize, tomato, capsicum and beans and that in rabi season were pea, cauliflower and wheat. The most dominating vegetables in the kharif and rabi season were tomato and pea respectively. The cost of cultivation per hectare was highest for tomato, followed by pea and cauliflower. Four marketing channels were prevalent in the study area viz., Channel-A, Channel-B, Channel-C and Channel-D. The maximum quantity of tomato, cauliflower and pea were marketed through Channel-B. The major problems faced by the growers in production of vegetables were non-availability of labours during the peak period, problems of insects and diseases, high wage rates and high chemical prices. The study gives a brief information of socio-economic conditions, crops grown, the cost concepts used, the marketing channels and the problems faced by the farmers prevailing in the various study areas.