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J. Geographical Studies, 6(1), 40-48, 2022. F. L. Lone, et al.
40
Original Research Paper
Geo-economic Feasibility of Apple Orchards Across
Physiographic Divisions in Kashmir Valley, India
Fayaz A. Lone1, Showkat A. Ganaie2, M. Imran Ganaie1*, M. Shafi Bhat1, Javeed A.
Rather1
1. Department of Geography, University of Kashmir, Srinagar-190 006 (India).
2. Department of Geography, Govt. Degree College, Shopian-192303, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Abstract
Financial investments in apple cultivation in Kashmir valley are increasingly
recognized as key drivers of economic growth and employment creation. This paper
presents a comprehensive economic analysis across physiographic divisions using
precise economic indices that include cost-benefit analysis, project evaluation method
and other socio-economic determinants. It relies on a primary survey of 866 farm-
households selected across four physiographic divisions of the Kashmir valley viz-
valley floor, karewas, foothills and side valleys. Results reveal that the karewas fetch
the highest returns from an investment owing to its ideal geographical conditions. On
contrary, the non-karewas belt was found to be trailing in one or more economic indices
although the financial feasibility of investment in apple cultivation was still found
satisfactory. The study affirms that agricultural land-use decisions at the micro-scale
should be determined by the site-specific attributes and that economic indices are
largely dictated by physical characteristics of land itself. While demonstrating the
utility of land-use decisions in light of geographical factors, our results can assist both
farmers and policy-makers to design a more adapted land use strategy for fostering
financial investments in apple cultivation in the valley.
Article History
Received: 3 July 2022
Revised: 1 August 2022
Accepted: 2 August 2022
Keywords
Apple;
Investments;
Karewas;
Physiography;
Profit.
Editor(s)
M. A. Siddiqui
Vijay Bhagat
1 INTRODUCTION
Apple plantation has emerged the most dominant land
use in the Kashmir valley, absorbing mostly fertile
agricultural landscapes in non-kerewa belt in the recent
past (Alam et al., 2019; Ganaie et al., 2017; Bhat and
Shah, 2011; Wani et al., 2009). The horticultural sector
in the study area has witnessed a phenomenal growth of
17.5% in its area from 1980 to 2014 (Malik et al., 2017;
Ganaie and Bhat, 2014) and accounts for 2 million
metric tonnes, contributing 67.7% of total apple
production in the country (Shafi et al., 2019). The apple
industry contributes overall economic activity of $2
billion equivalent to 10% of total economy of Jammu
and Kashmir provides 150 million labor days annually
during production process alone. The significance of
apple cultivation in the valley is realized by the fact that
the valley of Kashmir has more area under apple crop
than the United States (the world’s second-largest
producer of apples) and ranks sixth in the production of
apples in the world (Haseeb, 2020). Despite having
tremendous potential for apple industry, economic
feasibility assessment, especially for commercial crops,
is prelude to achieving sustainable productivity output in
the valley of Kashmir. Economic feasibility evaluation
of a land unit for a specific land-use can provide a more
reliable prediction of land performance since land-use
decisions are more based on economic value than
physical evaluation (Dent and Young, 1981; Rossiter,
1995). Nevertheless, it is still a prerequisite to identify
the land potentials and constraints, which otherwise
* Author’s address for correspondence
Department of Geography, University of Kashmir, Srinagar-190 006 (India).
Tel.: +91 9596466330
Emails: lonefayaz96@gmail.com (F. A. Lone); ganaie.showkat@gmailcom (S. A. Ganaie); emraanmohmad@gmail.com (M. I. Ganaie -
Corresponding author); shafihabib@uok.edu.in (M. S. Bhat); jarather@gmail.com (J. A. Rather).
https://doi.org/10.21523/gcj5.22060103 ©2022 GATHA COGNITION® All rights reserved.
