| Abstract | Citrus promotion has been a major component of the agricultural development strategy for the twin objectives of economic growth and environmental conservation in the mountains of Nepal. However, the experience in implementation of this strategy revealed little success in terms of area covered by citrus, despite an ever-increasing demand. Preceding studies on citrus production indicated marketing problem as the major constraint, but failed to provide any solid evidence based on in-depth analysis of the ground situation. This study made an effort to bridge this research gap by analyzing structure, conduct and performance of particularly the mandarin marketing system in an area of Dhading district designed as "citrus pocket area" by the Department of Agriculture, Government of Nepal. Required information for this study was collected through a household survey and group discussions at farmers' level. Complementary information was collected through interviews with marketing intermediaries, citrus processors and cold store owners. Besides, information was collected from local leaders, policymakers, program executioners, independent policy analysts and secondary sources. Following an exploration of marketing channels, various aspects of mandarin marketing such as roles and behavior of relevant participants, interactions among them, the limitations they face, the strategies they apply in quality and price setting, the income they share in the prevailing price structure, marketing costs and variations in prices were assessed using descriptive statistics, cost-benefit analyses and multivariate techniques. Focused on major grass-roots problems revealed by such analyses, state policies were evaluated in the light of opinions gathered from various experts by using qualitative techniques. The farmer-collectors purchased the major proportion of marketed mandarin on lump sum per tree basis and sold to retailers through commission-agents. Mostly transactions were made on credit with verbal promise of payment of due after the clearance of the lot, which was facilitated by the mutual trust and social networking among farmers, farmer-collectors and commission-agents. Despite occasional breaching of such promises by some farmer-collectors, most farmers preferred selling mandarin to them at farm-gate because it was more profitable than selling in market centers. Regarding the marketing conduct, both farmers and traders were not concerned about quality enhancement due to unawareness of pre- and post-harvest technologies, and absence of the practice of quality based produce pricing. The major proportion of the marketed mandarin was sold at relatively low price in the main harvesting season, and rest was sold in the late season at high price. Variations in prices were found from one market-center to another and from one time to another even on the saine day. The price of mandarin also varied from one farmer to another depending on the amount and size of mandarin, harvesting time, access to price information and location of market-centers. Farmers were receiving a fair share of the p1ice against the traditionally held belief that they were being exploited by intermediaries. However, the marketing system was not functioning as efficiently as it should have been due to high marketing cost and non-viability of fruit-storage. Small scale and seasonal over supply, rudimentary product management, rudimentary marketing infrastructure and weak development of marketing institutions were other major problems weakening the efficiency of mandarin marketing. Existing agricultural marketing policies were inadequate, and due attention was not paid for their effective implementation, resulting in poor provision of necessary support services and facilities for enhancing the efficiency of marketing and increasing farmers' income. Strategies are suggested for improvement of the mandarin marketing through the promotion of quality-based pricing system, marketing cost reduction and institutionalization of fair marketing practices. In such pursuance, emphasis is laid on provision of a well-managed market information system, training courses and support services for pre- and post-harvest product management in collaboration with local institutions and private entrepreneurs. |