Vegetable cultivation as a diversification option for fruit farmers in the Goulburn Valley, Australia

Abstract

Worldwide, water scarcity, profit-cost pressure and restructuring of agricultural markets have led to on-farm diversification. The Goulburn Valley’s (GV) pome and stone fruit farms, in the Murray-Darling Basin of Australia, present potential lessons for the conditions under which alternative crops can sustain livelihoods. This research uses a mixed methods approach to assess the viability of vegetable production in the GV region. Quantitative and qualitative data collected from primary and secondary sources were analysed within the conceptual framework of ‘opportunity and ability to diversify’. The favourable biophysical factors of GV region and a positive return on investment from vegetable..