Assessing Financial Feasibility of African Eggplant Production

Project Overview

FNE21-978
Project Type: Farmer
Funds awarded in 2021: $14,081.00
Projected End Date: 03/31/2023
Grant Recipient: Big Dream Farms LLC
Region: Northeast
State: New York
Project Leader:
Kama Doucoure
Email
Big Dream Farms LLC

Commodities

  • Vegetables: eggplant

Practices

  • Farm Business Management: budgets/cost and returns, new enterprise development
  • Sustainable Communities: ethnic differences/cultural and demographic change

    Proposal summary:

    Despite a growing African population, there is a lack of culturally appropriate African food products being commercially produced in the United States. Part of the reason for that is a lack of crop costing information that would help farmers make decisions about financial feasibility of this new enterprise. This project proposes to cultivate one-acre of African eggplant (solanum aethiopicum) in New York’s Hudson Valley, and measure all enterprise-specific costs and gross revenues for placement into a traditional enterprise budget to determine profitability. Additionally, a series of videos will be produced and published to show key production techniques.

    Project objectives from proposal:

    The project seeks to determine the financial feasibility of producing one acre of African eggplant in New York’s Hudson Valley Region. The specific objectives for this project include:

    1. Cultivate one acre of African eggplant in Saugerties, NY
    2. Compile a list of enterprise-specific costs for the production of one acre of African eggplant, including supplies, specialized equipment, and labor.
    3. Compile a list of enterprise-specific income for the sale of one acre of African eggplant, including sales through retail and wholesale marketplaces.
    4. Create an African eggplant enterprise budget that shows per unit gross margins and net profit/loss for the enterprise.
    5. Produce three, 2-3 minute videos of different production practices for African eggplant.

    Through this project we hope to better understand the financial feasibility of commercial production of one acre of African eggplant in New York’s Hudson Valley. Clear data on enterprise-specific costs and income for 1 acre of African eggplant will offer regional farmers the opportunity to test feasibility of adding this enterprise to their own farms.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.