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Commercialization of agriculture in the Himalayas

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  • Rahut, Dil Bahadur
  • Velásquez, Castellanos Iván
  • Sahoo, Pravakar

Abstract

Increased market integration and commercialization of traditional agriculture in the Himalayas is part of a development strategy towards growth and better standard of living. More than 97 percent households depend upon agricultural and allied activities for livelihood which constitutes 30 percent of the household income. Given the importance of commercialization of agriculture to improve the productivity, per capita income and thereby the standard of living in the Himalayas, we examine the factors affecting the commercialization of agriculture on the basis of primary survey data. The results reveal that the land size, gender of the household head, livestock assets, ethnicity, education and location are important determinants of commercialization. Although commercialization of agriculture is considered as stimulated private-sector activity, public policy is essential to facilitate driving forces viz., trade and market reforms, rural infrastructure, and the institutional framework for legal and contractual arrangements between farmers and processors.

Suggested Citation

  • Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Velásquez, Castellanos Iván & Sahoo, Pravakar, 2010. "Commercialization of agriculture in the Himalayas," IDE Discussion Papers 265, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    • Handle: RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper265
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    Cited by:

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    3. Matthys, Marie-Luise & Acharya, Sushant & Khatri, Sanjaya, 2021. "“Before cardamom, we used to face hardship”: Analyzing agricultural commercialization effects in Nepal through a local concept of the Good Life," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agriculture; Agricultural policy; Rural societies; Market; Household; India; Himalaya; Commercialization; Rural; Poverty; Production;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East
    • Q1 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture
    • Q13 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Markets and Marketing; Cooperatives; Agribusiness
    • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

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