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Cash crop adoption by peasant households : Analysis from the middle mountains of Nepal

University of British Columbia

Peasant households in the Middle Mountains of Nepal are faced with a myriad of problems and challenges as they attempt to improve their living conditions. Vegetable cash crop production is regarded as a possible solution to alleviating rural poverty by many households and policymakers. This study deals with the case of vegetable cash crop adoption by peasant households in a peri-urban area near Kathmandu. The two objectives of this study are to identify the determinants of vegetable cash crop adoption by peasant households, and to exarnine the implications of this adoption. This research is based on a detailed household-level survey of peasants in the Jhikhu Khola Watershed, located about 40 km east of Kathmandu. The sample is divided into households that produce vegetable cash crops, and those that do not. A dichotomous logistic model is used to determine the significant factors for the adoption of vegetable cash crops. For the second objective, the survey data is analysed to understand the implications of vegetable cash crop adoption. The effects of adoption are assessed by comparing two vegetable cash crops, potato and tomato, with two staple food crops, maize and rice. The results of the adoption/non-adoption logistic model indicate that access to irrigation water has the greatest impact on growing vegetable cash crops. There is a positive relationship between access to irrigation water and adoption of vegetable cash crops by the surveyed households. The level of formal education attained by the male household head also increases adoption rates. Difficulty with inorganic commercial fertilisers and predominantly red soils both have a negative impact on the choice to produce vegetable cash crops. An examination of the implications of cash crop adoption reveals some interesting results. Although tomatoes are the most profitable crop, many households incurred losses by cultivating potatoes due to changes in the operational environment. Households that adopt cash crops have higher returns from maize than households that choose not to adopt cash crops. Finally, in terms of food security, cash crops do not appear to adversely affect a household's staple food production.

Thesis/Dissertation

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2009-01-17

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/3748

Agricultural Economics

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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