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CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE
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1. INTRODUCTION
Marketing strategy
Marketing strategy is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited
resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive
advantage.
Marketing strategies serve as the fundamental underpinning of marketing plans designed to fill
market needs and reach marketing objectives. Plans and objectives are generally tested for
measurable results. Commonly, marketing strategies are developed as multi-year plans, with a
tactical plan detailing specific actions to be accomplished in the current year. Time horizons
covered by the marketing plan vary by company, by industry, and by nation, however, time
horizons are becoming shorter as the speed of change in the environment increases. Marketing
strategies are dynamic and interactive. They are partially planned and partially unplanned.
Seeds marketing
In India, increasing agricultural production in future depends on the increase in productivity, as
the sustainable limit in the case of acreage expansion has crossed. In the near future, the area
under plough is likely to decrease with increasing urbanization, industrialization and expansion
of urban infrastructural facilities. Now the solution to meet the increasing food grain demand is
to produce more from limited land resources by the efficient use of improved agricultural
technologies. The process of modernizing Indian agriculture primarily involves the intensive use
of non-conventional inputs such as quality seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, weedicides,
irrigation, farm machinery and a network of research and extension infrastructure. The quality
seed is a trigger point which sets in motion the process of technological change. The returns to
investment depend significantly on the quality of crops. Impact of quality seeds in enhancing the
yield potential is highly felt now-adays. Superior planting material and high quality seed is the
single most important factor enabling a country to make its agriculture more productive and cost
competitive especially in the scenario of world agricultural trade under the WTO regime.
In the development of agriculture, seed has been important since crops were first domesticated.
In the traditional agriculture, the cultivators use to retain part of the produce for seed purposes.
However, with the introduction of new technology in Indian agriculture which was based on the
use of high yielding varieties and hybrids of crop plants responsive to high levels of chemicals of
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fertilizers and irrigation. With the development of plant breeding in the early twentieth century,
improved crop varieties were evolved and their seed production was taken up in the organized
sector.
Seed is a very vital input and dynamic instrument for increasing agricultural production. It has
been one of the miraculous inputs responsible for green revolution in India and elsewhere. The
green revolution has brought prosperity, stability and confidence not only in agriculture, but also
in the economic well being of the country. This is also an established fact that amongst different
critical inputs used in the process of agricultural production, quality seeds hold the key position
as it alone contributes nearly 15-20 per cent more to the agricultural production. Farmers in India
know the value of good seed from times immemorial and have contributed for improvement of
seeds through selection and cultivation. Seed is a basic input and though it forms only a small
part of the investment compared to investment on fertilizers, pesticides and other inputs. In fact,
seed is the real vehicle of production and other inputs like water and fertilizers can be regarded
as fuel. Quality seed production is a specialized activity and a portion of crop produce retained
by the farmer as seed cannot substitute for quality seed since such seed is devoid of genetic
vigour and may suffer from lack of desired qualities.
Seed industry is heterogeneous in many dimensions. The product segment corresponds to all the
major field crops and vegetables. With respect to product type, a major distinction is between
hybrids and open-pollinated varieties. As a result, beyond the initial purchase, farmers can
multiply their own seed. This is not a viable strategy with hybrids because they suffer noticeable
declines in yields in subsequent generations. As a result, hybrid seed need to be repeatedly
purchased. Hybrids dominate in coarse cereals consisting of sorghum, pearl millet, maize, cotton
and oilseeds.
In terms of organization, the seed industry consists of a large public sector and a growing private
sector. The public sector consists of the National Seeds Corporation, the State Farm Corporation
of India and 13 State Seeds Corporations. These corporations multiply and market varieties by
the public institutes financed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the
State Agricultural universities.
There are no firm estimates of the number of private seed firm. Estimates vary from 200 to 500.
Private seeds firms are heterogeneous with respect to size, research capacity and product
segments. Plant breeding research is found in the larger firms. Unlike the public sector, where
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research is separate from seed production and marketing, these functions are integrated in the
private firms. The other striking difference is in product types. The private sector focuses largely
on hybrid seed. The private sector is a major player in the hybrid seed markets for vegetables,
sorghum, oilseeds (e.g., sunflower), maize, cotton and pearl millet. In terms of ownership,
private firms are closely held and not listed in the stock exchanges although some of the large
firms have sold equity to foreign seed companies. Foreign firms maintain a presence through
equity stakes in Indian firms, technical alliances or through wholly owned subsidiaries.
Seed firms, whether in the private or public sector, outsource the production of seeds through
contract growers. These growers are supplied with the foundation seed that is used to produce
commercial seed. The seed industry is one of the earliest examples of contract farming in India.
The value of the global seed market is estimated to be close to one billion U.S. dollars
(www.worldseed2003.com/invitation.htm). The seed industry was probably half this size in the
early part of the 1990s (Shiva and Cromption, 1998). It has therefore grown rapidly in the last
decade. Estimates of the share of the private sector range from 60 per cent to 70 per cent (Shiva
and Cromption, 1998). Because the private sector sells high value hybrids, their share in value is
greater than their share in quantity sold.
The government regulates the seed industry and the seed trade in various respects. The Seed Act
of 1996, the Seeds Control Order of 1983, and the Seeds Policy of 1988 are the major
components of policy specific to the industry. The seed industry has also been subject to policies
relating to industrial licensing and direct foreign investment that are applicable to all industry. In
September 2001, the Plant Variety Protection and Farmers Rights Act came into being. In June
2002, the government announced a new seeds policy that significantly alters the framework of
regulation.
