TY  - BOOK
AU  - Prema A 
AU  - Sukumaran A (Guide)
TI  - Marketing of planting matrrials for selected commercial crops in Kerala
U1  - 380.1 
PY  - 2002///
CY  - Vellanikkara
PB  - Department of Rural Marketing and Management, College of Co-operation, Banking and Management
N2  - The study on "Marketing of planting materials for selected commercial crops 
111 Kerala" was undertaken to analyze the various aspects of marketing of planting 
materials by the organizations engaged in the commercial production and distribution of 
planting materials of coconut, rubber, cashew and pepper. The source and variety 
preference of the farmers as well as the problems and constraints experienced by the 
producers and the farmer-consumers were also identified. The preference to source was 
measured in terms of quality, preferred variety, price, local availability and confirmed 
availability of planting material from the source. Based on the findings of the study 
appropriate models have been suggested for the marketing of planting materials. 
The study was conducted in the districts of Kozhikkode, Kottayam, Kannur 
and Idukki, which represented the four selected crops. The sample size was 300 farmers 
consisting of 75 farmers each of the selected crop. All the farms in the Government 
sector and 30 private nurseries in the study area were also subjected to in-depth study. 
Data were collected using interview schedules and suitable statistical techniques were 
employed in the analysis of the data. 
The study revealed that all the agencies in the Government sector, the Kerala 
Agricultural University, Agricultural Department Farms and the Rubber Board and 87 
per cent of the private nurseries followed centralized production. None of the agencies 
undertook market survey before planning their production strategy. The Government 
sector agencies followed the Break-even method of pricing, whereas the private 
nurseries followed the production cost plus concept. 
The extension and field network of the Rubber Board was the most efficient 
one among the agencies studied generally disseminating the technology when compared 
to similar agencies in the field. The agencies did not make any systematic attempt to 
collect the feed back from the farmers. The farmers' preference for the sources varied 
with the crops. Most of the selected explanatory variables did not contribute 
substantially to farmers' preference to source, except the factor 'quality'. 
 
The awareness of farmers about the varieties and cultivars of crops was 'low 
to moderate' except for rubber. The visual indicators for selecting quality planting 
materials developed by the researchers had not percolated to the farmers yet. There is 
no existing quality control and certification mechanism to prevent unscrupulous 
elements in the field of planting material production and marketing. The analysis of the 
constraints experienced by the agencies revealed that labour related issues, difficulty in 
getting quality parent materials and lack of sufficient infrastructure facilities to 
undertake production were their major problems. The major problems felt by the 
farmers were 'lack of sufficient information', 'insufficiency of technical advice from 
the agencies' and' low quality of planting materials'. 
The results point out vividly to the prime need for a more systematic and 
effective marketing of planting materials with sufficient room for ensuring quality 
control and better coordination and supervision at all levels of production and 
distribution of planting materials by the scientists as well as extension personnel in 
order to improve the agricultural production, and ultimately the income of the farmer. 


UR  - http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810015028
ER  -