The cost of establishing the Assam lemon plantation differed according to different categories of farm sizes, as given in Table 1. Medium farm sizes had the maximum establishment cost of Rs. 82,625.81 per hectare, while marginal farmers had minimum establishment costs of Rs. 70,016.87/ha, showing a direct correlation between farm size and orchard establishment costs. The higher cost involved in orchard establishment by medium farmers could be because of the higher financial capability, resource availability and adoption of improved orchard establishment practices by them. Large farms were observed to spend more on quality seedlings, nutrient management, plant protection and intercultural practices, which resulted in higher establishment costs. Thus, it can be concluded that farmers with semi-medium and medium farm sizes had commercial tendencies towards higher initial investments to boost their productivity.
Of the total establishment cost, intercultural operations comprised the major share, followed by manure and fertilizers and seedling cost. High costs involved in intercultural operations could be due to its labour-intensive nature during orchard establishment. Conversely, the relatively higher costs related to seedlings and fertilizers on large farms are evidence of more focus on maintenance of the orchard and proper growth of the plants. Furthermore, the medium-sized farms spent relatively more money on the protection of the plants as well as its application, possibly indicating an increased awareness about how diseases and pests can affect the crop.
As expected, the relationship between the establishment cost and farm size agrees with the results of earlier researchers, who noted that large citrus orchards incur high establishment cost, mainly because of increased management and investment in inputs use. Nonetheless, the establishment cost found here was significantly higher compared to the cost mentioned by
Bheel and Burark (2013) concerning the establishment of mandarin orchards. This could be due to differences in the type of crops involved, the prices of the inputs, wages of laborers, management of the orchards and the climatic conditions within the region. Likewise,
Abhilash et al., (2018) noted that acid lime orchards installed in Karnataka had significantly higher establishment cost compared to the present study. Additionally, the results suggest that farmers owning larger agricultural landholdings had better chances of utilizing resources more effectively in establishing orchards, thereby having a positive impact on their future productivity and profitability. On the other hand, marginal farmers seemed to have lower establishment costs as they lack adequate resources, along with using less effective methods of management. The study thus suggests that the variation in resource availability, effective use of management and ability to make investments plays a significant role in establishment costs.
Maintenance cost of Assam lemon on different-sized group farms
It is evident from Table 2 that the maintenance cost of Assam lemon farming exhibited a positive correlation with the size of the farms. This indicated that the farms that are larger in size recorded comparatively high costs in maintaining different practices in the orchards. The maximum cost of maintenance was observed for medium sized farms (Rs. 61,263.13/ha), whereas the minimum cost of maintenance was for marginal farms (Rs. 51,856.26/ha). This is possibly due to the capability of medium sized farms to allocate more resources and use better management practices. The same trend could also be seen for the amount spent on manuring, fertilization, plant protection, pruning and intercultural practices which progressively rose with the rise in the size of the farm. Of all the components of variable costs, the one which occupied the largest percentage share was harvesting, owing to the labor-intensive nature of lemon growing in Assam. However, in medium-sized farms, there was comparatively a higher share of costs spent on training and pruning, thus showing that more importance was being given to the aspect of canopy maintenance. The amount of expenditure incurred on plant protection services was also maximum for medium farms, which could possibly be attributed to the higher level of awareness about plant protection techniques and also their higher buying capacity. The results further showed that variable costs made up much larger shares of total maintenance costs compared to fixed costs in all farm size groups. The cost of working capital interest, use of fertilizers and manure and plant protection costs had a major effect on the maintenance cost. There was also a positive relationship between the fixed costs, including depreciation cost, fixed capital interest, land revenue and land rent, with the size of farms. Similar conclusions were made in the study of
(Parajulee et al., 2021; Shohe et al., 2025), who analyzed the economics of sweet orange and Pineapple farming in Nepal and Assam, respectively and found out that variable costs accounted for most of the total cultivation cost. However, the amount of expenses noted in the current research was significantly higher. It was noted that there was an increase in the gross return per hectare with the increase in size of farm in Assam lemon plantation from Rs. 1,96,000.00 per hectare for small farmers to Rs. 2,73,546.90 per hectare for medium farmers. The higher gross return realized by medium sized farms could possibly be linked to higher efficiencies in farm management and productivity. The direct relationship between farm size and gross return indicates that there was economy of scale, which contributed to greater surplus production. The same trend was found by
(Saraswat et al., 2006; Karegaonkar et al., 2011; Regmi et al., 2020) in their observations that there is higher realization of returns in larger sized citrus orchards due to more efficient utilization of resources and improved cultivation practices. Differences between the structure of costs and returns in the current study and the previous studies could possibly be due to variations in local conditions, labor supply, marketing facilities and age of orchards amongst other variables.