The Seed Act of 1996 and the Seeds Control Order of 1983 provides statutory backing to the
system of variety release, seed certification and seed testing. Varieties are released after
evaluation at multi-location trials for a minimum of three years. Varieties approved are
“notified” which is a pre-requisite for certification. While all public sector varieties go through
this process, it is not mandatory for private varieties.
Structure of the Indian Seed Industry
Although the Indian seed market is one of the largest, it is almost exclusively supplied by locally
produced seeds. Farmers retain seed of major food crops (wheat, rice, sorghum, millet, corn, and
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pulses) and commercial crops for many years, and the largest volume of seed trade involves local
exchanges of established self-pollinating varieties. The seed replacement rate in most crops is
very low, with the exception of cotton and some vegetables. The use of hybrid seeds is mostly
confined to cotton, and to some extent to corn, millet, sunflower, and few vegetables. However,
awareness about the high yield and quality of produce from hybrid seeds, attracting farmers to
switch over to hybrids, is growing. The Indian seed industry used to be dominated by public
sector seed companies. However, following the easing of government regulations and the
implementation of a new seed policy in 1988, the private sector seed companies have started
playing a major role in seed development and marketing. More recently, the government’s
decision to embrace biotechnology as a means of achieving food security has attracted several
leading biotechnology-focused multinational seed companies to India. The composition of the
seed industry, by volume of turnover, has reportedly reached a ratio of 60:40 between the private
and public sectors.
The reason why they are losing market share is because seeds by private companies often
outperform the publicly available varieties. Some SSCs have started their own research to evolve
superior propriety hybrids.
The purpose of seed marketing
Although governments in developing countries have, in general, succeeded in establishing seed
legislation as well as seed production and trading activities, government supply objectives are
frequently not met and seed stocks remain unsold. This may be because the public sector usually
operates passive distribution systems, simply stocking outlets from which the farmer can collect
seed but often leaving many outlets unstocked or with the wrong varieties. Such systems are not
responsive to the needs of the farmer. However, by introducing a commercial perspective and
applying sound management and marketing techniques these passive systems can be transformed
into active marketing systems which may prove far more beneficial to the farmer and the
supplier The principle that marketing is about identifying anticipating and satisfying the needs of
the farmer, as well as realizing the objectives of the supplier, is fundamental. Even if public
sector objectives are not necessarily profit oriented there is no reason why a public organization
should not adopt sound management and marketing techniques.
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The role of government
The role of government should be to create a legislative framework which supports national seed
Institutions, creates the appropriate economic environment and minimizes government
interference in the market. In such circumstances the private sector may be encouraged to play a
greater role while guaranteeing the availability of seed of reliable quality to the farmer.
Over the past ten years many developing countries have initiated structural adjustment
programmes in order to correct severe domestic economic problems. An important part of these
programmes consists of reducing the role of the state in economic activity. One specific area
where changes are occurring is in the marketing of agricultural inputs and produce.
The pressure for market liberalization is based on the belief that economic performance will be
enhanced by involving the private sector and creating competition. However, private business
may not always be able to fill the gap left by departing state enterprises. As a result, it may be
necessary to combine professionally managed public operations and private enterprise. In
privatizing state seed organizations, for example, there is an added risk that private monopolies
are created in the place of state monopolies.
A steadily increasing number of countries is embracing privatization and seed market
liberalization as a solution to the underperformance of public sector seed supply. But no practical
improvement in seed supply will result simply by declaring such a policy. Any such change has
to be accompanied by a significant shift in attitude and a willingness to implement change.
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Objectives
• To study the market structure and conduct of seed market.
• To know the distributor selling strategy of seeds.
• To know the promotion, advertising & margin satisfaction of dealers.
• To analyze the problems faced in purchasing of seeds and in sales by the dealers.
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CHAPTER 2LITERATURE REVIEW
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2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Review of the existing related literature forms an integral part of any systematic research work. It
contributes to the understanding of issue involved, analytical tools to be adopted and overall
handling of the research work. A very little work has been done on marketing of cotton seeds.
The literature closely related and relevant to the present investigation has been reviewed under
the following headings.
The market structure and conduct
Harris (1979) examined the paddy marketing system in terms of Sosnik’s concept of structure,
conduct and performance. She inferred that the paddy marketing system was for from
competitive and failed to be efficient when measured from absolute standard the imperfections
were partly explained by the faults in the working of free trade and partly due to government
intervention.
Bhide et al. (1981) studied the structural changes in the arecanut market using data on the size
distribution of firms and coefficients inequality (Gini coefficient) for the period from 1965-66 to
1972-73, they projected the distribution of firms in different size categories by using Markov
Chain Analysis. The impact of these changes on price structure was evaluated by using
regression analysis. The analysis suggested an increasing degree of competitiveness in market
structure characterized by more equal distribution of share in the market transactions.
Elangovan and Zeaudeen (1983) studied the market structure of groundnut in the market
structure was analysed by computing the coefficient of inequality from size distribution of
buyers of farms, which came down from 0.55 to 0.38 over the study period indicating a steady
improvement in the size distribution.
