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Received: 11-11-2021 Revised: 20-01-2022 Accepted: 28-02-2022
ABSTRACT
Vegetable production was recorded highest in Ranga Reddy district of Telangana (2019-2020). This study highlights the marketing aspect of vegetable growers. The marketing behaviour was studied under four components - planning, decision-making, implementation and review. The responses were quantified using descriptive statistics. The results depicted that only 30.67 per cent of respondents consider the preferences of consumers in choosing vegetables and 28.67 percent of them collect information regarding the demand, supply, prices prevailing at the time of planning. Decisions regarding area kept for vegetables (62.00%), vegetables to be grown (59.33%) were taken based on self-intuition (100.00%) and considering family personnel (79.33%). The sale of produce is at the regulated market, within the district (90.00%), through commission agents (88.67%). Performance of cleaning (98.66%) and grading (97.34%) was not according to standards. Finally, the review of marketing actions was sparsely done. Based on the observed behaviour, suggestions like infrastructure (storage) facilities, training on post-harvest handling procedures, capacity building, export promotion, FPO formation, ICT's for market information were given substantiating their impact.
HIGHLIGHTS
© The study observed lesser involvement and attention of vegetable growers in planning, decisionmaking aspects of their marketing behaviour.
© In implementation aspect, regulated markets that are within the district were preferred and through commission agent as soon as after harvest.
© Post-harvest practices - cleaning and grading (non-standardised), storage and processing (not practiced).
Keywords: Behaviour, market, Ranga Reddy, suggestions, vegetable growers
In agriculture, marketing is the terminating process that fetches income for farmers. Vegetables are the key diversifying component generating continuous income but are mainly practiced for subsistence purposes rather than commercializing. Vegetables have everyday utility creating demand throughout the year. This creates scope for the farmers to increase their production that contributes to the rise in income.
The farmer's income is directly dependent on marketing components such as market intelligence, which aids in crop planning based on demand and supply, market knowledge, which aids in selecting the best location and time for sale, and preferred marketing channels. Phukan et al. (2018) analyzed the marketing behaviour of the Northeast region (Sikkim) vegetable farmers where 48.00 per cent of farmers sold the vegetable soon after the harvest irrespective of prices as vegetables are perishable (40.00%) and non-availability...