An Economic Analysis of Production of Button Mushroom in Solan District of Himachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

The present study was carried out to find the cost of cultivation, various cost concepts, and the benefit-cost ratio in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh. Here, farmers of different categories were selected based on the production of button mushrooms: small farmers with a production of 1 quintal of mushrooms, medium farmers with a production of 1–3 quintals of mushrooms, and large farmers with a production of 3 quintals of mushrooms. The research was undertaken in the Solan block of Solan district, which was selected purposefully because it has the largest number of mushroom growers in the state. Solan District has the highest number of mushroom producers in the state. 73 respondents were selected purposefully from 4 panchayats in the Solan block. The cost of cultivation of mushrooms per 100 square feet was maximum for small farmers at Rs. 3179.20, medium farmers at Rs. 2735.13, and large farmers at Rs. 2666.02. The cost concepts for various farm lots per 100 square feet for Cost A1 were Rs. 2288.55 for a small lot, Rs. 2046.37 for a medium lot, and Rs. 1985.69 for a large lot. Cost A2 was similar to Cost A1 because farmers were not taking the land from the government for cultivation, so there was no rent paid to government land. Cost A2 was highest in the small category (Rs. 2359.2), followed by the medium category (Rs. 2115.13) and the large category (Rs. 2046.46). Cost C was greater in the case of small growers, which was Rs. 3159.2, followed by medium growers at Rs. 2715.13, and large growers were incurring the minimum cost, which was Rs. 2646.46. The benefit-cost ratio was paramount in large category 1:2.9; after that, it was medium category 1:2.7; and the rest was in small category 1:2.1. The maximum total yield was in large farm lots (71.01 kg), followed by medium farms (68.54 kg), and the minimum yield was in small farm lots (62.65 kg). The majority of mushroom farmers were found in the small category. Age was found to be an important socio-economic factor that affects the decision-making ability of an individual. The study in the Solan block justified that the maximum profit was earned by large growers.