| Author | Bhandari, Prem Bahadur |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no. HS-93-06 |
| Subject(s) | Farm produce--Nepal--Chitwan Valley--Marketing
|
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Engineering and Technology |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. HS-93-06 |
| Abstract | The general objective of this study was to analyze the existing agricultural marketing
system, the interaction of its beneficiaries and their problems. Six wards, two each from the
Bharatpur TDC and Gitanagar and Patihani VDCs in Chitwan District, were selected for the
study. 172 fanners and 41 market functionaries were the sources of primary data. Three important
crops namely paddy, wheat and mustard were selected for the analyses.
Highest cost of production was incurred by the farmers near the large market center due
to input availability and their use. Human labor was the main source of the cost item. Highest
cost was incurred by small fanners, except mustard, if the family labor cost is included and it was
among the highest in the case of large farmers, if excluded. The use of family labor decreased
with the increase in farm size. The gross margin was negative except in paddy. The negative gross
margin in the case of mustard was caused by hailstorm damage. The MSP of paddy was higher
than the average cost of production, whereas it was lower than the average market price. MSP
was never considered by the farmers for making planting decisions because of its late
announcement. Overall, the marketing policies were ineffective in providing production incentives
to the fanners.
Farmer could not take benefits of the off-season higher prices mainly because of their
harvest sale and indebtedness. Storage problem was reported in the case of wheat. Fagu Purnima,
the color festival, is the cultural closing date for clearing past debts, which also forced fanners
for harvest sale in the case of paddy and mustard at Gitanagar and Patihani.
Local traders (byapries) were the important and favored outlets for selling farmers'
produce who provided various services and information to the farmers. The cooperatives as an
alternative marketing channel were not functioning well mainly because of the lack of fund and
mismanagement.
Village level markets are less competitive. The marketing channels were not numerous as
reported by others. The net margin reaped by the traders was not so high except the retailers.
The market is efficient in terms of operation, whereas due to high seasonal variation in prices,
the pricing efficiency is less efficient. The variation was higher in the case of mustard and wheat
than paddy.
Farmers were found dissatisfied with most of the marketing services and disconcurred with
the statement "fanners benefit from the marketing policies". The important marketing information
such as price, demand, quality and market place were lacking. The major sources of information
were the village traders for the farmers. The information provided through the Division of
Agricultural Marketing Development were not available at the farmgate.
The major problems perceived by them were low price of the product, high price
fluctuation and unavailability of timely information. Other problems were lack of grading system,
unavailability of information on demand and higher bargaining. The problems observed by the
market functionaries were financial constraints, supply of ungraded products and storage loss. AB
an alternative policy, this study suggested to adopt market oriented policies linking with the
production oriented policies for the development of agriculture sector in Chitwan Valley, in
particular, and whole the country, in general. |
| Year | 1993 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. HS-93-06 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology (SET) |
| Department | Department of Civil and Infrastucture Engineering (DCIE) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Human Settlement (HS) |
| Chairperson(s) | Weber, Karl E.;Demaine, Harvey; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Upasena, S.H.; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA); |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1993 |