Bain (1989) emphasized that most of the characteristics and strategic aspects of market structure
are the degree of seller concentration, the degree of buyer concentration, the product
differentiation and the condition of entry to the market. He classified any product or service
marketing as high seller concentration (where three sellers supply about 90% of the market), the
moderate seller concentration (where four sellers about 60% of the market) and low seller
concentration (where twenty sellers supply about 45% of the market).
Yeledhalli (1991) studied the agency-wise marketing of fertilizer and found that the agencies
operating in the state are KAIC, MARKFED and private. The private agency had the lion share
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in marketing of fertilizer. He found that the distribution of retail outlets in the districts was also
dominated by private agencies.
Colton (1993) studied about consumer information and workable competition in
telecommunication and emphasized that market are classified according to the structure of the
industry serving the market. Industry structure of categorized on the basis of market structure
variable which are believed to determine the extent and characteristics of competition. Variables
which have received the most attentions are number of buyers and sellers. Extent of product
substitutability, costs, extent of mutual interdependence and ease of entry and exit. According to
Colton, the taxonomy of market structure, perfect competition, monopolistic competition,
oligopoly and monopoly.
Mundinamani et al. (1993) using Bain’s classification of markets and the Lorenz coefficient of
inequality technique analysed groundnut market in highly and moderately concentrated
oligoposonic nature of competition was observed with regards to buyers and slightly
concentrated o competing type of markets with regard to sellers. A few big firms performing
multiple functions were controlling the major portion of the groundnut trade.
Nagaraja (1998) studied the market structure, market share and market potential for sunflower
seeds. Thiel’s intropy index of 0.4638 suggested that sunflower seed market was moderately
concentrated with few suppliers dominating the trade. The market share of individual brands and
their switching pattern indicated that local unbranded seeds had the major share. A very high
degree of brand switching was noticed among the different varieties of seeds.
Padmanabhan and Sankaranarayana (1999) studied the market structure for pesticides. In this
study, they made an attempt to analyse the market structure of pesticides at retail level and
degree of concentration. The market structure of pesticide at retail level was identified as
oligopoly implying that major share of pesticides sales was concentrated with few dealers based
on brand name, symbol and colour of picking material offered by the firms. The farmers were
able to differentiate the pesticides, competition between the existing retailers in retaining the
market share and high investment act as barriers to entry.
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Farmers buying behaviour
Venkateshwaralu et al. (1984) attempted to examine the reason for being brand loyal. It has been
found that 50 per cent of the consumer respondents preferred a particular brand because they
were convinced that its quality was better than that of other brands. Another 38 per cent of the
sample consumers felt, it was the taste which made them to go in for a particular brand. While,
very few consumers in the sample stated low price and easy availability as the main reasons for
selecting and brand.
Ramaswarny and Chandrashekaran (1990) examined factors influencing seed buying behavior of
farmers in India, sixty growers were selected from four villages for agriculture year 1987-88,
factors influencing farmers purchaseof seeds were source of purchase, varietal preference, seed
quality, source of information about the supply of seeds by different agencies and brand
preference. Dealers with credit facility, availability of seeds at lower prices and premises located
close to the farmers locality attracted.
Ali (1992) studied the factors influencing purchase decision for processed products. It revealed
that factors such as tase, family, preference, price, good keeping quality, well known brand,
colour and consistency were important in the buying decision of the consumer in that order.
Sivakumar et al. (1994) analysed buying behaviour of farmers with respect to pesticides,
considering the factors influencing loyalty of farmers towards dealers and brand friend,
neighbours and relatives were major source of information on dealers. In case of brands it was
extension personnel of department of agriculture, the price quality and advertisements about the
brand contributed significantly to brand loyalty credit availability, advertisements and price of
products available with dealer contributed significantly to dealers loyalty.
Sidhu (1996) studied the seed use practices of farmers. The results of the study indicated that the
farmers judged the purity and quality of seeds purchased from public seed agencies, research
organizations, government departments, private seed companies/dealers etc. by their past
experience and reputation of agencies. The results also indicated that among the
institutions/agencies, Punjab Agricultural University had the highest reputation among the
selected farmers in Punjab.
Singh (1998) in his study in Bihar concluded that seeds were purchased from private traders and
fellow farmers mostly on cash basis. The reasons for preferring these sources were seed quality,
availability and accessibility. This implied that the marketing bodies and seed business units did
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not carry out their functions in a manner as to create time, place and form utility. Further,
farmers purchased seeds only at the time of requirement i.e., a few days before use which was
very rational given that seed I a perishable and costly input.
Padmanaban (1999) conducted study on brand loyalty, which revealed that the price of the
preferred brand and efficiency of preferred brand as well as influence advertisement significantly
influenced the brand loyalty. Only when the price of a particular brand is competitively lower to
price of other brand in the market the farmers would naturally prefer to low priced brand,
otherwise farmer would naturally continue to purchase the same brand.
Dealers margin
Patel and Dholaria (1981) studied the marketing cost of certified hybrid seeds. They found the
distribution of seed was undertaken by co-operative societies and group of farmers. The rate of
hybrid seeds differed from district to district because the rate has been fixed by the co-operative
societies. In open competitions, the procurement price of Rs. 78.09 per kg of seed had covered
production cost leaving more than 10 per cent profit to the seed producers.