J. Geographical Studies, 6(1),40-48, 2021. F. L. Lone, et al.
41
would result in considerable productivity differences
across spatial units in conformity to differences in
biophysical and land qualities (FAO, 1976; FAO, 1983;
FAO, 1995; Barlowe, 1978). Therefore, the decision-
making process based on economic feasibility
assessment must inherit an interdisciplinary character
(Sojkova and Adamickova, 2011). Measures of
economic feasibility evaluation include cost-benefit
ratio, gross income, net income, net present value,
internal rate of returns, pay-back period, utility functions
and so on (Rossiter, 1995). Most of the studies related to
financial feasibility and economic evaluation of crops
are based on cost-revenue methods since annual crops
don’t require evaluation of time value of money
(Selvavinayagam, 1991). However, cost incurred on a
perennial basis is virtually a project owing to its long
life cycle and therefore, involves evaluation of many
economic indices that serve as an important yardstick to
judge economic performances (DeJong et al., 1999;
Reganold et al., 2001; Sojkova and Adamickova, 2011;
Badiu et al., 2015). In other words, an apple orchard is a
long-term financial initiative that requires an appropriate
procedure to evaluate investment decisions (Bechtel et
al., 1995). The ideal and most appropriate methodology
for this purpose is net present value to arrive at best
possible assessment outcomes (Tauer, 2002; Cicek et
al., 1999).
Sufficient studies have been conducted on
economic feasibility of investments in apple orchards
globally (Sultanov, 2021; Sojkova and Adamickova,
2011; Robinson, 2013). However, the majority of them
have studied apple orchards from technological
perspective neglecting the land qualities which are very
critical for success of such investments. In Kashmir
valley, no single study on the financial feasibility of
apple orchards has been ever addressed despite the
significant economic potential of apple production in the
region. Also, farmers in the last three decades are
continuously shifting their agricultural land especially
paddy fields into orchards in non-karewa belts without
assessing the biophysical suitability of the land
concerned (Ganaie et al., 2017). In this scenario, the
research question here is how far the expansion of apple
orchards in other physiographic divisions is efficient.
This becomes more relevant as the investment cost is
very huge and involves a period of 40 years. Besides,
investment cost in apple orchards is irreversible and
pose potential risk of total financial failure. Importantly
apple growers in the valley with small land holdings
don’t have sufficient financial strength to cope with
monetary losses. Thus, the present study was conducted
to explore economic feasibility of apple orchards across
physiographic divisions so that a linkage between
biophysical and economic parameters is demonstrated
more comprehensively. Such an endeavor would fill a
research gap that could facilitate in decision-making
related to land use planning and horticultural
development in the study area.
2 STUDY AREA
The study area lies between 33º30'N to 34º40'N latitudes
and 73º45'E to 75º35'E longitudes and stretches over an
area of 15,853km2. Kashmir valley is one of the three
meso-regions of the erstwhile state of Jammu and
Kashmir that are isolated from one another by the
Himalayan mountain ranges. It has been said that these
divisions are like a three-story building in the midst of
which is the Kashmir valley, which has a semi-closed
ecosystem (Raza, et al., 1978; Dar, 2017; Khan, 2007).
Being geologically an intermountain basin, the Kashmir
valley is bounded by the Greater Himalayas to the
northeast and the lesser Himalayas (Pir Panjal range) to
the southwest (Romshoo et al., 2020). The Kashmir
valley comprises of ten districts, which is 140km long
from North to South and 45km wide from East to West
(Ganaie and Bhat, 2014).
The valley of Kashmir can be divided into the
following sub-categories based on physiographic
distinctions: the valley floor, the karewas, foothills or
rimlands and side valleys (Lone et al., 2022; Singh,
1971). The valley floor is its most notable feature,
composed of alluvium deposited by Jhelum River and
its tributaries. Due to leveled terrain and the abundance
of fertile alluvial deposits, irrigational facilities are
available throughout the year. Paddy fields predominate
the agricultural landscape, which is referred to as the
“rice bowl of Kashmir”. Karewas are a significant
physiographic feature of the Kashmir valley, just like
the valley floor. The Karewas are flat-topped, lacustrine-
derived mounds with an undulating surface that
surround the valley floor on both sides (Kumar et al.,
2020; Bhatt, 1975). Along the valley’s longitudinal
extent, they spread across a sizable portion of the
southern edge. Around mountain ridges, they tend to
slope, and at the valley’s center, they have a relatively
flat top (Lone et al., 2022). These characteristics make
them perfectly suited for horticultural pursuits. The
foothills are mostly border mountains and the low-lying
mountainous region of the valley (Easterbrook, 1999;
Juanico, 1987). These hills are covered in a dense
canopy of conifers that extend from the diverse
Himalayan mountain ranges down to the valley plain.
