Financial Feasibility and Constraints of Betel vine Cultivation in Coastal areas of Sundarbans, West Bengal

Abstract

The horticulture sector plays a significant role towards sustainable rural livelihoods in all farming systems including the marginal areas like coastal region of West Bengal. The region is characterized with multifaceted problems such as low crop productivity due to inherent problem of soil & water salinity and hence low returns. Farmers are totally depended on nature and limited to mono-cropped by a single crop during wet (kharif/rainy) season. Cultivation of betel vine, one of the most important horticultural crops, is gradually gaining its popularity in this area as cash crop. Financial analyses through undiscounted cash flow measure, Payback Period and discounted cash flow measures like Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR), Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) were applied to understand the long term feasibility of investment on betel vine enterprise in the study area. The payback period was 2.81 years, IRR was estimated to be 45%, the NPV was Rs. 134614 and BCR was estimated to be 1.25 for the betel vine cultivation. All these criteria (IRR, NPV and BCR) were favourable for such investment on betel vine cultivation and the profitability was quite encouraging. Financial analysis indicated that investment on betel vine cultivation was not only profitable but highly attractive proposition and financially feasible for the region. This study indicates that inappropriate management of fertilizer and pesticides due to lack of adequate knowledge, often disease and insects attack, natural calamities, lack of water supply were the other most important constraints faced by the betel vine grower during production. Price fluctuation was the most important constraints faced by the betel vine cultivators to realise remunerative return to the investment on betel vine cultivation. Establishment of market intelligence system to forecast the price in apriori and simultaneously exploring the export market (other states within the country or abroad) might be useful for realising better return on betel vine cultivation and second, young farmers are quite enthusiastic to cultivate the betel vine and promotion of this cash crop should be continued in other parts of the Sundarbans region for gainful employment.