Economic viability of establishing a plant disease diagnostic clinic in the Santa Maria region, Rio Grande do Sul

Throughout human history, plant diseases have triggered changes in habits and, more recently, increased production costs due to the need for control and production losses. The use of techniques for the correct identification of diseases has become essential, directly impacting their adequate control. Given this, the objective of this work was to study the economic viability of installing a plant disease diagnostic clinic in the Santa Maria region, Rio Grande do Sul. To this end, data on demand and the types of analyses necessary for identifying the main pathogenic agents causing plant diseases were collected. The costs of equipment and reagents for performing these analyses were obtained from specialized companies. The NPV obtained was R$ 1,894,882.59, meaning this value is being added to my best investment option. The payback period was 3.06 years and the IRR was 61%. Sensitivity analysis showed that, except in the case of a useful life of less than 6 years, the NPV was positive in all cases, demonstrating that the data collected are realistic and that the project remains viable even if the parameters undergo considerable variation. Based on the profitability coefficients Net Present Value, Payback Period, and Internal Rate of Return, it can be concluded that the project under analysis is viable, presenting a high return on invested capital.