The side valleys constitute geographically the major
tributary regions of the Jhelum river (Sabha et al.,
2020), which exhibit various micro-scale geomorphic
and climatic changes and provide the area with yet
another distinctive agro-ecological regime.
3 MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study employed data from both primary and
secondary sources. Primary data were collected in order
to estimate the input and output cost empirically. For
sampling purpose, the South Kashmir region of the
Kashmir valley was specifically chosen because it has
predominant horticulture, allowing for more reliable
study results. South Kashmir is divided into four
administrative districts: Anantnag, Pulwama, Kulgam,
J. Geographical Studies, 6(1),40-48, 2021. F. L. Lone, et al.
42
Figure 1. Study area: South Kashmir (India)
and Shopian (Ganaie et al., 2022a, 2022b). Moreover,
this region has high agricultural and horticultural
development (Ganaie et al., 2014). A basic unit of land
measurement in the research region is the kanal’ (0.05
hectare), on which the analysis was based. The study
area was delineated into four physical divisions, viz,
valley floor, karewas, foothills and side valley. The
physiographic map was generated using SOI toposheets
on a 1:50000 scale a digital elevation model (DEM) and
geological maps of karewas, as well as comprehensive
field observations for ground verification and post-
processing. The villages that fell inside each
physiographic zone were identified by superimposing
the village map over the physiographic map to
determine the sample locations (Figure 2).
In each physiographic zone, 10% of the villages
were randomly selected, and 2% of the farm-operating
households in each village were administered a survey
for sampling. This led to the generation of 866 surveys
at the farm-household level, divided into four
physiographic groups. The data was collected pertaining
to all the costs incurred on apple orchard starting from
its establishment to the production and marketing stage.
Based on data provided by apple farmers, the annual
mean during the fructification stage was used to
calculate the level of output and the price per unit. The
evaluation of economic feasibility of an apple orchard
involves a complex set of indices that cover various
aspects of investment appraisal (Badiu et al., 2015). The
life of an apple orchard in the study area is around 40
years (traditional orchard system). As such the
methodology must include the time value of money. In
the present study, we are employing widely used
investment appraisal methods viz. net present value
(NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and payback period
(Sojkova and Adamickova, 2011). Besides, cost-benefit
ratio and descriptive statistics were also employed for
data analysis.
3.1 Net Present Value (NPV)
Any economic venture, including a crop, is said to be
viable if the predicted additional gain surpasses the total
input costs incurred during the production phase. Any
perennial crop such as apple involves time and
calculating aggregate cash inflows occurring in
subsequent years require adoption of appropriate
discount rates to calculate the present value of future
flows. Indeed, this is one of the guiding principles since
discount rates should accurately reflects the
J. Geographical Studies, 6(1),40-48, 2021. F. L. Lone, et al.
43
Figure 2. Sampling locations
opportunity cost of the capital to permit a comparison of
the value of money in different periods. The net present
value is calculated by the following mathematical
expression (Erkus and Rehber, 1998):
Where
= benefits at time t, = cost at time t,
= investment cost, n = project economic life,
r = discount rate
In our study, the net present value was calculated
at the discount rate of 7.5% which also represented the
opportunity cost of capital.
3.2 Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
IRR is the discount rate that produces zero NPV.
Therefore, it is equivalent to the discount rate r that
satisfies the following relationship (Badiu et al., 2015):
where, is the benefit stream and is the cost stream.
The economic activity (an apple orchard in our case) is
profitable if IRR is greater than the interest rate that
could be earned in alternative investments; thus when
IRR > ‘r’ the activity is considered viable. If ‘r’ also
called opportunity cost of capital is lower than the IRR,
then NPV is positive and vice-versa. This is expressed
as:
3.3 Payback Period
Taking the changing value of money into consideration,
the payback period is defined as the period (years) for
which the discounted net cash inflow will cover the
discounted value of each investment. The payback
period of a project satisfies the following relationship
(Badiu et al., 2015).
where,
= Value of investments in the kth year
= Net income of the activity in the kth year
disregarding the value of the investments.
