Economic Viability and Cost Efficiency of Cocodust-Based Nursery Systems in Vegetable Farming in Bangladesh

Seedling quality is a critical determinant of productivity, input-use efficiency, and profitability in vegetable farming. However, despite the growing adoption of cocodust-based nurseries in Bangladesh, their farm-level economic performance remains poorly quantified. This study assessed the economic viability of cocodust nursery technology using a farm-level comparative mixed-methods design. Data were collected from 80 vegetable farmers selected through stratified random sampling and grouped into cocodust user’s vs traditional nursery users. A detailed cost–benefit analysis was conducted and differences between nursery systems were analysed using independent two-sample Welch’s t-tests. The results show that cocodust-based nurseries incurred higher seedling costs, increasing by approximately 50–90% for most crops. However, these higher initial costs were more than offset by significant reductions in subsequent input use. Fertilizer costs declined by 18–38%, pesticide costs by up to 33%, labor costs by 16–40%, intercultural operation costs by 30–65%, irrigation costs by up to 22%, and pole and fence costs by 12–42% under cocodust-based systems. Consequently, total production costs decreased by 14–24% across crops, leading to substantial gains in net profitability. Net profit increased significantly for all vegetables, with improvements ranging from approximately 29–60% compared with traditional nursery practices. Overall, the findings indicate that cocodust nursery technology enhances input-use efficiency and reduces total production costs. This technology also significantly improve farm profitability, suggesting a financially viable and scalable option for promoting sustainable vegetable production and income growth among smallholder farmers in Bangladesh.