Year: 2025 | Month: September | Volume 70 | Issue 3
Assessing Resource Use Efficiency and Addressing Production and Marketing Problems of Tomato in Solan District, Himachal Pradesh: A Case Study
Priyank Sharma
Divyanshu
Kapil Kathuria
Parul Barwal Subhash Sharma
DOI:10.46852/0424-2513.3.2025.5
Abstract:
The present study has been designed to investigate the resource use efficiency and identify the issues and challenges of tomato growers. A sample of 400 farmers cultivating tomato was selected using multistage random sampling. The CAGR for area, production and productivity during period (1995-96 to 2019-20) increased at rate of 4.96 per cent, 6.85 per cent and 1.85 percent in Solan district respectively, indicated that the tomato has been major cash crop sown in this area. The Coefficient of determination was 0.82 which indicated that 82 per cent variation in tomato production. The ratio of MVP/MFC was greater than unity that indicated increasing return to scale and the resources were underutilized which signifies that there is need to enhance usage of inputs and package of practices for the maximization of profits. The major issues and challenges related to tomato production and marketing were shortage of skilled labor, high wages rates, high price of fertilizers, high price of plant protection chemical, non-availability of quality seed, lack of cold storage and agro processing units along with post-harvest losses. There is need to reduce the number of intermediaries to increase producers share in consumer’s rupee and better marketing facilities for cold storage and value addition.
Highlights
- In the mid-hills of Solan, Himachal Pradesh, the MVP/MFC ratio above unity indicated increasing returns to scale, suggesting underutilization of resources and scope for improved input use and practices to maximize tomato production profits.
- Major challenges included high labor and input costs, poor seed quality, post-harvest losses, and lack of storage/processing facilities; the study emphasized reducing intermediaries and strengthening marketing and value-addition infrastructure for better farmer returns.
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