J. Geographical Studies, 6(1),40-48, 2021. F. L. Lone, et al.
44
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The observed investment cost of apple plantation in
different physiographic divisions of Kashmir valley is
presented in table 1. The highest establishment cost is
depicted by valley floor (76325 INR) followed by side
valleys (72465), foothills (68790) and karewas (48411).
The material cost is highest among the basket of input
costs followed by labor cost and overhead cost.
Material and labor cost combined amount to more
than 70% share in each physiographic unit (Figure 3).
For pooled sample, material cost represents the
maximum share (45.08%), followed by labor cost
(28.81%), overhead cost (15.40%) and mechanical cost
(10.70%).
The results reveal that physiography plays a
significant role in the initial and establishment cost. For
instance, karewas generate lesser initial and
establishment cost per unit of land, owing to their
favorable geophysical setting which offsets the bearing
stage to just 6 years and therefore induces higher
payoffs during production stage. The production cost
and revenue returns of the orchards, as well as their
economic efficiency, are substantially determined by the
investment cost. The investment cost is largely governed
by the bearing stage of orchards, tree density and
geophysical conditions in the region. This is
demonstrated in the high investment cost of apple
orchards on valley floor, foothills and side valleys
owing to prolonged bearing stage and disease caused by
unfavorable geophysical conditions. Therefore, the
bottom line of the analysis signifies the role of the
geophysical environment and local conditions in overall
economic feasibility and profitability of orchard system
in the study area.
Besides investment, apple orchards also generate
production and marketing cost as in other business or
economic enterprises. Table 2 represents the share
among the cost categories during the production and
marketing stage on annual basis. It is worth mentioning
here that both production and marketing cost are directly
proportional to output. In addition, production cost is
also governed by degree of pest incidence and crop
Table 1. Establishment costs of apple orchards
Specification
Valley floor
Karewas
Foothills
Side valleys
Pooled
Rs.
%
Rs.
%
Rs.
%
Rs.
%
Rs.
%
Material cost
33575
43.98
21586
44.99
32450
47.17
32300
44.57
29978
45.08
Labor cost
22500
29.47
12800
26.44
20580
29.92
20750
28.63
19158
28.81
Mechanical cost
8450
11.07
5275
10.89
6200
9.01
8540
11.78
7116
10.70
Overhead cost
11800
15.46
8750
18.07
9560
13.90
10875
15.0
10246
15.40
Total cost incurred
76325
100
48411
100
68790
100
72465
100
66498
100
Figure 3. Establishment costs of apple orchards
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Valley Floor Karewas Foothills Side Valleys
Input cost (%)
Physiographic divisions
Material Cost Labour Cost Mechanical Cost Overhead Cost
J. Geographical Studies, 6(1),40-48, 2021. F. L. Lone, et al.
45
management while marketing channels largely
determine the marketing cost. On average, the
production and marketing cost per Kanal tend to be 1.43
times higher in karewas than other physiographic
divisions primarily because of higher output. Again,
promising output in karewas prompted orchardists to
invest more in inputs to fetch higher payoffs. Also, the
higher age of the apple trees in the karewas requires
sufficient use of inputs for their development and
maintenance. Similarly, the age of an orchard in
production cost is also reflected in orchards of foothills
(Rs. 39880/kanal) which tend to be slightly more
expensive because of older orchards than valley floor
and side valleys. On the contrary, the newly established
orchards in valley floor and side valleys with fairly
uniform geophysical conditions and production output
generate comparatively less production cost per unit of
land (Table 2).
Although the returns from apple cultivation look
attractive, it involves higher degree of risk induced by
weather, natural calamities and the investment itself
owing to time factor. Therefore, it is necessary to
evaluate different indices to examine the profitability of
apple orchards in the study area. The economic
feasibility of apple orchard was tested using the project
evaluation technique and involves the use of precise
indices such as cost-benefit analysis, net present value,
internal rate of returns and pay-back period. Besides, the
analysis was further supplemented by the use of other
important indices to arrive at more accurate conclusion
about the economic feasibility of orchard systems in the
research area. Once fructification starts, income is
generated by the orchards on annual basis. The income
of an orchard is a function of quantity produced and the
market price at a given point in time. The price at which
a product may be sold depends on quality; for all types,
the average price ranges from Rs. 391/box in side
valleys to Rs. 553/box in the karewas belt (Table 3). The
prices were obtained from local fruit marketing centers
by taking averages of last five years. This served as an
advantage for negotiating inconsistencies in apple prices
due to fluctuating production and market rates.