Patel (1984) observed that unit purchasing price per kg of seed in Gujarat was Rs. 70.56 and
prevailing sale price per kg was Rs. 74.00. hence, net margin to the middleman worked out to be
Rs. 3.44 per kg of seed.
Mane and Hiremath (1995) studied the economic performance of seed marketing of hybrid seeds
grown in Parbhani district, Maharashtra, India. A sample comprised of 28 per cent of dealers
from Hingoli and Parphani taluks was selected and data were collected for 1990-91. There were
set marketing costs at various levels for both hybrids. The dealers net margin was found to be
higher for advance purchases and their marketing margin constituted about 6 per cent of
consumers price.
Sabur and Aktar (1997) studied marketing and economic use of pesticides in Bangladesh and
noted that the gross margin and net margin of dealers was higher than that of retailers. This was
because of dealers lower marketing cost and imperfection of market at dealer level Entry and
imperfection of market at dealer level. Entry into dealers market was not easy compared to retail
market, because dealers need larger amount of capital and reputation.
Gap between the demand and supply of seeds
Sankayan et al. (1973) observed longer price spread in all fertilizers, except two in the case of
private dealers than those in the co-operatives. This was primarily due to the shortage of
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fertilizers which enabled the private dealers to charge higher than the controlled prices and retain
bigger margin.
Chandrakanth and Venkataram (1983) projected the demand and supply of forest products for
the years 1990 and 2000 in the input output framework. The prospective of supply and demand
was considered by the national planning commission. The strategies for bridging the gap in the
requirements of forest products aimed at efficient utilization of existing wood resources and also
simultaneously to meet the growing demand for forest products in the future.
Quasem (1986) examined the availability of two major inputs, fertilizers and pesticides . It was
found that wholesaler operated only in less than 40 per cent of markets surveyed. Retailers
however, were present in all markets. Pesticides dealers operated only in 40 per cent of market
surveyed concluded that 40 per cent shortage of pesticides and the prices of some of the
pesticides were high.
Bhargave (1988) studied demand supply and impact of certified seeds in the four districts of
Madhya Pradesh and concluded that there should be multichanneled distribution system
involving co-operative societies. He identified inadequate irrigation, high input price and less
uncertain availability of certified seed.
Khanna and Gupta (1988) in their study on seed strategy to boost agricultural yield reported that
production of certified seeds was limited on account of non-availability of adequate volume of
breeder and foundation seeds. Plan provisions were made to strengthen the national seeds
corporation to enable it to assume direct responsibility for production of breeder and foundation
seeds so that the shortage exhibited at the national level in the past could be eliminated.
Radha and Chowdry (2002) studied present status and policy perspectives of seed
industry . There was a wide gap ranging from 80 to 90 percent between the production and
demand of certified seed of different crops in the state. Out of the total quantity of 27.49 lakh
quintals of seed produced in the state, a quantity of 12.69 lakh quintals were exported, indicating
the wider scope for expansion of area under seed production in the state.
Srilatha et al. (2003) studied seed production in India. The three major crops maize, sunflower
and cotton selected for the study. The study estimated seed production gaps for maize, sunflower
and cotton. In case of maize certified production and requirement gap in 2000-01 is -55.68
thousand quintals (Actual production is 23.48 thousand quintals and requirement is 79.16
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thousand quintals). In case of sunflower gap is -17.14 thousand quintals (Actual production is
2.59 thousand quintals and requirement is 19.73 thousand quintals). In case of cotton gap is -
35.45 thousand quintals (Actual production is 15.63 thousand quintals and requirement is 51.08
thousand quintals). Further, there was a shortage of seeds for some varieties of groundnut (JL-
24), paddy (indan), cotton (Dch-32, DHB-105 and DHH-11). For the kharif season, there is
heavy demand for green gram seed where there is likely to a shortage of 1000 quintals and also
in case of groundnut seeds.
Problems in dealers and farmers
Choudhary and Prasad (1972) reported that small farmers perceived lack of money as the most
important problem. The other problem of small farmers in order of importance were high cost of
fertilizer, non-availability of fertilizer in village, lack of adequate knowledge about fertilizers,
lengthy time taken by in the delivery of fertilizer, use of fertilizer, deteriorated quality of land,
lack of transport facilities and short weight of fertilizer bags. Yeledhalli (1991) studied the
problems faced by agencies involved in the marketing of agricultural inputs. In case of private
agencies, which sold only fertilizers, lack of transportation facilities and high competition among
the sellers were the problems faced by them. In the case of co-operative, problems such as lack
of storage facility Inadequate retail outlets and lack of transportation facility were pointed out by
the majority of the respondents and the same problems were also stated by a respondents of
Karnataka Agro Industries Corporation (KAIC).
Ramamoorthy (1995) studied the major socio-economic constraints in seeds production and
management, the constraints were identified and ranked through rank analysis. The study
identified the major production constraints as poor quality input supply, inadequate credit supply
and high production risk and the marketing constraints as price fluctuation, storage, problems
under weighment and poor market development.
Sidhu (1996) in his study in Punjab observed that self-retained seed was most commonly used
followed by the seeds from fellow farmers in Punjab. They found that large number of farmers
(76%) did not receive the certified seeds in adequate qualities. Also, a majority of farmers (60%)
expressed that price of certified seeds was very high. The researcher suggested that for proper
and timely distribution of quality seeds. There was a need to develop proper network.
