PROFITABILITY OF LITCHI CULTIVATION IN SOME SELECTED AREAS IN THAKURGAON DISTRICT OF BANGLADESH

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to examine the costs and returns of producing litchi by using both primary and secondary data. The primary data were collected in production period of litchi during March to May, 2019 through direct interviews. Considering the scope and potentials of litchi production, this study was based on a sample survey and employed farm level cross section data of total 80 litchi growers. In the first stage, one litchi growing district (Thakurgaon) with two Upazilas (Thakurgaon Sadar and Pirganj) was selected radomely. In the second stage, two villages from each Upazila were selected randomly. Descriptive statistics was employed for analyzing the data and testing the hypotheses of the study. This study shows that litchi production has greatly influence on the socioeconomic condition such as age, literacy rate, occupation, training received, household income and expenditure of litchi growers. The major findings of the present study revealed that litchi production was profitable to the litchi growers. The production of litchi largely depends on its age and climates during the four months of litchi production. Per acre total cost, gross revenue, gross margin and net revenue of litchi production were estimated at Tk.118245.72, TK. 241450, TK. 196816 and TK. 123204.28 per season i.e. per year production of litchi is profitable. But it is difficult to get the overall figures of cost and production of the whole life of litchi within the one season of production. In the study area, litchi orchards were leased out by the owner for 1 to 6 years which is known as Deed. On the basis of primary data collected from respondent and reviewed by other agricultural personnel BCR was calculated 2.04Tk. .It indicates that litchi production project is acceptable and highly profitable. The study also identified some problems and constraint faced by the litchi growers which hindered the higher production and yield of litchi and also suggested some recommendations to improve the present production situation. This study would be a guideline for further research about other fruit crops like mango or jackfruit and the result of this study would help the planners and policy makers to formulate suitable policy for increasing litchi production in Bangladesh.