Comparative Socio-Economics of Rice Grain and Seed Production in Kanchanpur, Nepal

Rice is the number-one staple crop in Nepal. However, its production economics may differ when it is grown as grain for immediate consumption or as seed for further planting. Therefore, a study was conducted to compare the input use, productivity, and profitability of rice seed and grain production in the Kanchanpur district of Nepal. Altogether 94 samples were taken: 30 from rice seed growers and 64 from rice grain growers. Selected households were interviewed with a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire. Data entry and analysis were done using SPSS and MS Excel. The study showed that the productivity of rice as a seed crop (4.73 ± 0 t/ha) was found to be significantly higher than grain production (3.72 ± 0 t/ha), as well as that the benefit/cost ratio (BCR) of seed production (1.71) was much higher than that of rice grain production (1.23). When it comes to the use of the inputs, the majority of respondents who were rice seed producers employed herbicide to control weeds, insecticide to control insects, a mechanical mode of harvesting, and burning the stubble in the field. The major production constraint was found to be the unavailability of quality inputs (I = 0.76), and the major marketing bottleneck was found to be the unavailability of processing units (I = 0.71). This research suggests that input requirements and some agronomic management practices differ between rice seed and grain growers. Further, the productivity and profitability of seed production are higher than grain production in rice.