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MARKET STRUCTURE FOR VEGETABLE SEEDS AT DEALERS LEVEL
Since, the review of earlier work indicated the absence of studies on market structure for
vegetable seeds some related studies were reviewed and presented hereunder. Chauhan and
Singh (1973) analysed market structure of Rajasthan wheat market. The study revealed that
private traders, particularly wholesalers, dominated marketing of wheat in the state. The
competition in the market was imperfect. According to the authors, the farmers having a poor
retention capacity were the worst affected. Harriss (1979) examined the paddy marketing system
in northern Tamil Nadu in terms of sosnik's concept of structure, conduct and performance. She
inferred that the paddy marketing system was far from competitive and failed to be efficient
when measured from absolute standards. The market imperfections were partly explained by the
faults in the working of free trade and partly due to government intervention. Bhide et al. (1981)
examined the market structure for arecanut in Mangalore using Lorenz curve. The study revealed
a steady decline in the value of coefficient of inequality over the period. This was interpreted as
an improvement in the size distribution surveys of intermediaries in the market, which inturn
increased the degree of competitiveness in the market. Elangovan and Zeaudeen (1983) studied
the market structure of groundnut in Ramanathpuram district of Tamil Nadu. The market
structure was analysed by computing the coefficient of inequality from size distribution of
buyers of farms, which came down from 0.55 to 0.38 over the study period indicating a steady
improvement in the size distribution. Idachiba (1984) studied the role of private sector in farm
input distribution in Nepal. He analyzed the constraints of farming in farm input distribution and
found inefficiencies in fertilizer distribution. Hence, he suggested that the private sector should
form the enterprise of a national farm input distribution strategy, that the existing governmental
parastatals should be gradually phased out and replaced with private sector and all barriers to
market entry be removed. Jagadish and Rajendra (1984) made an attempt to evaluate the impact
of market development project on the structure and performance of Jute marketing in Bihar. The
degree of concentration was studied through the techniques of Lorenz curve and the magnitude
by the Gini concentration ratio were high in the Jute market under study, which indicated the
prevalence of imperfection in the jute market structure of Bihar. Sujatha et al. (1989) analysed
the performance of market intermediaries in Bangalore regulated market in Karnataka. They
employed the Gini concentration ratio technique to explain the extent of inequality in the
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distribution of volume of business among the traders. The Gini coefficient was found to be 0.33
and 0.45 for onion and potato and 0.17 and 0.21 for rice and ragi, respectively, which indicated
the existence of perfect competition in the market for food grains compared to onion and potato
crops.
Mundinamani et al. (1993) using Bain's classification of markets and the Lorenz coefficient of
inequality technique analysed groundnut market in Karnataka. Highly' and moderately
concentrated oligopsonic nature of competition was observed with regards to buyers and slightly
concentrated on competing type of markets with regard to sellers. A few big firms performing
multiple functions were controlling the major portion of the groundnut trade. Mandanna (1998)
carried out market-structure analysis to know the extent of market competition or concentration
for two representative tobacco auction markets in Karnataka namely, Hunsur and Ramanathapura
and found to be increased market concentration. Further, the same study on structural change in
India's tobacco exports for the period 1980-81 to 1994-95 using markov chain analysis revealed
USSR was the largest market for Indian unmanufactured tobacco.
PRODUCT PROMOTION ACTIVITIES FOR VEGETABLE SEEDS
Since the studies on promotional measures taken to promote the sale of vegetable seeds are
limited, an effort was made to collect and present the reviews that are parallel to the present
work. Dave (1988) in his study on dairy products in United States revealed that advertising and
promotion to boost consumption of dairy products, which helps both the farmers and the
consumers. He suggested increase in the funds for promotion of sales, only is the evidence of
increase in sale due to these measures are obtained.
Veerendrakumar (1993) in his study on strategies for fertilizer promotion under changing
environment in zonalwise situation of agricultural development in India revealed that for rapid
awareness mass communication extension strategy is also adopted by most of the organization
engaged in agricultural extension activities. The credibility studies of various means of
communication have however, indicated that demonstrations and farmers meeting rank at the
top. Nevertheless a media mix approach is gradually adopted to accelerate the pace of transfer of
technology with the large spectrum of target audience.
Bhattacharya and Paliwal (1998) conducted a study on promotional measures adopted for bio-
fertilizer marketing. They stressed the need for availability of credit to farmers, technical
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knowledge to farmers, availability of bio-fertilizers at district and taluk levels and also to make
the people aware of importance of bio-fertilizer for soil and crop growth. The promotional
measures such as radio, T.V., press advertisement, wall paints, road side boards, cinema sliders,
film show, street drama etc were suggested.
Rane (1996) in his article studied the promotional· strategies of DFPCL (Deepak Fertilizer and
Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd.). He found that the sales programmes were carried out through
agricultural graduates by distributing the company products personally to the farmers. This
programme created good image for company’s product. In addition, the spot demonstrations
were carried out on farmer fields helped to compare the efficiency of products. Apart from these
things DEPCL also conducted farmers and dealers training programme to impart knowledge
about the use of P, K and micronutrients.
Nareshprasad (2002) stated that field demonstrations were taken up to educate the farmers about
the benefit of improved agronomic practices including the use of soil test based fertilizer
recommendations, high yielding variety seeds, proper water management and adequate insect
pest control.
