Development of a Scale to Measure the Marketing Behaviour of Vegetable Farmers

Marketing behaviour is the attitude and/or conduct of a person towards marketing activities. Marketing decisions made by the farmer are based on factors such as commodity, quantity and quality of produce, distance from market, transportation facilities, risk bearing ability, innovativeness, etc. The study of marketing behaviour of the farmer could help in promoting inclusive markets with the direct participation of farmers leading to better profit margins. In the present study a scale was developed to measure the marketing behaviour of vegetable farmers. The items generated rated for relevance by expert judges and after item selection; it was administered to respondents for scoring. This was followed by factor analysis using principal component analysis. The scale was standardized after reliability testing using Cronbach's alpha and scale validation using content analysis. The final scale covered seven dimensions, viz., production oriented decisions, planning orientation, farm enterprise management, enterprise planning, technology oriented marketing, market based production preferences and quality oriented production with 27 statements

Stakeholder Analysis for Farmer- inclusive Value chain Development in Mango

Mango is being cultivated over a substantial area in Palakkad District of Kerala state. Being one of the significant agricultural commodity value chains existing in Kerala, the mango value chain of Palakkad district needs urgent attention to improve its performance. The study highlights the stakeholder analysis and SWOC matrix analysis of the mango sector. Stakeholders were asked to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges in the mango sector. Based on the highest score obtained, four strategic options viz., enhancing value addition and product development, promotion of branding, educating the farmers on building competitiveness and increasing export potential by addressing quality parameters were identified

Stakeholder Analysis for Farmer inclusive Value chain Development in Mango

Mango is being cultivated over a substantial area in Palakkad District of Kerala state. Being one of the significant agricultural commodity value chains existing in Kerala, the mango value chain of Palakkad district needs urgent attention to improve its performance. The study highlights the stakeholder analysis and SWOC matrix analysis of the mango sector. Stakeholders were asked to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges in the mango sector. Based on the highest score obtained, four strategic options viz., enhancing value addition and product development, promotion of branding, educating the farmers on building competitiveness and increasing export potential by addressing quality parameters were identified