Author: Prem Bahadur Bhandari
AIT Library Call Number: AIT Thesis no. HS-85-05
Year: 1985
Academic Program: Human Settlement (HS)
Type: Thesis (M.Sc.) – Asian Institute of Technology, 1993
Examination Committee: Karl E. Weber (Chairperson); Harvey Demaine (Co-Chairperson); S.H. Upasena (Examination Committee Members)
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 oth
Scholarship Donor(s): Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
Note: A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science
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