Issues and Impacts of the Apricot Value Chain on the Upland Farmers in the Himalayan Range of Pakistan

Rakhshanda Kousar, Muhammad Sohail Amjad Makhdum, Azhar Abbas, Javaria Nasir and Muhammad Naseer ()
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Rakhshanda Kousar: Institute of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab 38040, Pakistan
Muhammad Sohail Amjad Makhdum: Department of Economics, Government College University Faisalabad, Punjab 38000, Pakistan
Azhar Abbas: Institute of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab 38040, Pakistan
Javaria Nasir: Institute of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Punjab 38040, Pakistan

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 16, 1-13

Abstract: The livelihood of the people in the Himalayan range of Pakistan is largely dependent on the cultivation of fruits. Apricot and apple are the major fruits of this region, which are marketed throughout the country and also exported to other countries. Due to high perishability and the poor farm-to-market infrastructure in the region, farmers are unable to get maximum returns. This study was conducted keeping in view the importance of the region and the impacts of fruits on the livelihood of the farmhands. Cross-sectional data from 200 respondents were collected through a multistage random sampling technique. Factor analysis was employed to find out the constraint in the apricot production and propensity score matching estimates were employed to see the impact of apricot production on the farming communities in the study area. The results of the factor analysis show the most important group of constraints in the growth of the apricot industry is awareness, which is an internal factor. This is followed by production, policy, and marketing constraints. The least important is processing technology. Furthermore, the results show that apricot production has a significant positive impact on decreasing the poverty level of the household, depicting a great potential for the development of resilient livelihoods.

Keywords: Pakistan; Gilgit Baltistan; Chitral; apricot industry; constraint analysis; farmers’ livelihood (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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