ECONOMICS ANALYSIS OF STATICE CUT-FLOWER PRODUCTION IN PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Flowers are crowning beauty of God's creation. They are inseparable part of human joy and sorrows. It is said that man is born with flowers, lives with flowers and finally dies with flowers. This paper estimates the costs, returns and different socioeconomic and agronomic factors affecting the yield of statice cut-flower farmers. Random sampling technique was used to collect primary data and total 70 farmers were interviewed in 2011. The results of our study revealed that small farmers not only attained highest production but achieved highest total revenue. Net income was also greatest of the small farmers followed by medium and large farmers. Benefit cost ratio of small, medium and large farmers were 2.64, 2.51and 2.36, respectively. The results of Cobb-Douglass production function shows that the variables of education of the farmers, land preparation cost, FYM cost, fertilizer cost, chemical cost and irrigation number have positive and significant effect on the dependent variable (yield), while age of the farmers and labor hours used has negative and insignificant effect on the yield. Cut flower growing experience of the sampled farmers has positive but insignificant effect on the dependent variable (yield). The value of R-2 0.88 and F-ratio 49.55 indicates the overall significance of model. Young and experienced farmers should be encouraged to involve in growing statice. Sound policies are needed to promote formal education among rural households. Policy makers should also focus to investin production technologies, improving agricultural labor productivity and need to promote the use of FYM. Cheap and effective pesticides would be introduced.