Economic Analysis of Main Season and Off-season Vegetable Production: A Case Study in Dhading District, Nepal

This survey research was conducted in Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality of Dhading district of Nepal in 2022. Main objective of the study was to analyze the profitability of main season and off-season production of selected vegetables in Dhading district. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 60 respondents (commercial vegetable farmers) who were interviewed face-to-face administering a semi-structured questionnaire to collect primary data. Though the average cost of production of cauliflower and tomato in off-season was higher than in main season, net incomes from these crops in off-season were higher than in main season (p<0.01). Benefit-cost ratios of cauliflower and tomato in main season (2.09 and 1.13 respectively) were lower than in off-season (2.78 and 1.47 respectively). Results indicated that growing vegetables in off-season is more profitable than in main season. The major problems perceived by the commercial vegetable farmers in the study area were high fluctuation in market price of vegetables followed by disease and insect pest damage. Study suggests that off-season vegetable production can be used as better alternative for income generation taking advantage of premium price. Government support to off-season vegetable production could make this business more profitable and sustainable.