Adoption of Good Agricultural Practice to Increase Yield and Profit of Ginger Farming in Nepal

Abstract

Abstract Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is one of the major high-value cash crops in Nepal. Low yield, conventional farming, and limited access to production resources such as improved cultivars, production technologies, and extension services are the existing problems of Nepali ginger farmers. In this study, we conducted community based-participatory research in Ilam district, Nepal, in 2015–2017. This research aimed to explore the appropriate ginger farming technology considering yield, income, and environment. We compared the effect of four different ginger production technologies on ginger yield and net farm income that include: i) traditional practice with mother rhizome harvest, ii) traditional practice without mother rhizome harvest, iii) good agricultural practice (GAP) with mother rhizome harvest, and iv) GAP without mother rhizome harvest. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with five replications. The yield of ginger under GAP and without mother rhizome harvest was observed 17.9 t·ha−1, which was 39.8% higher than the farmers’ existing practices and 45.5% higher than the national average. The cost of production was almost the same in all treatments; however, the GAP with mother rhizome-harvested treatment gave the highest benefit–cost ratio (1.5) along with the maximum net farm income ($2072.6·ha−1·year−1). Thus, we suggest ginger producers adopting GAP rules to obtain a higher yield and harvesting mother rhizomes earlier for obtaining maximum profit. The GAP rules will additionally protect the environment. This study also suggests policymakers and related stakeholders promoting GAP as a sustainable production technology in agriculture-based countries like Nepal.