Prakash (2002) in his article “Moving towards Integrated Seed Supply System in India”, reported
increased use of Information Technology in seed sector promotion. There are websites, which
give updates on prevailing availability, domestic and global prices, local and global demand,
acceptable condition of trade and related aspects.
Variability in production and price
Employing the spectral analysis for world cocoa prices Joseph (1995) identified a cyclical
pattern of world cocoa prices. He reported that in addition to seasonal variations, there existed a
periodic fluctuation in cocoa prices due to lags in production and in consumption responses to
price changes with average lengths of 14 years and 22 months, respectively.
Parikh (1971) analyzed the short-term fluctuations in coffee prices in the world market with the
help of a spectral analysis. Further, he also computed coherence and phase measures to detect
linear association between the two series at each of the frequency components and to measure
the time differences between the corresponding frequency components. He concluded that there
was a periodic component of less than 12 months in coffee prices which cause short-term
fluctuations. He suggested that the spectra remain insensitive to various trend-domination
procedures.
17
According to Geroge and Mukherjee (1986) the growth ratio of area, yield and production of rice
in Kerala indicated considerable variation across the districts. He concluded that it was unlikely
that the area under paddy could be increased in the state. However, there was a scope for
increase in production with the advent of technological changes.
A study conducted by Das (1986) reveled high erratic nature of movement of wholesale prices of
coconut, copra and coconut oil in Kerala for the period starting from 1960 to 1986. The violent
fluctuation in the prices were found to be caused by more than one reason. The major factor
behind this was the uncertainty of weather which lead to volatility in the supply-demand gap in
the edible oil sector in general and coconut oil sector in particular.
Bogahawatte (1988) studied the seasonal variations in retail and wholesale prices of rice in
Colombo market, Srilanka. Results of a univariate analysis revealed that both retail and
wholesale prices of rice in Colombo market had different structure. Both retail and wholesale
market prices exhibited seasonality in prices, which was more prominent in retail prices than
wholesale prices.
Viju and Prabhakaran (1988) inferred that the increasing prices and yield of rubber might have
accelerated the planting of rubber in new areas and resulted in substitution of coconut by rubber
in Kerala. The author concluded that, the agrarian relation bill of Kerala which exempted rubber
from the land ceiling level might have resulted in the conversion of large areas under other crop
into rubber areas.
Satyabalan (1993) analyzed the yield variation in west coast tall coconut palm in Kerala. He
suggested mother palm selection should be restricted to those palms which yields 80 nuts or
more per year, as they would be able to give high yielding progeny, which won’t show much
yield variation.
18
CHAPTER 3RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
19
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A research may undertake any of the three types of research investigation depending upon the
problem.
This type of research included:
1. Basic research
2. Applied research
3. Designated Fact Gathering
Basic Research: - It is also known as the pure fundamental research, which refers to those
studies, sole purpose of which is the discovery of new information. It is conducted to extend the
horizons on given area of knowledge with no immediate application to existing problems.
Applied Research: - It is attempt to apply the various marketing technique, which have been
developed as research, first and later on they become applied research techniques. It is an
attempt to apply the basic principles and existing knowledge for the purpose of solving
operational problems.
Designated Fact Gathering: - It refers to a research where the investigation attempts to gather
some pre-determined data
In the process of achieving the objectives of the study, it is very essential to follow a systematic
and scientific approach so as to present and interpret the results of the study or investigation
conducted. This chapter on methodology consists of the details of the description of the study
area, the sampling procedure, nature and sources of data, the analytical tools and techniques
employed and other information to support the existing results like secondary sources of
information required to keep the reader inferred for reference and documentation. The
methodology chapter is discussed under the following heads.
Research design
Location
20
Nature and source of data
Data collection instrument
Sampling design
Analytical techniques employed
RESEARCH DESIGN
“Research design is the plan, structure and strategy of investigation conceived so as to
obtain answer to research question and to control variance.”
This project is done under the Descriptive Research Design.
Involves gathering data that describe events and then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and describes
the data. Uses description as a tool to organize data into patterns that emerge during analysis.
LOCATION
Chhattisgarh, the 26th state of the Indian Union came into existence on November 1,2000. The
state is geographically situated between 17046'N and 2405 North Latitude and 80015'E and 84020'
East Longitude. The total geographical area is around 136 lakh ha. of which cultivable land area
is 58.81 lakh ha & forest land area is 60.76 lakh ha with more than 2.07 crore population. About
80 percent of the population in the state is engaged in agriculture and 43 percent of the entire
arable land is under cultivation. Paddy is the principal crop and the central plains of Chhattisgarh
are known as rice bowl of central India. Other major crops are coarse grains, wheat, maize,
groundnut, pulses and oilseeds. The region is also suitable for growing mango, banana, guava &
other fruits and a variety of vegetables with 44 percent of its area under forests it has one of the
richest bio-diversity areas in the country. It has abundant minor forest produce like Tendu leaves,
Sal seed, etc. Medicinal plants, bamboo, lac and honey are other potential money earners for the
state. Chhattisgarh has embarked on a concerted plan to increase double cropped areas, diversify
the cropping pattern and improve incomes from agro-based small-scale enterprises. In order to
unlock the true potential of agriculture sector in the state, government is paying special attention
towards better management of its water resources. To reduce the farmers dependence on rainfall,
government is working towards increasing the irrigation potential of the state. It is estimated that
approximately 43 lakh hectares can be potentially irrigated covering 75 percent of the entire
21
cropped area in the state. Ravi Shankar Sagar Mahanadi project, Hasdeo-Bango, Kodar and
others are some of the important irrigation projects in the state.