Average cost and return from Assam lemon cultivation on different-sized group farms
Table 3 revealed that the average annual maintenance cost, total cost, gross return, net return and amortized establishment cost increased continuously with farm size. As Assam lemon is a perennial crop with a long productive life, the establishment cost was amortized over 15 years at a discount rate of 6 per cent to distribute the initial investment over the economic life of the orchard and obtain a realistic estimate of annual costa and profitability. Higher establishment cost was observed for medium farms (Rs. 4,955.15/ha) and lower for marginal farms (Rs. 4,198.62/ha). Higher establishment and maintenance cost associated with medium-sized farms is due to better management practices, higher use of fertilizers, higher use of labor and better plant protection. It can be said that larger farmers have more financial resources and they can easily adopt modern agricultural practices.
Annual average maintenance cost per hectare for all farms was found to be Rs. 60,075.27/ha and total annual cost per hectare for all farms was Rs. 64,578.23/ha. From the results, it was found that gross as well as net return of mango orchards increased as farm size increased. Medium-sized farms produced maximum gross return (Rs. 2,73,546.90/ha) and maximum net return (Rs. 2,07,328.68/ha). On the other hand, marginal farms had comparatively lesser gross and net returns. It seems that high profits from medium farms may be due to efficient use of inputs, proper orchard maintenance and higher productivity levels. The positive association noted between the size of a farm and profit was also recorded by
Karegaonkar et al., (2011) who found a variance in the net returns realized by citrus orchards of varying sizes in Maharashtra state. Also,
Kausadikar et al., (2019) discovered that the production of sweet oranges resulted in considerable profits, thus proving the profitability of citrus fruit production under improved management practices. Nevertheless, the amount of profit earned in this study varies from previous studies owing to differences in the maturity of citrus orchards, input costs, labor expenses, agro-climatic characteristics, yields and prevailing market prices in different regions. Other factors, such as farmers’ technical know-how, irrigation capabilities and adoption of improved citrus cultivation methods, can have an impact on costs and revenues of citrus growers
(Bhat et al., 2015).
The findings show that the production of Assam lemons is highly profitable for all farmer categories; however, medium-scale producers were able to earn slightly more due to their ability to make larger investments and maximize resources. Therefore, it can be deduced that marginal and small farmers could improve their yields and profits from growing Assam lemons by adopting improved management practices.
Economic feasibility of Assam lemon cultivation in different-sized group farms
The economic viability indicators given in Table 4 above clearly indicate that Assam lemon farming is indeed a financially viable and profitable undertaking for all categories of farms considered. With respect to the benefit-cost ratio, net present value and internal rate of return, a continuous increase was witnessed with increasing farm size, which suggests that large farms were relatively more efficient economically and had higher rates of return than their small counterparts from Assam lemon farming. A ratio of 3.49-4.28 was witnessed, with the largest ratios being recorded among the medium farms, meaning that every rupee of investment in Assam lemon farming yielded more profits that were significantly higher than the cost of investment. This can be explained by high levels of efficiency, productivity, input utilization and marketable surplus on medium farms.
Positive Net Present Values were recorded from all farm types, with an average of Rs. 9,92,528.20-Rs. 14,87,293.00 obtained from marginal and medium farms respectively. A positive NPV is an indication that the present value of benefits was higher than the present value of costs. Since higher NPVs were found in the case of medium-sized farms, it means that large farmers made more economic profits through optimal resource utilization, effective orchard management practices and increased investment potential. Moreover, IRR rates were found to be above the current discount rate of 6 per cent in the range from 61.98 per cent in marginal farms to 69.97 per cent in medium-sized farms. Thus, Assamese lemon farming appears to be an economically feasible activity despite taking into account the time value of money and costs of investments throughout the economic life of the orchard.
In turn, the correlation found between farm sizes and economic indicators of feasibility in the presented study is similar to results by
Regmi et al., (2020) and
Mazid et al., (2025). In particular, the authors found that BCRs grew as farm sizes increased in citrus cultivation. The positive BCR was also mentioned by
Parajulee et al., (2021) in relation to sweet orange cultivation, stressing economic viability of citrus production enterprises. Furthermore, according to
Subedi and Timsina (2023), positive NPVs, higher IRRs and BC ratios exceeding one were noted in acid lime cultivation in Nepal. But it must be mentioned that the economic feasibility indicators obtained in the present study have been relatively high compared to some earlier studies like that of
Chiphang and Roy (2018), where a relatively low benefit-cost ratio of lemon cultivation in Manipur was obtained. The differences between these results could be due to differences in agro-climatic conditions, orchard management systems, production levels, cost of labour, intensity of input application and market prices.
The relatively high economic feasibility indicators in medium-sized farms may imply that the relatively larger farm owners had better capacities to apply modern farming practices, use quality inputs and effectively manage their orchards. However, marginal and small farmers might face difficulties due to limited financial capacities, limited availability of technology and quality inputs, affecting production efficiency and profits. Hence, increasing access of farmers to extension services, credit facilities, quality planting material and markets can improve the economic performance of lemon cultivation in Assam.
