Analytical Study of the Cost and Production of Onions in Assiut Governorate

The main objectives of this study were to determine the factors that influence the productivity of the onion crop and to identify the problems that face the farmers in the old and new lands.
The data of the present study have been collected through the personal questionnaire to a sample of the producers of onion crop. Besides, the study included some published data during the 1995-2005 period.
The results of this study showed that there was an increase per year in yield which amounted to 0.75%, 50.0%, 0.77% ton for the total sample, new land and old land respectively.
The gross return was 12551.70, 11114.08, 13765.50 pounds per feddan for total sample, new land and old land, respectively.
The total cost was 4722.94, 4645.86, 4808.53 pounds per feddan for total sample, new lands and old lands, respectively.
The net return was 7828.76, 6468.22, 8956.97 pounds per feddan for total sample, new land and old land, respectively.
The study indicated that: seeds, phosphatic fertilizer, foliage fertilizer, and insecticides are the factors that influence the productivity of the feddan of the onion crop in the total sample. In the new land: seeds and foliage fertilizer are the factors that influenced the productivity per feddan, whereas in the old land: seeds, labor, and insecticides are the factors that influenced productivity.
The study also pointed out the agreement of the farmers of the old and new lands that there is a problem regarding the rise of the prices of the production needs and shortage of labor, and also the shortage of irrigation water.
The farmers of the new land suffered from the rise of the reclamation costs.
In view of the previous results the study recommends the following:

Imposing control on the trade of the insecticides and fertilizers manures and supporting the needs of production.
Increasing the efficiency of the role of the guidance organizations in the new land in order to provide the farmers with know-how of reclamation.
Establishing companies to market the agricultural production in the new land to protect the farmers from exploitation by merchants.
Expanding onion cultivation in the old and new lands.