According to the findings presented in Table 3, the
karewas apple orchards had the highest yield, followed
by the foothills, valley floor, and side valleys. This
results in the highest income of Rs 57761/kanal/year for
karewas among all other physiographic units.
Importantly, it is also reflected in profit ratio as well
Table 2. Production cost
Table 3. Mean income from apple orchards
Specification (output items)
Valley floor
Karewas
Foothills
Side valleys
Total boxes/kanal (0.05 ha)
121
168
134
115
Price per box (Rs.)
431
553
426
391
Total income(Rs.)
52151
92904
57084
44965
Total production cost (Rs.)
37358
57761
39881
32800
Total profit (Rs.)
14793
35143
17203
12165
Total profit (Rs./life cycle)
562134
1476006
636511
462270
Rate of profit (%)
139
160
143
137
Table 4. Generation of employment
Unit
Valley floor
Karewas
Foothills
Side valleys
Before fructification no. of labor men/kanal
27.50
18.90
26.80
27.50
After fructification no. of labor men/kanal
38.13
58.33
42.49
35.26
Specification
Valley floor
Karewas
Foothills
Side valleys
Pooled
Rs.
%
Rs.
%
Rs.
%
Rs.
%
Rs.
%
Material cost
13492
36.12
21884
37.89
14621
36.66
10641
32.44
15159
36.14
Labor cost
11300
30.25
18875
32.68
12935
32.43
10225
31.17
13334
31.78
Mechanical cost
1016
2.72
1267
2.19
1167
2.93
1067
3.25
1129
2.69
Overhead cost
11550
30.92
15735
27.24
11158
27.98
10867
33.13
12328
29.39
Total cost incurred
37358
100
57761
100
39881
100
32800
100
41950
100
J. Geographical Studies, 6(1),40-48, 2021. F. L. Lone, et al.
46
since orchards in the karewas are at least two times
more economically efficient than other physiographic
divisions. The differences are such that total profit on an
annual basis in foothills is slightly less than half of the
income generated from the karewas. The output figures
depict that orchards in the valley floor and side valleys
have marginal economic feasibility. The significance of
an investment in an orchard is primarily determined by
the life cycle of an orchard itself. Based on the field
data, the average life cycle of an orchard in karewas for
all traditional apple varieties was found to be 40 years
and assuming same life cycle in other physiographic
divisions, the total income for each physiographic unit
was calculated by multiplying average annual income by
number of effective fructification years (42 in karewas,
37 in foothills and 38 in valley floor and side valleys).
Again, it was found that one kanal of land in karewas
generates an accumulated profit of 1476006 INR
surpassing all physiographic units by a considerable
margin, owing to its highest productivity, better quality
and more fructification years.
The social impact of apple production in different
physiographic units could be expressed by the
magnitude of labor an orchard generates in a given
period. Before fructification, more labor force per year
is generated by non-karewas belt as valley floor and
side-valley require 27.50 days of labor each, foothills
26.80 days while karewas need only 18.90 labour men
for every 0.05 ha (1 kanal). After fructification, 38.13
labour days/kanal are required in valley floor, 58.33 in
karewas, 42.50 in foothills and 35.26 in side valleys
during apple production and marketing stage (Table 3).
As such social impacts are more expressive in karewas
as apple cultivation draws a tremendous quantity of both
skilled and unskilled labor promoting a self-regulating
local economy and labor supply in the research area.
These figures generally suggest that apple production is
partly labor intensive in research area owing to lack of
technological advancements. It may be pointed out that
the socio-economic impact of apple cultivation in other
physiographic units is still significant although they are
overshadowed in comparison to huge monetary benefits
associated with orchards of karewas. The net present
value (NPV), payback period (PP) and internal rate of
returns (IRR) for an apple orchard computed for each
physiographic unit in the study area (Table 5). Major
comparative differences are found between karewas and
other three physiographic divisions, although each of
them was found technically and economically efficient
in above computed indices.
It is clear from Table 5, that apple production in
karewas exhibit best results for all computed indices
(highest NPV, shortest payback period, and highest
IRR) as compared to non-karewas belt. The major
limitation of apple orchards on valley floor, foothills and
side valley is expressed in their long payback periods as
they require 16.10 years, 15.2 years and 16.44 years,
respectively to gain back the initial and establishment
cost incurred during non-bearing stage of an orchard.