Agro-climatically, Chhattisgarh may be divided into 3 distinct zones with immense potential for
agricultural development.
BASTAR PLATEAU
NORTHERN HILLS
CHHATTISGARH PLAINS
The plains cover districts of Raipur,
Mahasamund, Dhamtari, Durg, Rajnandgaon,
Kawardha, Bilaspur, Korba, Janjgir and a part
of Kanker district (Narharpur & Kanker blocks)
along with a part of Raigarh district.
22
Map of Chhattisgarh state showing selected districts for the study
23
Raipur district:
Cropwise & Districtwise Area, Production & Productivity of Rabi Crops (Year 2007-08 to 2010-11)
C.L.R. Unit : Area 000' ha, Production 000 MT & Productivity Kg./ha.
S.No Crop 2007-
08
2008-
09
2009
-10
2010-
11
2007-
08
2008-
09
2009-
10
2010-
11
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
1 Wheat 8.71 8.24 8.52 8.60 9.80 8.27 11.97 11.60 1125 1004 1405 1408
2 Summer
Paddy
29.60 19.27 15.96 27.12 46.68 26.38 24.48 39.87 1577 1369 1534 1470
3 Gram 8.89 8.58 8.47 8.60 7.75 7.47 8.62 8.30 872 871 1018 964
4 Peas 3.27 3.27 2.49 2.60 1.11 1.11 0.87 0.90 339 339 349 371
5 Rapeseed-
Mustard
1.24 1.21 1.42 1.40 0.46 0.41 0.62 0.50 371 339 437 347
6 Sunflower 0.28 0.21 0.20 0.25 0.10 0.08 0.08 0.10 357 381 400 410
24
Durg district:
Cropwise & Districtwise Area, Production & Productivity of Rabi Crops (Year 2007-08 to 2010-11)
C.L.R. Unit : Area 000' ha, Production 000 MT & Productivity Kg./ha.
25
S.N
o
Crop 200
7-08
200
8-09
2009
-10
201
0-11
2007
-08
200
8-09
200
9-10
201
0-11
200
7-08
200
8-09
200
9-10
2001
0-11
1 Wheat 20.1
7
19.7
5
24.5
5
27.3
0
19.4
3
18.8
9
23.1
6
26.9
0
963 956 943 1027
2 Summer
Paddy
22.5
7
20.9
7
6.45 17.6
0
37.4
4
19.9
0
5.40 33.2
6
165
9
949 837 1890
3 Gram 99.2
0
87.6
2
101.
46
95.8
0
100.
98
84.6
0
98.3
6
91.1
0
101
8
966 969 951
4 Peas 1.38 1.07 1.06 1.10 0.48 0.34 0.31 0.30 348 318 292 316
5 Rapesee
d-
Mustard
1.77 1.99 2.22 4.20 0.58 0.61 0.92 1.40 328 307 414 329
6 Sunflow
er
0.44 0.14 0.25 0.25 0.30 0.08 0.17 0.17 682 571 680 685
NATURE AND SOURCES OF DATA
In order to evaluate the objectives of the study, data was collected from both primary and
secondary sources.
Primary data
The primary data forms an important component of any research investigation. As the study
focuses on the preferences of farmers over purchase of seeds, behaviour of farmers towards the
solution and adoption of brands, the loyalty of farmers towards dealers as a subjective
phenomenon focuses on the behaviour of farmers. Hence, greater thrust was given to collect
information at farmers level. However, the number of dealers, their problems etc. were also
important and the primary data was very essential to be elicited.
The primary data was collected using a pre-structured questionnaire encompassing a number of
variables/parameters which could explain their behaviour towards purchase of seeds, the dealers
margin etc.
Secondary data
As the research study focuses on the aspects such as estimating of demand and supply of their
gaps and also some of the information relating to the number of dealers in each district,
quantities handled, the role of departments, the licensing of agriculture inputmagencies, the
statistical data etc. were very much required to take some of the investigation process. Hence, the
secondary data required were collected from:
Department of Agriculture
Districts Statistical Officer and other related departments
internet
literatures
journals
26
Sampling
Sample is the true representation of the population by studying of the sample we can predict the
behavior of the population.
Element –Seed marketing strategy
Sample Size- 29(in this case)
Sampling unit-Dealers and Retailers
Sampling method- Non probability convenience sampling
Sampling design
In order to proceed with investigation as per the objectives stated, it was necessary to adopt an
appropriate sampling design so as to focus the importance of objective in taking the problems in
seed marketing. It was proposed at the outset to study the area under crop in primary stage, for
this purpose the secondary source data was used. The districts are ranked in order of the highest
area by districts, the percentage contribution of each district were computed to ascertain the
relative importance of these lists among the total districts in the area under. However, the figures
on production of seeds could not be ascertained which directly dependent on the diversity in
productivity in different location. A non probability convenience sampling was adopted as
appropriate sampling procedure for the study.
