Economic Viability of Tomato Cultivation in Mid Hills of Himachal Pradesh

A study was conducted in Solan district, Himachal Pradesh (2020-2022), assessed the economic viability of tomato cultivation using a multi-stage random sampling of 300 growers. Tomato yields were higher among medium farmers, with 60.67 per cent of farmers in nuclear families and a literacy rate of 89.45 per cent. The net return from tomato cultivation was ?388,380.20 per ha, with an output-input ratio of 2.08. Costs decreased with farm size due to economies of scale, and returns over total and variable costs were highest on medium farms. Tomato contributed 32.3 per cent to total annual household income, with medium farmers earning ?453,125 per ha, compared to ?402,500 per ha for small and ?357,130.90 per ha for marginal farmers. The study emphasized adopting advanced technologies, training, and extension services to enhance production and economic outcomes.