Resource use Efficiency in Carnation Production under Polyhouse Conditions in Himachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

Floral expressions often capture the depth of emotions and sentiments that surpass the capabilities of verbal communication. The practice of flower farming within polyhouse conditions has emerged as a burgeoning segment within the agricultural domain, offering substantial revenue opportunities. This is particularly relevant in terrains characterized by hilly topographies, such as Himachal Pradesh, where agricultural land is scarce, with an average of 0.12 hectares of cultivable land and 0.02 hectares of irrigated land per capita. Such limitations necessitate an agricultural paradigm focused on maximizing returns per unit of area, labor, and capital investment. The research undertook an analytical journey in the Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh to scrutinize the efficiency of resource utilization in the cultivation of carnations under polyhouse conditions. Engaging a cohort of 60 polyhouse-utilizing farmers, selected through proportional allocation across two blocks of the district, the study unveiled that the utilization efficiencies, as measured by the marginal value product (MVP) to price ratios, were highest for manure (5.78), followed by pesticides (3.55), and labor (2.04), each exceeding the unity threshold. This indicates that augmenting the input of these resources could potentially amplify returns.