Method procedure
T test- A statistical examination of two population means. A two-sample t-test examines whether
two samples are different and is commonly used when the variances of two normal distributions
are unknown and when an experiment uses a small sample size.
27
CHAPTER 4ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
28
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
1 Satisfaction with the promotional activities regarding seeds advertisements.
Promotional activity Response percentage
Strongly agree 6 21%
Agree 4 14%
Neutral 4 14%
Disagree 15 52%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
Total 29
strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Advertisment
Advertisment
INTERPRETATION:- The seeds dealers are asked to give their satisfaction on promotional activity of seeds. From the above it was found that 51.72% of seeds dealer are dissatisfied with the promotional activity related with seeds marketing.
29
2 Packing and labeling affect seeds marketing.
Packing and labeling Response Percentage
Strongly agree 18 62%
Agree 8 28%
Neutral 3 3%
Disagree 0 0%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
Total 29
INTERPRETATION:- Another major factor playing the role in seeds marketing is labeling
and packaging. From the above it is find that majority of dealers are satisfied with the packaging
and labeling of seeds.
30
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Packaging
Packaging
3 Distribution channel for procuring and supplying of seeds
Distribution channel Response Percentage
Strongly agree 6 21%
Agree 16 55%
Neutral 7 24%
Disagree 0 0%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
Total 29
INTERPRETATION:- from the above, it is found that the major group of respondents with
55% agree with the distribution channel of seeds marketing and 21% are replied with neutral
response regarding distribution channel.
31
Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Distribution channel
Distribution channel
4 Credit acquisition facilities from distributors
Credit acquisition Response Percentage
Strongly agree 5 17%
Agree 5 17%
Neutral 11 38%
Disagree 8 28%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
Total 29
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
credit facilities
credit facilities
INTERPRETATION:- from the above, it is found that the major group of respondents 38% are neutral with getting credit facilities from distributor and 28% are dissatisfied with credit facilities.
32
5 Awareness about customers demand
Demand awareness Response Percentage
Strongly agree 17 59%
Agree 7 24%
Neutral 5 17%
Disagree 0 0%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
Total 29
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Demand
Demand
INTERPRETATION:- From the above we conclude that more than half of the dealers are very much aware about customer demand.
6 Transportation facilities provide to customers
33
Transportation facilities Response Percentage
Strongly agree 15 52%
Agree 7 24%
Neutral 5 17%
Disagree 2 7%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
Total 29
Strongly agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Transportation facilities
Transportation facilities
INTERPRETATION:- From the above we conclude that more than half of the dealers are provide transportation facilities to customer.
7 Deal with all types of seeds
34
Dealing with type of seeds
Response Percentage
Strongly agree 11 38%
Agree 4 14%
Neutral 5 14%
Disagree 9 31%
Strongly disagree 0 0%
Total 29
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Type of seeds
Type of seeds
INTERPRETATION:-from the above data we found that 35% of dealers agree with dealing of all type of seeds and 31% dealers are disagree with dealing with all type of seeds.
Findings
35
Market share is mostly enjoyed by the branded seeds company
Dealers in developing regions mostly dissatisfied with the promotional activity regarding seeds advertisement.
It is find that majority of dealers are satisfied with the packaging and labeling of seeds.
The margin given by seed industry to the dealers is satisfactory.
Seeds is timely available to dealers
The channel of distribution and procurement is satisfactory.
Credit facilities provided by the seeds industry to the dealers are not satisfactory.
Seeds dealers in developing region are very much aware about customer demands for seeds
Transport facilities are provided by the seeds industry to dealers.
In the developing region of Chhattisgarh the seeds dealers are not deal with all type of seeds such as cereals, grain, vegetable etc.
36
CHAPTER 5CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
Conclusion
Almost everyone had role in the overall seed trade. Because the seeds of all type being a
commercial crop of the area. The dealers take up seeds in large scale. Seeds demands are
37
increasing day by day. Many companies and dealers do participate in the trade. The market for
seeds is highly competitive and the results analysed also indicate the same. The marketing
strategy adopt by the seeds industry in developing region is not satisfactory. The promotional
activities, credit facilities, advertisement used by the seed industry are not satisfactory.
Suggestions
Seeds industry must improve their promotional activity in developing region of
Chhattisgarh.
38
Seeds industry must adopt new methods of advertising.
Should provide all information related to price, contents and other information related
with seeds in packaging and labeling of seeds.
Seeds industry should provide credit facilities, discounts, and free sample to seeds
dealers.
The seeds industry in developing region of Chhattisgarh should use various modes for
awareness regarding seeds.
Seeds industry must provide free sample to dealers and farmers.
In today scenario the demand of seeds product increasing and agriculture land
availability is less so seeds industry must provide good quality of seeds for more
productions
Dealer’s questions or problems should be considered properly and same has been
answered effectively.
Should improve the distribution channels for supplying the seeds to dealers.
Should take feedback from dealers and farmers.
Appendix – VIII
39
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books:
(1.) C.R.Kothari, ”Research Methodology”, Published By New Age International(P)
Ltd,4835/24,Ansari Road Daryagang ,New Delhi-110002 , Second Revised
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(2.) D.N. Elhance,”Business Statistics”, Published By Newton International(p)
Ltd,New Delhi-110002,Third revised edition,2006,page no.678
Website:
www.wikipedia.com
www.cgagri dept .nic.in/
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