AN ECONOMIC STUDY OF POTATO PRODUCTION IN SELECTED AREAS OF SYLHET DISTRICT

M M Begum, J K Saha, M A Rahman and M R Ahmed
Journal of the Sylhet Agricultural University, Volume 4, Issue 1, 2017, Pages 129-136

Abstract:

The study assesses the profitability of potato cultivation in some selected areas of Sylhet district in Bangladesh. A total of 50 farmers were selected from different villages of Fenchugong upazila in Sylhet district. Both tabular and descriptive techniques were used to analyze the collected data. Average family size was 6.24 which was found to be higher in large farm followed by small and medium farms. On an average the dependency ratio was 3.22. The literacy in the study area was higher than that of national average of Bangladesh. Agriculture was found to be dominating occupation among the inhabitants. On an average 50% of the total income obtained from potato production. The annual savings of the sampled farmers was found to be higher in large farm followed by medium and small farm. On an average hectare-1 cost of production of potato was Tk. 1, 94,114. The average hectare-1 yield of potato was 17194 Kg. The highest yield was obtained by large farms (18291 kg ha-1) while it was the lowest in small farms (16804 kg ha-1). When all costs were taken into account the average net return was observed to be Tk. 81336. On an average BCR was the highest in large farms (1.68) appearing lowest in small farms (1.34). The study identified some major problems like nonavailability of quality seeds and high price, low market price, shortage of human labor, lack of storage facilities etc. The farmers opined that potato production would be economically viable if quality seeds with affordable price, marketing facilities with standard price, storage facilities, fertilizer and insecticides with reasonable price are ensured.

Keywords:

Potato production, profitability, constraints.


Full Text

PDF

1399 Views


Cite this article

M M Begum, J K Saha, M A Rahman and M R Ahmed. 2017. AN ECONOMIC STUDY OF POTATO PRODUCTION IN SELECTED AREAS OF SYLHET DISTRICT, Journal of the Sylhet Agricultural University 4(1): 129-136.