Is Dragon Fruit a Promising Fruit in Assam: An Economic Feasibility Analysis

Background: In recent times, some parts of Assam have emerged as excellent destinations for the cultivation of exotic fruits like dragon fruits. But whether this fruit is economically feasible in Assam condition or not, it is important to beanalyzed. With this viewpoint, a study was conducted with objectives of examining the economic feasibility of dragon fruit production and identifying the problems faced in production and marketing of dragon fruit by the farmers in Kamrup (rural), Udalguri and Dhubri districts of Assam. Methods: Respondents were selected through a stratified purposive snowball technique to collect the primary data. Todetermine the economic feasibility of dragon fruit production, discounting measures of project appraisal viz., net present value, benefit cost (B-C) ratio and Internal rate of return were used. Result: At 6 per discount rate, the benefit cost ratio and NPV were worked out to be 3.49 and Rs. 8581855 per harespectively and IRR was reported as 87.21 per cent for 15 years of project appraisal. The major problems identified were high establishment cost in the initial stage, high requirement of labour, General unawareness about dragon fruit and their nutritional importance by consumers and low purchasing power of the consumer. Dragon fruit production was found to be profitable to take as an agribusiness venture. However, proper training and awareness programs are very much needed to popularize the fruits among the farmers as well as consumers.