Sustainable Economic Feasibility Approach towards Cultivation of Strawberry in Jammu Region of J&K UT

The present study was conducted in Jammu region of J&K UT.Three districts from the Jammu region were chosen purposively based on having highest cultivated area under strawberry crop in Jammu division.The list of strawberry growers of various selected districts was prepared with the help of Directorate of Horticulture, Jammu.The proportionate allocation method was used for selection of the respondents using random sampling techniques to make a total sample size of 100 respondents.Both primary and secondary data were collected to accomplish the objectives.Primary data was obtained by interviewing the respondents through a well prepared schedule cum questionnaire.The required secondary data were collected from various published sources/ agencies such as Economic Survey, Digest of Statistics, National Horticulture Board, Annual reports and other relevant government publications etc. CACP Cost concepts were used to ind out the desired outcomes.The indings of the study revealed that the overall average cost of cultivation for strawberry was calculated atRs.187693.90 per acre for Jammu region which includes the largest average share of runners (49.96%).The overall average yield and the gross returns were found out to be 2741.72kg/acreand Rs.438675.00 per acre respectively for the Jammu region.Thus the net return obtained was Rs.250981.10 per acre and the costbene it was found to be 1:2.34 which means strawberry cultivation is very bene icial to the farmers as if they invest one rupee, then they will get 2.34 rupees as net bene it.Strawberry farming faces challenges such as reliance on chemical inputs, water scarcity and soil erosion.This study offers valuable insights into mitigation strategies, promoting practices like integrated pest management and drip irrigation.These approaches can help farmers adopt more sustainable methods while maintaining crop yield and quality.Also various sustainable cultivating practices must be employed to mitigate the negative environmental impact of this horticultural crop.