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Subject: Agricultural Economics × Author: Bora, Gunjan × End date: 2023 × Start date: 2020 ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    PRODUCTION AND MARKETING OF TEZPUR LITCHI IN SONITPUR DISTRICT OF ASSAM
    (2023) Bora, Gunjan; Gogoi, Horindra
    Litchi is an important sub-tropical fruit crop and is considered as the queen of fruits in India. Litchi reached India through Burma during the 18th century. Presently, India and China accounts for 90 percent of total litchi production in the world. India ranks second to China both in terms of area and production of litchi. Within India, among all the litchi growing states like West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, etc Bihar alone contributed 41.79 percent of country’s total litchi production for the year 2021-22. While Assam stands at sixth position in terms of area and fourth in terms of litchi production for the year 2021-22. The present study revolves around the GI tagged Tezpur Litchi that is exclusively found in the Sonitpur district of Assam. The study was conducted to examine the status of litchi cultivation in the state of Assam along with understanding the economics of production and marketing of Tezpur Litchi and identifying the production and marketing constraints faced by Tezpur Litchi growers in the Sonitpur district of Assam. For the study, a sample of 80 Tezpur Litchi growers were selected from the study area. The study revealed that during the period from 2002-03 to 2021-22, the area, production and productivity of litchi in the state increased significantly with compound growth rate of 1.92 percent, 5.59 percent and 3.59 percent respectively. In terms of variability, production showed highest variation with 29.60 percent, followed by productivity with 20.44 percent and then area with 11.29 percent. On all farms, the establishment cost for Tezpur Litchi was calculated to be Rs. 143230.17 per hectare and the operational and maintenance cost during the bearing period for years 6 to 8, 9 to 11, 12 to 14 and 15 and above were calculated to be Rs. 56884.09, Rs. 80689.57, Rs. 120850.87 and Rs. 160535.70 per hectare respectively. Throughout the bearing years, watch and ward and harvesting operations were found to be the two major components of operational cost. The net returns of all farms for years 6 to 8, 9 to 11, 12 to 14 and 15 and above was estimated to be Rs. 200603.12, Rs. 283833.60, Rs. 393282.23 and Rs. 469521.15 per hectare respectively. The Tezpur Litchi cultivation was observed to be economically viable in the study area as NPV was positive, BCR was greater than unity and IRR was greater than the discount rate. The discounted payback period reflected that initial investment was recovered within 6.08 years of Tezpur Litchi cultivation in all farms. A comparison of different marketing channels revealed that under both Acharya’s approach and Shepherd’s approach of marketing efficiency Channel V (Litchi growers – Consumer) was identified to be most efficient and Channel III (Litchi growers - Pre- Harvesting contractor - Wholesalers - Retailer -Consumer) was the least efficient. Disease and pest infestation of fruits and fruits damage during harvesting period by birds and animals emerged as the major production problems. Whereas, high perishability of litchi fruit and price fluctuations were the major marketing problems. Thus, there is need for appropriate training, support and awareness programmes, research works aimed at extending the shelf-life of litchi fruit and development of proper market infrastructure.