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Manpreet Kaur, Anil Bhat, Elkhan Sadik-Zada, Rakesh Sharma

• The present study addresses the potential of marigold cultivation in terms of income and employment effects in the subtropical region of Jammu. Within the field research, we have surveyed 100 marigold farmers from Jammu and Kathua districts of Jammu Region. The region is of special interest in terms of economic development due to disproportional unemployment rate and high level of poverty. The study finds that marigold cultivation exhibits strong employment and income linkages. Marigold cultivation generates employment opportunities of 124.84 man-days (MD) in a season in comparison to 85.37 MD of rice and 49.58 MDs of wheat. Hence, marigold farming could create more and better-paid rural employment possibilities for peasants and lead to a substantial reduction of the poverty headcount ratios. Furthermore, the Cobb–Douglas production function-based econometric specification shows that farmyard manure (FYM), fertilizers, plant protection, and machine hours have a statistically significant positive effect on marigold yield. The second source of the growth of marigold cultivation is the replacement of subsistence farming with a focus on wheat and rice by marigold farming. We find that this kind of growth does not endanger food security in Jammu and Kathua districts. On the contrary, the growing level of income of the rural population could enhance market demand and a greater willingness to pay for the local agri-food sector and assure a greater level of food security.