Composition, cost, returns and profitability of nursery enterprises in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra state
Abstract
Nursery enterprise plays a vital role in supporting horticulture, agriculture, landscaping, and forestry by providing quality planting material. The study was conducted in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, by selecting 30 sample nurseries from Ratnagiri district. The research aimed to analyse the cost returns, profitability, and overall viability of nursery enterprise. The data was collected through personal interviews using structured schedules for the reference year 2023-24. The study on 30 nurseries in Ratnagiri district (2023-24) revealed that nursery enterprises are highly profitable. On average, each nursery prepared 81,079 grafts/seedlings, of which 58,167 were sold, generating an income of Rs 82.90 lakh. Coconut, Mango and Cashew were the dominant crops, contributing over 90% of total income. Coconut gave the highest income (Rs 42.83 lakh), while Mango and Cashew provided balanced returns. Total cost per farm was Rs 25.44 lakh, resulting in a net profit of Rs 57.46 lakh. Profitability indicators were favourable: overall BCR = 1.44. Black pepper (1.99) and Nutmeg (1.88) showed the highest efficiency, while Coconut had the highest net returns despite a lower BCR (1.31). The break-even point was 7,863 grafts, much lower than actual sales, confirming strong economic viability. Coconut, Mango and Cashew are the most profitable crops, while Nutmeg, Black Pepper and Ornamental plants offer good efficiency for small-scale nurseries. Nursery enterprises in Konkan prove to be a low-capital, high-return activity with significant potential for income generation.
Full Text
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Introduction
A nursery is a specialized facility where young fruit or vegetable seedlings are nurtured under controlled conditions until they are mature enough for transplantation. The core objective of efficient nursery management is to supply healthy, high-quality planting material that supports both orchard development and replantation programs. This component of horticulture is particularly appealing due to its minimal land requirement and the potential for rapid economic returns, making it a vital contributor to sustainable agricultural development. India's diverse climate ensures the availability of all varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables. It ranks second in fruits and vegetable production in the world, after China. As per National Horticulture Database (1st Advance Estimates) published by National Horticulture Board 2023-24, India produced11.21 million metric tonnes of fruits and 209.39 million metric tonnes of vegetables. The area under cultivation of fruits stood at 7.15 million hectares while vegetables. India's diverse climate ensures the availability of all varieties of fresh fruits & vegetables. It ranks second in fruits and vegetable production in the world, after China. (source: APEDA). Maharashtra is one of the leading states in horticultural production due to its diverse agro-climatic zones and strong institutional support. The Konkan region, particularly Ratnagiri district, is famous for its production of high-value horticultural crops like mango (Alphonso), cashew, coconut and areca nut. Given the demand for quality grafts and seedlings, nursery enterprises have flourished in this district, creating economic opportunities for farmers and entrepreneurs.
Materials and Methods
Selection of Districts
From the south Konkan region, Ratnagiri district were selected purposively for investigation www.extensionjournal.com
Selection of Tehsils
The information regarding the list of nurseries, number of nurseries in each tehsil were obtained from District Superintendent Agricultural Officer. On the basis of number of nurseries in each tehsil, three tehsils having maximum number of nurseries were selected purposively from selected district. Dapoli, Ratnagiri and Lanja tehsils were selected.
Selection of Nursery
Total sample of 30 nurseries were selected on proportionate number of nurseries in selected tehsils in district.
Collection of Data
Data was collected from selected nursery owners by personal interviews with the help of specially designed schedule.
Analysis of data
To achieve specific objectives of the study, the collected data was analysed to draw conclusion.
Tabular Analysis
The data is arranged in suitable tables and simple statistical tools such as average, percentage, ratios, standard cost concepts were used for analysis.