More precisely the positive net income starts only after
the above-mentioned payback periods in the respective
physiographic divisions. As such, payback period may
serve an eye-opener to examining the economic
feasibility of an investment based on physiographic
divisions. Nevertheless, the life cycle of 37-38 years in
the above concerned physiographic divisions for
traditional apple trees cannot be ruled out which is long
enough to provide sufficient dividends to an orchardist
in the later years of production. This is translated into
positive NPV and IRR values as well. An internal rate of
return of above 5.43% on annual basis was used as a
critical value to check the feasibility of investment in
apple production. In accordance with the results in table
5, the lowest IRR value was found to be 7.43% in
orchards of side valleys which is still more than the
opportunity cost of capital.
5 CONCLUSION
The study is a primary venture that highlights the role of
physiographic attributes in the economic feasibility of
apple cultivation in the valley of Kashmir. Since agri-
horticultural systems in the valley have evolved
physiographically with valley floor and karewas
dominating agriculture and horticulture, respectively,
the study facilitates area-specific strategy development
with wider recognition of altitudinal and elevation
gradient at local scale. The study is of utmost
Table 5. Financial feasibility of apple orchards
Physiographic
divisions
Initial
investment
(INR)
Bearing-stage/
fructification
years
NPV
(24 years)
PP
(years)
IRR
(%)
Remarks
Karewas
33415
6-7 years
330369
8.88
22.58
High economic feasibility
Foothills
51132
10 years
145836
15.2
9.43
Bearing stage high,
moderate NVP, PP high,
IRR feasible
Valley floor
51132
11 years
132182
16.10
8.82
High bearing and PP period
Side valleys
45386
11 years
102166
16.44
7.43
High bearing and PP period
J. Geographical Studies, 6(1),40-48, 2021. F. L. Lone, et al.
47
importance as apple cultivation occupies a vast
geographical area and its economic implications on the
local framers exert tremendous influence on their
livelihood. Apple is a perennial crop with a life cycle of
40 years; an economic feasibility assessment of the fruit
(crop) has significant financial ramifications on land-use
and decision making. The study indicates that better
economic returns from apple cultivation is realized in
karewas. This is explained by the fact that apple
orchards in karewas produce from the sixth year and just
take 8.88 years to return the entire initial, establishment
and production cost. This importantly offsets the time
value of money and is revealed in the highest net present
value, internal rate of returns, total income, total profit
and other socio-economic parameters. On the contrary,
non-karewas belts including valley floor, foothills and
side valleys are lagging behind in the respective
economic indicators although technically speaking
financial feasibility of investment in apple orchards was
still found satisfactory in each physiographic unit.
Surprisingly, among the non-karewas belt, foothills
reflect slightly better economic prospects as compared
to valley floor and side-valleys signaling a positive role
of altitude in apple cultivation. The study implicitly
raises awareness about the critical economic dimensions
which could be used in policy intervention and decision-
making. The study provides constraints and
opportunities for horticulture within the same
mountainous region where the environment creates so
many peculiarities in causing functional linkages on a
micro-level. Our results conform to the results of
Maithani (1996) that any land-use especially a
commercial one such as apple cultivation should take
into consideration the nature of terrain and climate
having potential to impose severe limitations on crop
productivity. Our methodology and results could be of
great use to both farmers and decision-makers since they
are relevant in long-term financial initiatives. The study
envisages a basic idea that understanding complexities
within geographies has an ever-consistent role in
preventing potential financial risks and as such
economic and financial initiatives must be analyzed
through the geographical lens to ensure sustainable
agriculture outputs and long term growth.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are grateful to the Department of
Geography and Disaster Management, University of
Kashmir for providing space. The authors also express
their heartfelt appreciation to all who took the time to
answer and fill out the questionnaires. We would also
want to thank anonymous reviewers for their
informative criticism and suggestions.
ABBREVIATIONS
DEM: Digital Elevation Model; FAO: Food and
Agricultural Organization; IRR: Internal Rate of
Return; NPV: Net Present Value; PP: Payback Period;
SOI: Survey of India.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
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