Sristi Thapa^1*, Samiksha Upreti¹ , Priyanka Gautam² and Prashna Budhathoki^1
1Mahendra Ratna Multiple Campus/IAAS, Ilam, Nepal
²Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal
*Corresponding author's email: thapasristi57@gmail.com

Abstract

This survey research was carried out with an objective to identify the current status and cost of potato production in Panchthar district of Nepal. The data were collected from 121 randomly selected household through household surveys, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and direct observation. Data entry and analysis were done by using Microsoft Excel 2019 and SPSS version 25.0. The result shows that the average land owned by farmers was 1.19 ha and the average land under potato cultivation was 0.39ha. The cost of production of 1kg potato was NRs 20.88, with an average price received NRs 49.5 per kg. Total cost required for potato cultivation in onehectare land was NRs 1,87,549.20 and net income was NRs 2,52,955.12. The benefit-cost ratio of potato cultivation in the study area was 2.34, indicating potato cultivation is profitable. In the study area, productivity of potato was 9.35 mt/ha, which is lower than national and district productivity. Ranking of the production problems of potato showed that the major problems faced by farmers were the unavailability of quality seed tubers and lack of irrigation facilities thus, providing improved seeds and irrigation facilities will help to ensure increased yield.