Reference period
The information and data for present study is pertained to year 2023-24
To estimate cost, returns and profitability of nursery business For all types of seedlings direct and indirect costs were estimated separately in each group of nurseries. ). The per farm number of seedlings prepared were arecanut 6,144, black pepper 5,510, nutmeg 3,075 and ornamental plants 2,303. The survival percentage was observed, maximum in coconut (84%) and ornamental (84%) followed by nutmeg (73%), arecanut (73%), cashew (73%), mango (68%), black pepper (64%). It was also revealed that among grafts of fruits crops survival percentage is less in mango, as compared to other crops. The total number of saleable grafts were 59,865 out of which maximum grafts of mango i.e.18,000 (30.06%) followed by coconut 17140 (28.63), cashew grafts 12500 (20.88%), arecanut 4500 (7.51%), black pepper 3500 (5.84%), nutmeg 2250 (3.75%) and ornamental 1975 (3.29%). In case of total number of grafts sold maximum 29.60 per cent (17,222) of mango which received Rs. 18,00,000. In case of coconut total number of seedlings sold were 17,140 (28.63%) and income received was Rs. 42,83,794. cashew was also found to be major component of nursery. The total number of grafts sold were 12,000 (20.63%) and income earn was Rs. 10,80,000. The total number of seedlings sold in case of arecanut 4150 and income received was Rs. 3,94,250 (4.76%). The black pepper graft sold in study area about 3200 (5.50%) and income received was Rs. 2,24,000. The nutmeg and ornamental grafts sold were 2485 and 1975 respectively. It was also revealed that per farm total income received from nursery enterprise in study year was Rs. 82,89,679 out of which maximum Rs 42,83,794 (51.68%) income received by coconut followed by mango Rs 18,00,000 (21.72%), cashew Rs 10,80,000 (13.02%), arecanut Rs 3,94,250 (4.76%), nutmeg Rs 3,10,135 (3.74%), black pepper Rs 2,24,000(2.75%), ornamental Rs 1,97,500 (2.38%) respectively. It was also revealed that coconut, mango, cashew, arecanut are major component of nursery accounted www.extensionjournal.com more than 90 per cent income. It was concluded that nursery enterprises is one of the major enterprise where relatively required less capital investment and the per farm income is higher. Another important attribute of this enterprises is the existing farm resources such land, irrigation and different inputs can be used more efficiently and provide higher income to the farmers in study area. The farmer do not need to invest much in capital like machinery, building and such business conducted are in rural area so that farmers in the study area should be aware of the benefits of this nursery enterprise, which also supports the climate of konkan region and is very much suitable in hardening of grafts and overall nursery operation.
Items of direct cost
Per Farm Cost and Returns of Nursery Enterprise
The table 2 presents detailed information on the cost and returns for different nursery crops. The total expenditure for producing grafts and seedlings was Rs. 25,44,075. Coconut had the highest share in total cost at Rs. 10,06,241 (39.55%), followed by Mango at Rs. 7,19,499 (28.28%) and Cashew at Rs. 3,89,667 (15.31%). The least expenditure was observed for Nutmeg (Rs. 58,417), making up only 2.29% of the total In terms of gross returns, Coconut again led with Rs. 42,83,794 (51.67%), followed by Mango (Rs. 18,00,000 or 21.71%) and Cashew (Rs. 10,80,000 or 13.02%). Ornamental crops, Nutmeg, and Black pepper contributed relatively less to total gross returns.
Break-even point
Break-even point analysis helps to determine the minimum number of units that must be sold to cover all fixed and variable costs. It is a crucial indicator of the financial health and sustainability of a nursery business. Thus, the break-even quantity was calculated to be 7863 grafts. This means that the nursery must sell at least 7863 grafts to cover its total costs. Any sales beyond this quantity contribute to the profit of the enterprise. Since the actual number of grafts sold was 58,167, which is significantly higher than the break-even level, it indicates that the nursery enterprise was operating well within a profitable zone. This emphasizes the economic viability and potential for income generation from nursery activities when managed efficiently.
Conclusion
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