Factors influencing adoption of major orchard management practices in mandarin orange of Gorkha: A case from mid-hills of Nepal

Abstract

The mid-hills of Nepal have immense potential for mandarin orange production. However, its productivity is declining over the years despite an increasing trend in the cultivated area. Since the proper adoption of orchard management practices has been associated with increased productivity, it is, therefore, an imminent requirement to sustain the mandarin orange production for long in the country. Therefore, a research survey was carried out to assess the adoption of major orchard management practices and identify factors affecting its adoption so that the insights from this finding would provide potential policy implications for the rejuvenation of the declining orchards.  Altogether, 93 households from Gandaki and Sahid Lakhan Rural municipalities, as well as Gorkha Municipality from Gorkha district were chosen for the study using a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected with a semi-structured interview which was analyzed using SPSS and Stata software. A seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) logit model was used for triangulating the effect of different variables on the adoption of major mandarin orange orchard management practices. The findings revealed that nearly two-third of the households reported citrus decline in their orchards. Further, the adoption of major orchard management practices was mostly found driven by regular access to extension agents, and the income generated from agriculture. Nevertheless, the adoption was plagued by the prevalence of citrus decline in the orchard. In light of these findings, participatory training programs related to the rejuvenation of declining orchards, regular advisory and extension services, and input subsidies to the smallholding farmers are suggested so that the adoption of major orchard management practices gets increased among the mandarin orange farmers.