Socio-Economic and Climatic Vulnerabilities in Coastal Betel Vine Farming: A Case Study of Junagadh District
Kinjal L. Parmar *
Department of Rural Studies, Saurashtra University, Rajkot, Gujarat, India.
Kamlesh R. Bharad
B. R. S. College, Dumiyani, Gujarat, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Betel vine (Piper betle L.) cultivation contributes to smallholder livelihoods in coastal Saurashtra, where production depends on live support trees and marketable fresh leaves. This study examined farm characteristics, indicative production economics, climatic hazards, and marketing constraints in the Chorwad belt of Junagadh district, Gujarat. Structured interviews were conducted between October 2025 and February 2026 with 100 cultivators from seven villages and 10 local brokers or wholesale traders. Among the surveyed growers, 62% operated marginal landholdings, 94% used flood irrigation, and 84% reported foot-rot or leaf-spot symptoms. Severe cyclone-related crop damage was reported by 78% of growers, with losses of 70%–95% among those affected and a reported mean loss of 82.4%. The midpoint annual production scenario (1,250 baskets at ₹850 per basket) yielded gross receipts of ₹10,62,500 per acre against specified operating costs of ₹3,35,000, corresponding to a net operating return of ₹7,27,500 and an operating benefit–cost ratio of 3.17. A three-domain livelihood vulnerability summary yielded exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive-capacity scores of 0.74, 0.78, and 0.36, respectively, and a composite LVI–IPCC value of +0.2964. Ninety-two per cent of growers reported pressure to market leaves promptly because of perishability and limited storage options. The findings describe a potentially remunerative but hazard-sensitive production system and support locally evaluated irrigation, plant-health, risk-transfer, and collective-marketing initiatives.
Keywords: Betel vine, coastal agriculture, farm economics, livelihood vulnerability, cyclone exposure, Gujarat, marketing constraints